22.04. ‐ 27.04.2025
the sacred spirit

The Sacred Spirit (Espiritu Sagrado)

Chema García Ibarra

In the Spanish city of Elche, a little girl vanishes without a trace. Her mother, Charo, does everything she can to find her daughter. She seeks help both from the local news station as well as from her mother, who is suffering from dementia and is known as a spiritual medium in the neighbourhood. At the same time, her brother José Manuel continues to study supernatural phenomena. When the leader of his ufology group dies, José Manuel starts carrying out the leader’s master plan himself, believing that this plan will change the destiny of humanity. In a cheerful tone and colourful images, The Sacred Spirit tells a story about superstitions and the darkest depths of humanity. The tragicomical reckoning with esotericism and conspiracy theories has already won several awards at various festivals, for example in Locarno and Sevilla.

More information Lichter FilmfestLichter Filmfest

Direction Chema García Ibarra
Country Spain
Year 2021
Duration 97 min
Language Original with English Subtitles
Production Miguel Molina, Leire Apellaniz, Marina Perales, Xavier Rocher, Enes Erbay, Adán Aliaga
Cast Nacho Fernández, Llum Arques, Joanna Valverde, Rocío Ibáñez
Camera Ion de Sosa
Script Chema García Ibarra
Editing Ana Pfaff
Sound Roberto Fernández


Locarno 2021 - Winner Golden Leopard

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About the director

Chema García Ibarra was born in 1980 in Elche, Spain. His short films (The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5, Mystery and The Disco Shines, among others) have already earned him a lot of international attention and awards, for example at the Sundance Festival and the Berlinale. The Sacred Spirit is his first feature-length film. The tragicomedy was shot exclusively in Ibarra’s hometown and with local amateur actors.



Hessian premiere

International Feature Film Program

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