RATING: M

DUR: 1:54

DIRECTOR: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat

STARRING: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez, José Luis Gómez

Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) and Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers) unite with Oscar Martínez (The Distinguished Citizen) in this bitingly funny behind-the-scenes satire of filmmaking from Argentine writer-directors Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat.

Finding his legacy lacking in prestige, an octogenarian tycoon (José Luis Gómez) impulsively decides to finance a great work of cinema. Demanding the best of the best, he purchases the rights to a Nobel Prize–winning novel about sibling rivalry and renowned filmmaker Lola Cuevas (Cruz) is recruited to mastermind this ambitious endeavour.

A visionary with a penchant for offscreen theatrics, Lola casts as her embattled co-leads a pair of actors with massive talent but even bigger egos: Hollywood heart throb Félix Rivero (Banderas) and radical theatre actor Iván Torres (Martínez). Both are legends, but not exactly best friends. Through a series of increasingly eccentric trials set by Lola, Félix and Iván must confront not only each other, but also their own legacies.

Awash in egomania and deliciously absurd hijinks, Official Competition is a playful yet sharp comedy skewering wealth, art, and pride.