Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho (The Secret Agent, IFFR 2026) and Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón (Romería, IFFR 2026) will discuss how cinema can give form to both intimate and historical memory, blending realism with genre on one side and formal experimentation with deeply personal storytelling on the other.
Kleber Mendonça Filho, originally a film critic, is a director, screenwriter and producer. His cinema explores the social and political fabric of Brazilian life, with his native city of Recife at the centre of his cinematic universe. In his latest film, The Secret Agent, Mendonça Filho inquires into the historical memory of Brazil’s dictatorship – the ways it is remembered, rediscovered or forgotten. A master of blending genres, he makes sociopolitical dramas which absorb elements of political thrillers, westerns, science fiction and horror, resulting in a cinema that is both formally daring and deeply rooted in Brazilian reality.
Simón’s film Romería closes a very personal trilogy dedicated to her early family life and personal memory. Her film is deeply rooted in autobiographical inquiry, as well as in the history of the Spanish dictatorship. Her work explores memory as an emotional element as well as a cinematic challenge giving new life to people, places and moments that no longer exist.
You can also purchase a joint ticket for this Big Talk and a screening of The Secret Agent, at a reduced rate. To buy the combined ticket, click here.
Shows of "Big Talk: Kleber Mendonça Filho & Carla Simón"
