Afternoons of Solitude
| Afternoons of Solitude | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Spanish | Tardes de soledad |
| Directed by | Albert Serra |
| Starring | Andrés Roca Rey |
| Cinematography | Artur Tort Pujol |
| Edited by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 125 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | Spanish |
| Box office | $717,368[1] |
Afternoons of Solitude (Spanish: Tardes de soledad) is a 2024 documentary film directed by Albert Serra about the Peruvian bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey.[2] Though Roca is on screen throughout, the film contains neither commentary nor interviews, and reveals very little about Roca's personality, motives, or his life outside bullfighting.[3]
The film world premiered at the main competition of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 23 September 2024, where it won the Golden Shell. It was theatrically released in Spain on 7 March 2025 by A Contracorriente Films.
It earned EFA Awards nominations for Best Film and Best Documentary.
Plot
[edit]The film depicts matador Andrés Roca Rey and his entourage throughout fourteen corridas. There are long extended fight sequences filmed very close up, punctuated by torero Roca and his entourage, before or after these sometimes bloody sequences, traveling by car and talking about the performance of Roca. There are also scenes of Roca in his hotel room praying and dressing or undressing from his flamboyant traje de luces (suit of lights) costume before or after these corridas.[4]
Production
[edit]The film is a Spanish-French-Portuguese co-production by Andergraun Films alongside Lacima Producciones, Idéale Audiences, and Rosa Filmes.[5] Production was extended by five years, three years for shooting footage and two for editing the material.[6]
The color cinematography, by Artur Tort Pujol, is often very closely focused on Roca and his face, isolating him in a way similar to Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's 2006 documentary of Zinedine Zidane called Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait.[citation needed] Extreme closeups sometimes isolate details in the ring: like the bull's hooves or its face during its death throes or the side of the picador's horse. The film makes however no overt comment about bullfighting.
Music
[edit]The use of music contains that of Marc Verdaguer and Camille Saint-Saëns and Jorma Kaukonen of the Jefferson Airplane's "Embryonic Journey" Flamenco-style instrumental song from their 1967 Surrealistic Pillow LP.[7]
Release
[edit]The film world premiered in September 2024 at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Shell.
The film was scheduled to debut at the Kursaal on 23 September 2024, in competition for the Golden Shell of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival.[6] Ahead of the film's premiere, PACMA asked for its removal from the festival slate.[6] It also made it to the slate of the 2024 New York Film Festival.[3] The film was distributed in Spain by A Contracorriente Films, with an theatrical release in Spain set for 7 March 2025.[8][9] Meanwhile, Dulac programmed a rollout in French theatres for 26 March 2025.[10] Films Boutique acquired international sales rights.[5]
Reception
[edit]Luis Martínez of El Mundo gave the film 4 stars, declaring it as "a monumental, precious, precise, brutal, grief-stricken, tragic, beautiful and, from any point of view, unique film".[11]
Jonathan Romney of ScreenDaily described the film as "a deeply immersive work and an unashamedly repetitive one".[3]
Afternoons of Solitude topped Cahiers du Cinéma's annual top 10 films list for 2025.[12]
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 |
72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival | Feroz Zinemaldia Award | Won | [13] | |
| Golden Shell for Best Film | Won | [14][15] | |||
2025
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31st Forqué Awards | Best Documentary Film | Nominated | [16] | |
2026
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19th Cinema Eye Honors | Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature | Albert Serra, Montse Triola, Luis Ferrón, Pedro Palacios, Artur Tort, Mac Verdaguer, and Jordi Ribas | Nominated | [17] |
| Outstanding Direction | Albert Serra | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Cinematography | Artur Tort | Nominated | |||
| 38th European Film Awards | Best Documentary | Nominated | |||
| 18th Gaudí Awards | Best Documentary Film | Won | [18] | ||
| Best Director | Albert Serra | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Artur Tort | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | Albert Serra, Artur Tort | Won | |||
| Best Sound | Jordi Ribas, Bruno Tarrière | Nominated | |||
| Best Visual Effects | Xavier Pérez, Arnaud Chelet | Nominated | |||
| 81st CEC Medals | Best Documentary Film | Nominated | [19] | ||
| Best Director | Albert Serra | Nominated | |||
| 40th Goya Awards | Best Documentary | Pending | [20] | ||
| Best Director | Albert Serra | Pending | |||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Afternoons of Solitude". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ [1] Afternoons of Solitude Albert_Serra Filmlinc
- ^ a b c Romney, Jonathan (23 September 2024). "'Afternoons Of Solitude': San Sebastian Review". ScreenDaily.
- ^ [2] Review of Afternoons Of Solitude, San Sebastian, by Jonathan Romney, 23 September 2024
- ^ a b Barraclough, Leo (20 September 2024). "Films Boutique Picks Up Albert Serra's 'Afternoons of Solitude' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
- ^ a b c Pérez, Laura (23 September 2024). ""Hay cuadros que reflejan la guerra y no se retiran": Polémica por la película de toros de Albert Serra en el Festival de San Sebastián". Fotogramas.
- ^ [3] Review of Afternoons Of Solitude, San Sebastian, by Jonathan Romney, 23 September 2024
- ^ Belinchón, Gregorio (28 September 2024). "El documental 'Tardes de soledad', la polémica e innovadora aproximación de Albert Serra a los toros, Concha de Oro de San Sebastián". El País.
- ^ "'Tardes de soledad', el reportaje taurino que ganó la Concha de Oro, llegará a los cines en marzo". La Vanguardia. 22 November 2024.
- ^ "Les distributeurs ajustent leurs line-ups". BoxOfficePro. 31 December 2024.
- ^ Martínez, Luis (23 September 2024). "La sangre y la vida: Albert Serra nos hunde en lo profundo del mito táurico en 'Tardes de soledad' (****)". El Mundo.
- ^ "Cahiers du cinéma's Top 10 Films of 2025 Includes Afternoons of Solitude, One Battle After Another, and Nouvelle Vague". 28 November 2025. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ^ "Albert Serra gana el Feroz Zinemaldia por 'Tardes de soledad' y La Dani presentará los Feroz en Pontevedra". Europa Press. 28 September 2024.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (28 September 2024). "San Sebastián Film Festival Award Winners (Updating Live)". Variety.
- ^ Lily Ford (28 September 2024). "Albert Serra's Bullfighting Doc 'Afternoons of Solitude' Wins San Sebastian's Golden Shell". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Ramón, Esteban (13 December 2025). "'Los domingos' triunfa en los Premios Forqué 2025 y se impone a 'Sirât'". rtve.es.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (13 November 2025). "Cinema Eye Honors 2026 Nominations: 'Come See Me In The Good Light' Leads Field". Deadline. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ^ Gaviria, Pere (16 December 2025). ""Romería" i "Sirat" lideren les nominacions als Gaudí 2026: quines pel·lícules opten a premi". 3CatInfo – via 3Cat.
- ^ Arias, Mariajo (24 February 2026). "'Los domingos' copa un palmarés de las Medallas CEC con premios para 'Anatomía de un instante'". Kinótico.
- ^ "Lista completa de nominados a los Premios Goya 2026". El Cultural (in Spanish). 13 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026 – via El Español.