Romería

Marina (Llúcia Garcia) is 18 years old and was orphaned at a young age. In order to obtain a signature for a scholarship application, she travels to Spain’s Atlantic coast to visit her paternal grandparents—whom she has never met. There, she finds herself in a maze of aunts, uncles, and cousins, unsure whether she will be welcomed or met with resistance. As old emotions resurface, tenderness begins to bloom again, and unspoken wounds from the past come into view, Marina tries to piece together the fragmented and often contradictory memories of her parents.

Romería, partly based on the life of director Carla Simón, is an intimate and visually striking drama in which the power of imagination offers comfort and reconciliation. The film is the final part of a trilogy in which Simón explores her personal history: while Summer 1993 and Alcarràs are set in the Catalan countryside, she now turns to northwestern Spain—Galicia—shedding light, through the scars of a searching generation, on a shadowed chapter in Spanish history.

Despite its different setting and tone compared to her previous films, Simón confirms her status with this third feature as one of the most important voices in contemporary Spanish cinema. Romería was a major success in Spain, drawing over 120,000 visitors in its first week, and had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d’Or.