19-25 January
2026
When 18-year-old Marina journeys to the Galician coast to trace the echoes of her parents’ past, her search turns into a pilgrimage through memory, where her family’s history reveals itself in unexpected ways.
Who were our parents before we were born? Romería follows 18-year-old Marina at a moment in life when she begins to search for her own origins. In Galicia she encounters an unfamiliar terrain of fragmented memories and relatives who carry small pieces of a love story she never had the chance to know.
Through encounters with those who knew her parents, and using her mother’s diary as her compass, Marina gains insight into a past marked by addiction, loss and illness – a past that shaped her family and continues to influence her identity.
Carla Simón draws on material from her own background and works with a precise, observational film language in which details, environments, bodily gestures and subtle dreamlike elements bring forward both the intimate and the societal.
Building on the approach of Summer 1993 and Alcarràs, Romería shows how a personal journey can carry traces of a broader generational experience, opening an emotional resonance that lingers long after the film ends.
This film was chosen by film critic Maka Dolidze
Carla Simón (b. 1986) is both a screenwriter and director. She explores autobiographical themes grounded in a realist and observational film language. Simón studied film at the London Film School and achieved international recognition with Summer 1993, which won the Best First Feature Award at the Berlinale in 2017.
2022 Alcarràs
2022 Letter to My Mother for My Son
2020 Correspondence
2017 Summer 1993
| Programme: | Critics' Week |
| Director: | Carla Simón |
| Country: | Spain |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Run time: | 1h 54m |
| Screenplay: | Carla Simón |
| Cast: | Llúcia Garcia, Mitch Martín, Tristán Ulloa |
| Dialogue: | Spanish |
| Subtitles: | English |
| Producer: | Olimpia Pont Chàfer, María Zamora |
| Source: | Arthaus |
| Age limit: | 15 |