World Report: Spain (April 2009)

Spain: Local Film Scene

The month of April brings us one of the more important events for Spanish cinema. From the 17th to the 25th, the best in local cinema will be presented at the Málaga Film Festival. Although being quite a young competition (this is just the fest’s 5th edition), the Málaga Festival has positioned itself as a great platform for burgeoning new filmmakers.

La Vergüenza (Shyness) from David Planell and produced by Avalon, is the Festival’s opening film. Planell’s debut in the full-length feature that comes with high expectations – some of the experts have already compared him to Daniel Sánchez Arévalo and his movie Azuloscurocasinegro (Darkbluealmostblack). In La Vergüenza, Pepe (Alberto San Juan) and Lucía (Natalia Mateo) explore the complexities of being a couple. One year after adopting their son Manu, both are exhausted and want to give the kid back. Nevertheless, they soon realize the heavy toll and the price they will have to pay if they want to continue with their plan.

Many comedies have been included in the festival’s competition , such as 7 minutos (7 minutes), a film written and directed by Daniela Fejerman who gave us hits with A mi madre le gustan las mujeres (My mother likes women) and Semen, una historia de amor (Semen, a love story). Other interesting first works competing are Pagafantas, by Borja Cobeaga, and Fuga de cerebros (Flee of brains), a crazy story about a group of young students who visit Oxford University. Finally, another highlight in the Official Selection is Lucía Puenzo’s El niño pez (The Fish Child), a complicated fairy tale in which nothing is what it seems to be.

The Zonazine section will include more unconventional projects, such as the behind the camera debut of the actress Antonia San Juan with a dramatic comedy of intersecting lives, Tú eliges (You choose). Territorio Latinoamericano is the section which will embrace international fair from overseas. Juan Taratuto will release his new film, Un novio para mi mujer (A boyfriend for my wife). Short films will compete as well with very well-known names, such as Eduardo Chapero-Jackson and Mateo Gil.

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Barcelona was recently host to the Mecal Film Festival for Short Films. Between the 27th of March and running all the way to the 5th of April, hundreds of world shorts were programmed in the competitive festival. For the first time in its 10 year history, the festival was free from support of public institutions, and some of the drawbacks included some organizational problems, wrong reels and occasional problems in the projection booth.

The scant 15% of national representation among the selected short films reflects that the jury has not been very satisfied with the Spanish production this year. Nevertheless, Mecal is gratified of having achieved the participation of 30 different countries in its 10th edition.

The Norwegian piece Cairn, by Hanne Larsen, won on the International Section, awarded with 1.500 euros. In the Obliqua category, which includes riskier proposals, the Australian Chainsaw, by Dennis Tupicoff, convinced the jury with its animation story of a passionate adultery.
The Spanish awards went to Mama, by Andrés Muschietti, and Porque hay cosas que nunca se olvidan (Because there are things which cannot be forgotten), by Lucas Figueroa.

Spain: International Film Scene

The huge project in which the Spanish production company Tornasol Films took part in, is moments away from receiving a world release. A lock for Cannes, Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro, has receives a June 11th release. The film, partly filmed in Spain (Alicante), borrows two of the more well-known actresses in the country with Maribel Verdú and Carmen Maura.

And to finish off the monthly recap: when is the international production Manolete going to be released? The biopic of the great Spanish bull fighter should have reached the screens in August 2007, but it has still hasn’t found a release date. The movie, in which Adrien Brody and Penélope Cruz were paired for the leading roles, cost 20 million and “will be released in 2009”, according to Zenit Comunicación. Multiple territories have yet to get it into theaters, including the U.S.