Official Trailer for Albert Serra’s Matador Doc ‘Afternoons of Solitude’
by Alex Billington
June 4, 2025
Source: YouTube
“Riveting.” Grasshopper Film has revealed the official US trailer for the documentary film from Spain titled Afternoons of Solitude, directed by acclaimed Catalan-Spanish filmmaker Albert Serra. It premiered at the 2024 San Sebastian Film Festival last year, and also played at NYFF, Tokyo, Tromso, Palm Springs, and many other festivals. Now set for release in the US in art house cinemas this summer. The film follows one matador, a famous bullfighter – it’s still a sport that happens regularly all the time in Spain. The life of the bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey during a day of bullfighting, from the moment he dresses up to the moment he undresses. Serra’s doc “explores the spiritual pain of bullfighting, the tormented torero in a ring, one of the most excessive & graphic examples of the origin of Southern European civilization.” Uh huh. Sounds like Serra just likes watching bullfighting. This purely observational doc is described as a “spellbinding blend of showmanship & barbarity.” Definitely not for anyone who hates this violent towards animals Spanish sport.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Albert Serra’s doc film Afternoons of Solitude, from YouTube:
A film from the visionary director of Pacifiction, Albert Serra’s Afternoons of Solitude is a spellbinding documentary that turns its gaze on the ceremonial splendor and devastating brutality of bullfighting in Spain. With quiet intensity, Serra follows famed matador Andrés Roca Rey, from the solitude of his hotel room & meticulousness of his preparations to the charged spectacle of the arena. Through his immersive & unhurried lens, Serra reveals Rey’s profound physical, spiritual, aesthetic commitment to a centuries-old ritual—one that demands he take part in a timeless duel between man and beast. Afternoons of Solitude, also known as Tardes de Soledad in Spanish, is directed by the filmmaker Albert Serra, director of the films Crespià, Birdsong, 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero, Story of My Death, The Death of Louis XIV, Roi Soleil, Liberté, Pacifiction previously. It’s produced by Pierre-Olivier Bardet, Luis Ferrón, Marta Lacima Ligero, Pedro Palacios, Ricard Sales, Joaquim Sapinho, Albert Serra, Montse Triola, & Marta Vieira Alves. Grasshopper Film will release Afternoons of Solitude in select US theaters on June 27th, 2025. Intrigued?
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