QUEEN LETIZIA AND ALEJANDRO AMENÁBAR: THE ENCOUNTER BOOSTING SPANISH CULTURE FROM NAVARRE

Queen Letizia led a cultural day in Navarre marked by a tribute to Spanish cinema. The event brought together students, authorities and industry figures around the work of Alejandro Amenábar.

Queen Letizia attended on Tuesday in Tudela the tribute dedicated to filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar as part of the Ópera Prima Film Festival, in a day defined by the monarch’s closeness to the organizers, the audience and the director himself. The event coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Oscar won by The Sea Inside, the most awarded film in Amenábar’s career.

Letizia arrived at the Moncayo Cinema shortly after 11:43 a.m., where she was greeted with applause and chants of “Long live the Queen” from residents who braved the low temperatures. She greeted Navarrese authorities, including regional president María Chivite, Minister of Inclusion Elma Saiz, Government Delegate Alicia Echeverría and Mayor Alejandro Toquero. She also embraced, breaking protocol, the festival director Luis Alegre  a gesture reflecting their long-standing trust.

The tribute took place within the “Nuestros Clásicos” (“Our Classics”) cycle, organized by EPEL Tudela-Cultura and the Muskaria film club, with the participation of local high school students. The Queen held brief meetings with students from several schools before attending the morning screening of The Sea Inside, which won 14 Goya Awards, a Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Amenábar took the stage to ovations and said that his film aims “to be a balm to keep going” in a context where death, “understood as part of life’s process”, is still associated with sadness. He noted that when he wrote the film, “I hadn’t yet stumbled upon death”, but reminded the students that experiences of loss are inevitable.

The festival director highlighted the Queen’s commitment to the initiative and what he described as her “unbridled cinephilia”, thanking her for making room in her schedule to support an event that has become a local tradition. Actors such as Ana Torrent, Eduardo Noriega and Fele Martínez, all linked to Amenábar’s work, also took part in the gathering.

A regular at film festivals, the Queen attended in an informal outfit consisting of a checked blazer in shades of turquoise, white and violet, white trousers and beige suede ankle boots. Upon leaving, she received a sourdough ring as a gift from a local baker, in a morning marked by warm exchanges and her ongoing support for Spanish cinema.