Chico & Rita

Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, Tono Errando / Spain, United Kingdom / 2012 / 94 min

  • Academy Award® Nominee 2012

    Best Animation Movie

  • Goya Award®

    Best Animated Feature

  • European Film Awards

    Best Animated Feature 2012

  • Annie Awards Nominee 2012

    Best Film

  • Toronto International Film Festival

    Official Selection

  • Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film

    Any Movie Category Price

  • Anima Festival at Brussels

    Best Feature Length Film
Related Films
Un TraductorUn Traductor(Un Traductor)Rodrigo Barriuso, Sebastián BarriusoACADEMY AWARD® CUBA’S SUBMISSION FOR BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Based on the little-known true story of how twenty thousand Chernobyl victims ...Ruben Blades is not my NameRuben Blades is not my Name(Yo no me llamo Ruben Blades)Abner BenaimACADEMY AWARD® PANAMA’S SUBMISSION FOR BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM. Latin American icon Ruben Blades, whose “thinking man’s ...Everybody KnowsEverybody Knows(Todos lo saben)Asghar FarhadiPenélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and Ricardo Darín star in the new psychological thriller from Academy Award®-winning  director Asghar Farhadi (A ...The TerritoriesThe Territories(Los Territorios)Iván GranovskyThe desire to bear witness to the world’s great tragedies is addressed playfully by Iván Granovsky in humorous The Territories. It’s a miracle ...The Queen of SpainThe Queen of Spain(La Reina de España)Fernando TruebaOscar®-winning director Fernando Trueba, brings together an all-star cast for a lavish homage to 1950s Spanish cinema. A spirited film-within-a-film, ...The CandidateThe Candidate(El Candidato)Daniel HendlerIn this wry and timely political comedy of manners, Martín Marchand, the son of a wealthy businessman, retreats to his lavish, secluded family estate ...On The RoofOn The Roof(El Techo)Patricia RamosIn this feel-good ensemble dramedy, a flat rooftop in an old Havana neighborhood is the natural habitat for three friends who spend their days and nights ...TempestTempest(TEMPESTAD)Tatiana HuezoStudy Guide available. A poignant doc by celebrated filmmaker Tatiana Huezo, Tempest narrates the parallel journey of two women. Mirror-like, it reflects ...Delicate BalanceDelicate Balance(Frágil equilibrio)Guillermo García LópezCentered around an extensive interview with Jose “Pepe” Mujica, the former President of Uruguay who gained notoriety on the world stage as a rare ...Red GringoRed Gringo(Gringo Rojo)Miguel Angel Vidaurre Reminiscent of Searching for Sugarman, director Miguel Ángel Vidaurre’s self-described “pop memory exercise” follows North American ...The Future PerfectThe Future Perfect(El futuro perfecto)Nele Wohlatz Awarded Best First Feature at the Locarno International Film Festival, German-Argentinian newcomer Nele Wolatz’s The Future Perfect explores fractured ...NerudaNeruda(Neruda)Pablo LarraínStudy Guide Available. CHILE’S OFFICIAL ENTRY TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS® Gael García Bernal joins award winning Chilean director, Pablo Larraín, in ...7 Weeks7 Weeks(7 Semanas)Constanza FigariCamila is a young dance student. She has a committed boyfriend and supporting family, but when she discovers she is pregnant, all that love and ...The CompanionThe Companion(El Acompañante)Pavel GiroudStudy Guide Available. CUBA’S OFFICIAL ENTRY TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS® Set in 1988 Cuba as the government dispatched HIV patients to AIDS centers ...A Moonless NightA Moonless Night(Una noche sin luna)Germán TejeiraURUGUAY’S OFFICIAL ENTRY TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS® – BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Up-and-coming Uruguayan director Germán Tejeira creates a ...
Spanish Film Club
Order your 5 film program now!Add to Cart
Related Subjects
Promo Materials

Spanish and English with English subtitles

Oscar®-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque, Calle 54) and Spain’s legendary illustrator Javier Mariscal celebrate their passion for the music and culture of Cuba with an epic story of love, passion, and heartbreak.

Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and desire unite them as they chase their dreams and each other from Havana to New York to Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas. With an original soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist and five-time Grammy®-winning composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita captures a defining moment in the evolution of history and jazz, and features the music of (and animated cameos by) Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, and others.

About the Director
Fernando Trueba is a multi-award-winning writer, director and producer. The Age Of Beauty (Belle Epoque), starring Penelope Cruz, won both the Oscar® and BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film. Trueba’s last film The Dancer And The Thief (El baile de la victoria) was Spain’s submission to the 2010 Academy® Awards, and received 10 Goya® Academy Award nominations.

It was with Trueba’s Latin jazz documentary Calle 54 that he began his collaboration and friendship with Javier Mariscal. Mariscal is an artist and designer based in Barcelona. His design, Cobi, was chosen as the official mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He wrote and directed the animated television series The Cobi Troup and co-directed Chico & Rita. Mariscal’s brother Tono Errando worked as a director of commercials and music videos before directing the popular animated television series Twipsy.

Press

“A Love-Story for the Ages! By turns wistful, passionate, indignant and melancholy, this is an exquisitely composed piece of storytelling.” – THE INDEPENDENT

“Four Stars! Hispanic Art Deco Meets The Triplets of Belleville. The music is a splurge of euphony, featuring classics from Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.” – FINANCIAL TIMES

“Sexy, Sunny and Sweet-Natured! A Wonderfully Passionate Film!” – THE GUARDIAN

“Swaying, snake-hipped Latin music from Bebo Valdés, Tito Puente and others reinforces the languid, sensual mood! Four Stars! Magnificent! Delicious! Ravishing!” – THE TELEGRAPH

“Exuberant! Breathtakingly Beautiful! A visually hypnotic, musically electric film! It’s a pleasure to surrender to the movie’s lush visuals!” – THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Beautiful! A Swaying, Sexy, Dream of a Movie!... The year’s best musical and one of the year’s finest animated films!... Utterly delightful! An affecting, funny, historically accurate and at times pleasingly erotic story of the on-again, off-again love affair between Chico, a Cuban jazz pianist and composer, and the feisty Cuban chanteuse Rita.” – THE OBSERVER

Notes on Film

Six years ago Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba had the dream of working together on an animated film. Latin jazz was the seed of their friendship and that path led to Chico & Rita, Cuba, the music of Bebo Valdés and a passionate love story. Chico & Rita is a dashing bolero rhythm, with a beautiful and sexy singer, Rita, and a talented pianist, Chico, meeting in Havana and New York in the forties and fifties, a soundtrack and a vibrant dazzling succession of images.