Spain Cinema at TIFF: Fernando Trueba, Manuel Martin Cuenca and Achero Manas

Announced on Tuesday, the Toronto Int. Film Festival has padded another four Spanish produced or co-produced titles to their 2010 edition. In the Contemporary World Cinema section, we have the International Premiere for Achero Mañas’s Anything You Want aka Todo Lo Que Quieras. Mañas, a former actor, returns to fiction after directing the documentary “Blackwhite” in 2004, his latest film tells the story of how a lawyer (Juan Diego Botto from The Dancer Upstairs) undergoes an identity metamorphosis in order to please and secure the emotional stability of his daughter – this after the sudden death of her mother. In a recent interview for film magazine Fotogramas the director declared: “I talk about ambiguity. Of a change in the role of man that puts him in the most ambiguous and insecure place…” and “the change of the man in modern society, which I think is one of the most radical changes of the last years. And what I have done is to take that metaphor to the limit.” His third narrative film (Mañas directed El Bola and Noviembre) will be released domestically on the 10th of September 2010.

Receiving its North American premiere is Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando’s Chico & Rita a film that was co-produced with the U.K. The pic marks the return of Academy Award winning director Trueba to the familiar context in Calle 54. Here, Cuban music and culture make for another personal experiment – this one is in animation and counts on the collaboration of artist Javier Mariscal, who doubles duties as designer and co-director. The plot follows Chico, in 1948 Cuba, who is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desires unite them, but their journey – in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero – brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love. The 10 million Euro co-production is comprised of 125,000 illustrations and the music of Bebo Valdés.

In the pair that were included in the Discovery section, we have the Cuban/Spanish flavored Half of Oscar also known as, La Mitad De Óscar. This is Manuel Martin Cuenca’s third film after, la Flaqueza del Bolchevique and Malas Temporadas. An intimate thriller with touches of a Greek tragedy and the gritty Western, tells the tale about how Oscar and Maria are reunited by the imminent death of their grandfather. Maria has not been heard from in over two
years, and now arrives pregnant and with a boyfriend. Rodrigo Sáenz de Heredia (La Buena Nueva) and Verónica Echegui (Verbo) star in this co-production between Spain’s La Loma Blanca producciones and the Cuba’s ICAI (Cuban Film Institute).

Octubre, the Peruvian co-production between Spain and Venezuela that won the Jury Prize in the “Un Certain Regard” section at the Cannes Film Festival, is receiving it’s North American premiere in Toronto – hoping to drum up further sales. The directing debut by brothers Daniel and Diego Vega, this raw drama tells the story of money-lender Clemente who only knows how to relate to others through transactions. His life is turned upside down when someone leaves him a baby in a basket. When a client, Sofia, steps in to help tend to the baby, Clemente is faced with new possibilities during Lima’s October celebration of the Lord of Miracles. Bruno Odar and Gabriela Velásquez star.

The previously mentioned titles from Spain also include:

Alex De La Iglesia´s latest film shortened his title to be known now as Balada Triste (The Last Circus), the film that will be presented at TIFF after it competes also for the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Though the film looks like a possibly solid feature, my enthusiasm for the pic is fairly subdued mainly due to the rather cold and mixed reviews of his two last outings. Last Circus looks quite similar to his 1999 film Muertos de Risa, both are about the violent competition between two comedians set in the background of Spanish society in several decade span.

Guillem Morale’s Los Ojos de Julia will receive tons of pre-fest buzz thanks to the fact that this is a Guillermo Del Toro production. As we recently reported, the pic will be the opening film at the Sitges Film festival this year, and you can bet that it is already gathering lots of attention, especially from the genre related film festivals and the media that report on it.

Sundance sensation Buried by Rodrigo Cortés will have been one of the best breakout hits of the year, and will receive a TIFF showing (thanks to the theatrical release date tie-in and the presence of the Canadian actor who toplines the pic). After grabbing a U.S distribution deal with Lionsgate just hours after its Sundance premiere, the film will have about 8000 copies circulating worldwide, of which 4000 will be destined for the U.S only.

Te Doy mis Ojos director Icíar Bollaín’s Even the Rain “También La lluvia” will be presented in the Contemporary World Cinema section — it stars Luis Tosar (Celda 211) and an actor who needs no introduction in Gael García Bernal. This is a study on a Christopher Columbus figure and the native Latino-american population from a contemporary point of view.

José Luis Guerín who blew many cinephiles away with En la Ciudad de Sylvia, will present Guest – a documentary film about the filmmaker’s own experiences on the film festival circuit. This will also be showing in Venice, and the Zabaltegui-Specials section at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Finally, Lope from Brazilian director Andrucha Waddington, is a dramatic retelling of classic Spanish writer and poet Lope de Vega which also will be presented out of competition at Venice. Actually this could be really the surprise film coming this year out from Spain. In a box office and critical sense, period pieces usually aren’t the strong points in Spanish cinema, but being that the film is helmed by a foreign director and amongst the scribes we find names such as Jordi Gasull (El Viaje De Ariane) and Ignacio del Moral (Los Lunes Al Sol), this could pan out differently. It also helps when, a pair of top tier festivals selects the film — it almost assures a more than strong quality element. It’s already receiving strong promotional and marketing campaign here in Spain, almost more than a month before its release and actors Alberto Ammann and Luis Tosar, the starring couple that made last year´s “Celda 211” a box office hit, with also help this film along.