Romería, the third feature from Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón, has landed North American distribution via Janus Films.
Janus will release the film theatrically in North America in 2026. The film will receive its North American premiere at the upcoming New York Film Festival.
The film follows 18-year-old Marina, orphaned at a young age, as she visits Spain’s Atlantic coast to meet her paternal grandparents for the first time. As she tries to find her place in an extended family she has never known, Marina pieces together memories of her parents with the stories told by relatives who have their own secrets to protect.
A Spanish-German co-production, the film is produced by María Zamora at Elastica Films with Olimpia Pont-Cháfer at Ventall Cinema and Àngels Masclans at DosSoles Media. Veteran DoP Hélène Louvart (La Chimera) shot the film. The discount was negotiated by Janus Films and mk2 Films.
“Romería is a journey back to our origins through memory, and I hope U.S. audiences will make it their own,” Simón said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to premiere the film at NYFF and to share it through Janus Films, whose catalogue of visionary filmmakers across time has been a profound source of inspiration on my path as a filmmaker.”
Romería debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. This past weekend, the film screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and it will play the London Film Festival after New York. The film is currently on a wide theatrical release in Spain via Elastica Films.
In Deadline’s analysis out of Cannes, Stephanie Bunbury described the film as a “highly personal journey of self-discovery.” Bunbury was specifically effusive about lead actress Llúcia Garcia. The film is Garcia’s first role.
“Garcia is a remarkable discovery. Her Marina has a face as mobile as the sea she discovers she loves; one moment childish, the next melancholy with knowing. Like the sea, she is endlessly watchable,” Bunbury wrote.
This year, Janus also acquired Lav Diaz’s Magellan, Hlynur Pálmason’s up-to-date The Love That Remains, and Two Presecutors by Sergei Loznitsa.
NYFF runs from Sep 26 – Oct 13.
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