Bitter Christmas


Synopsis

Bitter Christmas tells two alternating stories, one starring Elsa, an advertising director, in 2004, during a long weekend in December. The second takes place in 2026 and stars Raúl, a screenwriter and director who is writing a script that we soon discover is the story of Elsa, her boyfriend Bonifacio, and her friends Patricia and Natalia. Mixed with fiction, Elsa is, in a way, Raúl's alter ego, who, like him, resorts to autofiction as a solution to a long period of creative drought. He looks inside himself, and he can't help but also look at the people who make up his most intimate universe: his partner and his assistant. The film narrates the close relationship between reality and fiction, between inspiration and life, exploring the limits of autofiction and stories within stories.

Theatrical Release Date

Original Languages: Spanish

Running Time: 111
Year: 2026
Status: Completed

CREDITS

CAST
Bárbara Lennie
Leonardo Sbaraglia
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Victoria Luengo
DIRECTED BY
Pedro Almodóvar

TRAILER


PHOTOS

BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
LEONARDO SBARAGLIA as Raúl in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
PATRICK CRIADO as Bonifacio in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
PATRICK CRIADO as Bonifacio, BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Pedro Almodóvar on the set of BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
LEONARDO SBARAGLIA as Raúl, QUIM GUTIÉRREZ as Santi in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Pedro Almodóvar and Leonardo Sbaraglia on the set of BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Pedro Almodóvar and crew on the set of BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
LEONARDO SBARAGLIA as Raúl, QUIM GUTIÉRREZ as Santi in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa, VICTORIA LUENGO as Patricia in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
AITANA SÁNCHEZ-GIJÓN as Mónica, LEONARDO SBARAGLIA as Raúl in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa, MILENA SMIT as Natalia in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
LEONARDO SBARAGLIA as Raúl in ITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
VICTORIA LUENGO as Patricia, BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa, VICTORIA LUENGO as Patricia in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
AITANA SÁNCHEZ-GIJÓN as Mónica in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Photo by Iglesias Más, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
MILENA SMIT as Natalia, BÁRBARA LENNIE as Elsa in BITTER CHRISTMAS, Photo Copyright El Deseo. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics