BITTER CHRISTMAS
directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Spain | 2026 | 111 mins
Feature
Synopsis
Two stories, separated by more than two decades, gradually begin to mirror one another in Pedro Almodóvar’s latest exploration of love, memory and the strange ways life finds its way into art.
In December 2004, Elsa (Bárbara Lennie) navigates a turbulent period in her personal and creative life, surrounded by her boyfriend and closest friends. Fast-forward to 2026, where filmmaker Raúl (Leonardo Sbaraglia) is struggling with a screenplay that draws increasingly from his own experiences. As his story unfolds, the boundaries between Elsa’s world and his own begin to dissolve, raising an unsettling question: how much of someone else’s life can an artist claim as their own?
Balancing dark humour, emotional intensity and his unmistakable visual flair, Almodóvar returns to some of his most enduring obsessions: desire, artistic creation and the stories we invent to make sense of ourselves. A playful yet deeply personal film about the uneasy relationship between those who live the stories and those who tell them.
Credits
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Screenplay: Pedro Almodóvar
Producer: Agustín Almodóvar
Executive Producer: Esther García
Cast: Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Victoria Luengo, Patrick Criado, Milena Smit, Quim Gutiérrez
Cinematography: Pau Esteve Birba
Editing: Teresa Font
Production Designer: Antxon Gómez
Costume Designer: Paco Delgado
Sound: Sergio Bürmann
Original Score: Alberto Iglesias
Production Company: El Deseo
Screening schedule
Monday, November 16, 2026
9:50 PM
Angelika Film Center
18 W Houston St
Language
Spanish with English subtitles
Festivals
Cannes Film Festival 2026 — Official Competition, Soundtrack Award`
Toronto International Film Festival 2026
New York Film Festival 2026
AFI Latin American Film Festival 2026
About the Director
Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary cinema. Emerging from Madrid’s vibrant countercultural scene in the late 1970s, the Spanish filmmaker developed an unmistakable universe of colourful characters, extravagant passions and emotional contradictions. His breakthrough, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), brought him international recognition, followed by acclaimed films including All About My Mother(1999), Talk to Her (2002) and Volver (2006). A two-time Academy Award winner, Almodóvar continues to reinvent his cinema while returning to the themes that have long fascinated him: desire, identity, motherhood and the uneasy relationship between art and life. His first English-language feature, The Room Next Door (2024), won the Golden Lion at Venice.
Filmography
- 2024 — The Room Next Door
- 2021 — Parallel Mothers
- 2019 — Pain and Glory
- 2016 — Julieta
- 2013 — I’m So Excited!
- 2011 — The Skin I Live In
- 2009 — Broken Embraces
- 2006 — Volver
- 2004 — Bad Education
- 2002 — Talk to Her
- 1999 — All About My Mother
- 1997 — Live Flesh
- 1995 — The Flower of My Secret
- 1993 — Kika
- 1991 — High Heels
- 1989 — Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
- 1988 — Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
- 1987 — Law of Desire
- 1986 — Matador
- 1984 — What Have I Done to Deserve This?
- 1983 — Dark Habits
- 1982 — Labyrinth of Passion
- 1980 — Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap
