SalvatorMallo is a famous film director with a long, successful career to his name. But now, his world has begun to collapse. Consumed by emptiness, he can pursue his art no longer. To proceed with his life’s work, he must find a reason to create something new; he must unearth the root cause of his burnout.

Mallo retreats into his memories, reminiscing on his childhood in the 1960s, when his family emigrated to Valencia. He attempts to relive his burning passion for his first love, who he met in Madrid, as well as the pain caused by their separation –a time when he felt intoxicated by life. Writing became both his escape and his liberation. The magic of cinema brought him both fame and redemption for his life’s failures. Pain and Glory looks at the tortuous process of separating one’s work from one’s life and from the passions that lend life meaning and hope. The film is the latest opus from the pen of cult Spanish director/screenwriter Pedro Almodóvar, starring his favourite, tried-and-true onscreen collaborators: Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz.