Catalan Films Head to Cannes
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Catalan titles will be in no short supply at this year’s Cannes Festival and Marché du Film. Below, a near dozen titles that hope to impress at this year’s event.
“Blue Sun Palace,” (Constance Tsang)
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Tsang’s debut feature, shot in New York, world premieres at this year’s Critics’ Week. Field Trip Media and Big Buddha Prods. produce this film about two migrants who work at a massage parlor in Queens. Co- produced by Catalonia’s Marta Cruañas (“Creature”).
Sales: Charades
“Daniela Forever,” (Nacho Vigalondo)
Vigalondo helms this English language romantic drama about loss and memory, reminiscent of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Producers include Mediacrest, Sayaka, XYZ Films, Wrong Men and Señor & Señora.
Sales: XYZ Films
“Misericordia,” (Alain Guiraudie)
French director Guiraudie, behind 2013 Queer Palm winner “Stranger by the Lake,” will bow his latest film in the Cannes Premiere section. This French-Catalan co-production received backing from the Catalan Minority Co-Production Fund.
Sales: Les Films du Losange
“My Friend Eva,” (Cesc Gay)
The latest from box office wiz Gay, “My Friend Eva” revolves around a 50-year-old woman who wants to fall in love one more time, and leaves behind her husband and two children to do so. Barcelona’s Imposible Films produces.
Sales: Filmax
“My Stalker,” (Xavier Rull)
Rull’s horror thriller, produced by Spanish companies Noctambule Cinema and Monster Box, is participating in this year’s Proof of Concept category of the Frontières co-production market for genre films. The film follows a young singer who is stalked by an astral telepath.
Sales: N/A
“Only on Earth,” (Robin Petré)
Catalonia’s Polar Star Films and Denmark’s Hansen & Pedersen produce this documentary about relentless wildfires that routinely sweep across northwestern Spain and Portugal. Film will feature in Cannes Docs — The Five Nordics Showcase.
Sales: N/A
“Rita,” (Paz Vega)
Vega stars in and makes her feature writing and directing debut with this story about a young girl who begins to question her father’s authority and how he rules their home. Áralan Films, Rita La Película A.I.E. and Oda Films produce.
Sales: Filmax
“Saturn Return,” (IsakI Lacuesta, Pol Rodríguez)
A big winner at March’s Malaga Festival, and a more mainstream move from double San Sebastian Golden Shell winner Lacuesta, this crowd-pleasing chronicle is inspired by Spanish indie rock band Los Planetas. From BTeam Prods, Ikiru, Aralan, La Terraza, Los Ilusos, Sideral Cinema, Toxicosmos and Capricci Production.
Sales: Latido Films
“They Will Be Dust,” (Carlos Marqués-Marcet)
Lastor Media (Catalonia), Alina Film (Switzerland) and Kino Produzioni (Italy) team on this fiction feature about an elderly couple preparing to end their lives together with help from a voluntary assisted dying organization in Switzerland. Headlined by Angela Molina and Pablo Larraín regular Alfredo Castro.
Sales: Latido Film
“Untitled,” (Oliver Laxe Film)
One of the most ambitious Catalan co-productions of the year, this film chronicles a father’s desperate search for his daughter through the Morocco desert, co-produced by El Deseo and Oriol Maymó’s Barcelona-based Uri Films; it is part of Movistar Plus+’s highly anticipated event auteur movie slate.
Sales: The Match Factory
“The Virgin of the Quarry Lake,” (Laura Casabé)
Based on the psychological thriller novel “The Dangers of Smoking in Bed,” this pic follows a girl who uses witchcraft to ensure the loyalty of her summer fling. A co-production between Mr. Miyagi Films, Ajimolido Films, Mostra Cine and Caponeto.
Sales: Filmax
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