Cannes Welcomes Málaga’s Five Andalusian Works In Progress

Spain’s Festival de Málaga, via its business arm Mafiz (Málaga Festival Industry Zone), heads to the Cannes Marché du Film with 5 works-in-progress from burgeoning Andalusian expertise.

“The Malaga Festival wants to support the completion of these works and make their international distribution viable,” commented Malaga head of business, Annabelle Aramburu.

This yr, as Cannes extra broadly celebrates Spain, the occasion curates two titles that deal with its tumultuous historical past and one which takes audiences on an unconventional street journey questioning the organic clock alongside narratives that dissect the trivialities of latest types of co-existing and the baffling idea of future.

The second version of Málaga Goes to Cannes takes place on Monday May 22.

“Alone In The Night,” (Guillermo Rojas)

A wry tackle the eve of Feb. 23, 1981 when an tried coup in Spain threatened its younger democracy, profoundly altering the lives of the protagonists, an ensemble solid that features Pablo Gómez-Pando (“Los Inocentes”), Andrea Carballo and Beatriz Arjona of “Cable Girls,” Félix Gómez (“Heirs”) and Jacinto Bobo (“Una Vez Mas”).

Written and directed by Rojas and produced by Rojas alongside Laura Hojman at Summer Films (“Callejeras”) and prime Andalusian producer Olmo Figueredo (“The Endless Trench”) the challenge took half in Spain’s 2020 Europa Creativa Media Desk Sevilla and Promercat Valencia in 2022.

“February 23, 1981 was a tough and uncertain moment for an entire country, a day for the history books. Unforgettable and unique. But, above all, a difficult night for love,” Rojas instructed Variety. “That day, like other famous historical dates such as 9/11, the day Kennedy was assassinated, the arrival of man on the Moon or when Spain won the World Cup, is memorable for all those who lived through it.’”

“Animal/Human,” (Alessandro Pugno)

Pugno’s characteristic follows the lifetime of a boy dwelling within the plains of Pada who goals of changing into a bullfighter whereas tying within the trajectory of a calf raised in Andalusian prairies, destined to develop into a preventing bull. Their lives gently play out, urging them in the direction of predetermined futures.

The challenge picked up finest screenplay on the 2015 Solinas Awards, took half in Márgenes Lab and was chosen for each Cologne and Malaga screenings. In 2020, ICAA named it one of many ten most promising initiatives in growth.

Written by Pugno and Natacha Kucic, the characteristic’s produced by Jose Alba at Pecado Films (“A La Cara”), a prime Andalusian product outfit,  and stars Guillermo Bedward (“The Outlaws”) and Antonio Dechent (“Intacto”) with an look by Brontis Jodorowsky (“Endless Poetry”).

“Animal/Human is my first fiction film. In it, I ponder what human means, what animal means, and if we’re really so different,” acknowledged Pugno. “In the footage, a game of mirrors, echoes and references is created between two characters: Matteo, the boy, and Fandango, the bull. They both grow up in very different worlds, but their lives are a mirror. And as in an ancient Greek tragedy, at the end of this story, they’re destined to play the role assigned to them by fate.”

“Caleta Palace,” (José Antonio Hergueta) 

The movie units its sights on the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War, recreating narratives from the testimonies of onlookers who documented the unrest from their lodge, the movie’s namesake, which was a gathering level for worldwide correspondents, writers and spies. Eight actors come collectively to interpret the tales in a challenge that mimics documentary and vividly captures Málaga’s fall.

“Málaga was cosmopolitan and attracted the gaze of foreigners, writers and journalists so fascinated and ‘touched’ by what they saw that they quickly documented it, leaving us with an unprecedented look at what a civil conflict is: Pain and a subtlety surrounding the confrontation between humans,” Hergueta instructed Variety.

The challenge participated in Sources 2, the previous European script growth program, and was produced by Hergueta’s MLK Producciones (“Mar De Plastico”) with the participation of public broadcasters Canal Sur and TVE. Written by Hergueta and Regina Alvarez, the movie stars Pedro Casablanc (“B”) and Feroz award-winners Miguel Rellán (“Spanish Shame”) and Nadia De Santiago (“The Time It Takes”).

On The Go, (María Gisèle Royo, Julia de Castro)

Royo and de Castro current their movie “On The Go,” a fantastical street film that follows Milagros, 37, as she rethinks motherhood. Joined by her pal Jonathan, who’s nursing a Grindr habit, the 2 take off on a cerebral, music-filled journey.

“Our opposite and complementary personalities emerged in a creative methodology based on deep dialogue,” the administrators remarked. “The process sought to connect the seed, an Andalusian underground film from 1982, with the biological reality that we face, the end of the fertile years. Confronted with our maternal instincts, we decided to make a movie instead of having children. This seemingly free choice hides structural impossibilities for our generation. Our early 21st century freedom is an illusion.”

Produced by Jur & Jur (“Fachadas”), the movie stars De Castro, “Elite” star Omar Ayuso, Chacha Huang of “Money Heist” and Sitges Nosferatu award-winner Manuel de Blas and was included within the Sevilla Festival de Cine 2021 Pitching Session Industria for European Co-Productions and Ventana Sur’s 2022 Spanish Screening’s Program.

“Those Were the Days,” (Barnabé Bulnes)

The directorial debut characteristic for producer Bulnes at Rakia Films, “Those Were The Days” follows actress Alma as she reconnects with an previous flame after he gives her an audition. The two stumble via 5 intense days the place they arrive to query the intricacies of human relation.

Produced by Rakia’s Enrique Guzmán, the movie stars Adela Castaño, Gregor Acuña-Pohl (“El Mundo Es Suyo”) and Silvia Acosta (“Una Vez Mas”).

“‘The project arose from the need to make a film that dialogues with my generation, a generation marked by frustrated expectations and constant uncertainties, but which, as in the case of the protagonist, has found new ways of existing in the world, demonstrating that giving up doesn’t have to mean failure,” Bulnes associated.