Pedro Almodóvar begins filming 'Bitter Christmas'

After 'The Room Next Door', the first feature film in English with which he won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Pedro Almodóvar films with The Desire 'Bitter Christmas.'

The film, which takes place in locations in Madrid and Lanzarote, stars Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Victoria Luengo, Patrick Criado, Milena Smit and Quim Gutiérrez. It will hit theaters in 2026 with distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures Spain and the collaboration of Movistar Plus+.

The story revolves around Elsa, an advertising director whose mother dies during a long weekend in December. He finds refuge in work, although it is more of an escape forward. He works non-stop and, without realizing it, he does not give himself the time necessary to grieve for the mother's absence. Until a panic attack forces her to stop and take a break. His partner, Bonifacio, is his lifeline in those moments of crisis. Elsa decides to travel to the island of Lanzarote accompanied by her friend Patricia, who also needs to get away from Madrid, while Bonifacio stays in the city.

The story of these three characters, and some more, are told parallel to that of the screenwriter and film director Raúl Durán, played by Leonardo Sbaraglia, mixing fiction and reality. Bitter Christmas aims to demonstrate how life and fiction are linked in an inextricable way, even painful at times.