LAW OF DESIRE (LA LEY DEL DESEO) Galas Guest Artistic Director

A conversation with Pedro Almodovar and Variety’s John Hopewell will precede the screening AFI FEST is honored, to present this 25th anniversary screening of LAW OF DESIRE, a landmark chapter in Pedro Almodovar’s storied career Looking back across the decades, Almodovar says of the film, I don’t think I’d change a single shot, and not because it’s perfect but because I recognize myself in all d them: DESIRES themes reverberate through his later work: obsessive love, frank sexuality, gender disorientation and the all-consuming force of passion . Eusebio Poncela stars as Pablo a filmmaker entangled in a dangerous love triangle, but it is Antonio Banderas and Carmen Maura burn up the screen. Banderas plays Antonio, an obsessed “fan” who falls hard for Pablo. Maura steals every scene as Pablo s sister Tina, a transsexual actress raising a young daughter The outrageous plat twists may suggest a telenovela on acrd, but Almodovar infuses every frame with so much love far his characters that genuine emotion shines through.