Cinema Paraíso

IT’s tired of being single, so we’re officially entering the dating scene. When we took you out for dinner last week it was more of a "hesidate," but this week IT’s serious: We’re taking you to the movies.

The fall round of film festivals officially kicked off last weekend in Telluride, and continues apace in Venice and Toronto, with Vancouver and New York

in hot pursuit. But you know that already. And we know you know that.

What we’re banking on is that you might not be so up-to-date on the season’s crop of film festivals in Spain.

You ought to be, though, because there are oodles; 16 to be exact. From now until December 2nd, there is an almost constant stream of cinematic celebrations throughout the Iberian kingdom. There are festivals focused on emigration, horror and fantasy, erotica, gay and lesbian film, documentaries, Europe, shorts, Latin America, and alternative cinema, as well as major retrospectives on David Lynch and Luchino Visconti. If you’re a film buff with the travel bug, Spain is clearly the place to be.

Caveat: IT won’t be paying for your tickets. It’s too early in our relationship for that.