I remember seeing my first Pedro Almodóvar film and being transformed. Not by dramatism or genius photography, but by the keen insight he had into his culture and the wit and care with which he presented the characters — mostly women — in his works.

Pedro’s urban stories of impossible coincidences, shattered relationships and absurd predicaments made me fall in love not only with him but with the films’ backdrop: Spain. How many Americans’ first look into Spain was through the eyes of Almodóvar? For many, he was the first modern director of international acclaim to present Spain in a light we as Americans had never seen it before: modern, avant-garde, intellectual, urban, liberated.

Some people I knew had never seen a foreign film before seeing an Almodóvar movie. Others began to travel to Spain compelled in part by their love for the Madrid (real or imagined) that Almodóvar created in his films. I’m not sure what he’s done concretely for American tourism to Spain, but I can say that he’s a lot done as an ambassador (and critic) of his country abroad.

It seems now that Almodóvar has come full circle. From the no-budget days of Pepi, Lucy y Bom to wins at Cannes, to a new retrospective that’s touring the U.S. with completely remastered copies of some of his greatest films. It’s called Viva Pedro and it’s coming to a town near you:

Sony Pictures Classics presents VIVA PEDRO, the theatrical re-release of eight of celebrated auteur Pedro Almodóvar’s greatest films.

VIVA PEDRO will open in New York and Los Angeles in August and expand throughout the United States this Fall. The theatrical re-release will introduce new audiences to Almodóvar and at the same time present the films to his many fans in the manner which they are meant to be seen and appreciated.

Among the films in the Viva Pedro series are the classic Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and the Oscar-winning All About my Mother, as well as lesser-know early Almodóvar works such as Matador and La Ley del Deseo. The series will tour major cities such as Chicago, Boston and Miami, as well as smaller cities across the country, such as Norfolk and Indianapolis.

Visit the Viva Pedro website for full details on dates and cities.

You can also check out a trailer for the series (Quicktime).

Via / VivaPedro.com