Edgy art cinema: cinephilia and genre negotiations in recent Spanish rural thrillers
ABSTRACT Considering three recent Spanish films that can be classified under the elastic label of rural thriller La noche de los girasoles/Night of the Sunflowers Angosto (Jorge Sanchez Cabezudo, 2006) El rey de la montana/The King of the Hill (Gonzalo Lopez Gallego, 2007) and The Backwoods/Bosque de sombras (Koldo Serra, 2007) this article examines the different strategies they have used to negotiate their 'intermediate status' between genre and European art film as a plausible model. By looking at their thematic and genre construction as well as the importance of cinephilia, this article intends to show how recent Spanish cinema is engaging a more pragmatic/commercial production model through a genre approach (thriller) that links European, transnational and Hollywood traditions. It considers which strategies are developed by each film to cross borders and enter the international market, and the significance of the festival circuit for the distribution and promotion of the three case study films is valued.