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Lots of Kids, A Monkey and A Castle

Directed by Gustavo Salmerón

Spain • 2017 • 88 mins. • In Spanish

Showtimes & Past Screenings

Julita Salmerón wanted three things in life: to have lots of children, to own a monkey, and to live in a castle. She actually did have six children, owned a monkey, and lived in a real castle. But when the 2008 economic crisis hit, septuagenarian Julita was forced to clear out thecastle—and everything she hoarded—for less opulent accommodations. Gustavo Salmerón’s feature debut is an idiosyncratic portrait of a charismatic mother and her singular approach to life, and at the same time a madcap allegory for the contemporary situation in Spain. Edited from over 400 hours of home video footage shot over 14 years, this charming film possesses warmth, humanity, and insight. In Spanish with English subtitles.

First feature

Reviews: Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screen Daily, POV, Cineuropa

Interviews: Karlovy Vary

Genres: Documentary

Appears in: 41st Portland International Film Festival, PIFF 41: Documentary Views

The Northwest Film Center recognizes and honors the Indigenous peoples of this region on whose ancestral lands the museum now stands. These include the Willamette Tumwater, Clackamas, Kathlemet, Molalla, Multnomah and Watlala Chinook Peoples and the Tualatin Kalapuya who today are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and many other Native communities who made their homes along the Columbia River. We also want to recognize that Portland today is a community of many diverse Native peoples who continue to live and work here. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, future—and are grateful for their ongoing and vibrant presence.