Palomitas

This week on Palomitas, we dive into the explosive, darkly comic world of Fe de etarras [Bomb Scared] (Borja Cobeaga, 2017) with special guest Dr. Alison Posey, (newly appointed) Assistant Professor of Spanish at Transylvania University. A tragicomic farce that turns terrorism into a punchline, the film traps four bumbling ETA members in a flat during Spain’s euphoric 2010 World Cup victory, waiting for orders that never come. As national pride erupts around them, their revolutionary ideals unravel

Episode 5 dives into two explosive Spanish documentaries - both on Netflix - shaking up the fight for gender justice, with special guest Dr. Abigail Loxham, Reader in Hispanic Film Studies at the University of Liverpool.No estás sola: la lucha contra la Manada (Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, 2024) - The harrowing story of the La Manada gang rape case and the feminist uprising that forced Spain to reckon with its sexual assault laws. #SeAcabó: El diario de las campeonas (Joanna Pardos, 2024) -

Matthew discusses Mi querida cofradía (Marta Díaz, 2018) with Dr Erin K. Hogan, Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Think feminist farce, dark humour, Catholic imagery, and challenges to patriarchy, as laughter becomes a tool of resistance and transformation. What does it take for a woman to become leader?Scholarship cited in the episode: (For the books, ask your library - university and/or public - to buy a copy! Trust us: librarians are always eager for

In episode three, Matthew chats all things Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006) with not one but two extra-special guests: Prof Sarah Wright (Professor of Hispanic Studies and Screen Arts, Royal Holloway) and Dr Miguel García (Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies, Bristol University). Scholarship cited in the episode:(For the books, ask your library - university and/or public - to buy a copy! Trust us: librarians are always eager for requests!)- Hilborn, Matthew. 2025. Film Comedy and Spain: Humour, Genre,

In episode two, Matthew chats with Dr Fiona Noble (Lecturer in Spanish, Stirling University) about Ocho apellidos vascos (Emilio Martínez-Lázaro, 2014), the highest-grossing Spanish film of all time. Also featuring exclusive one-on-one interviews with Martínez-Lázaro himself, as well as co-scriptwriter Borja Cobeaga. Scholarship cited in the episode: For the books, ask your library - university and/or public - to buy a copy! Trust us: librarians are always eager for requests! Noble, Fiona (2017)