‘The Luminous View,’ ‘Armugan,’ ‘Girlfriends’ Headline EFM Catalan Showcase
Carolina Astudillo’s “Song to a Lady in the Shadow,” Fabrizio Ferraro’s “The Luminous View,” Jo Sol’s “Armugan,” and Miguel Angel Blanca’s “Magaluf Ghost Town” feature among a 31-title lineup hosted by promotion board Catalan Films at an European Film Market virtual screening room.
Produced by Cornelius Films, “Song” marks the third feature outing of director Carolina Astudillo. A doc-fiction hybrid, it turns on a family whose father is exiled in France after fighting for the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War. Echoing Homer’s Penelope, his wife stays behind with their children in a Catalan village suffering hunger, deprivation, economic crisis and unemployment.
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Another awaited documentary, “Magaluf,” is produced by Boogaloo Films (Alberto Dexeus, Ànnia Gabarró’s “Les Perseides”) in co-production with Paris’ Little Big Story and Mallorca’s Mosaic. Director Blanca depicts the consequences of unbridled tourism in a popular destination in the Balearic Islands, with a touch of comedy.
Selected at this year’s Forum showcase, “The Luminous View” is directed by Fabrizio Ferraro (“Les unwanted de Europa”) and co-produced by Italy’s Boudu/Passeportout and Luis Miñarro’s Eddie Saeta. It follows Mr. Emmer, a long-lost director re-discovered by a producer’s assistant, Catarina. Both depart to Tübingen on a preparatory journey for an all but abandoned film project about the poet Friedrich Hӧlderlin.
Miñarro also presents Ainhoa Rodríguez’ “Destello Bravío,” seen at Rotterdam as a revelation of recent Spanish cinema.
Twelve features of the pack have not yet world premiered.
“We’re really proud of this ‘spoiler-y’ selection in the form of world and market premieres,” Mar Medir at Catalan Films said adding: “We believe this is an overall picture of the upcoming Catalan production— obvious in our large section of WIPs. We have found a balance between mainstream proposals and others closer to experimental, observational fields, in fiction and documentary as well.”
Premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film fest “Armugan” is the new outing of San Sebastian’s 2005 best new director Jo Sol (“Living and Other Fictions”). Set in the Pyrenees, it tells the story of the last rural “finisher,” one who helps and accompanies the dying.
Other features included are dramedy “Girlfriends” by Carol Rodríguez, Luis Danés’ historic thriller “The Vampiress of Barcelona,” Igor Legarreta’s fantasy “All the Moons,” and Cesc Gay’s new comedy “The People Upstairs,” all sold by Filmax; Anna M. Bofarull’s “Sinjar,” the first Catalan film to tackle the subject of Islamic extremism, doing so from a feminine approach; and Raúl Portero’s debut “The Pop Song,” a co-pro with Erase una vez Films which covers a road trip to Barcelona to attend a friend’s funeral.
Some of the titles sold by Film Factory this year include Pilar Palomero’s coming-of-age drama “Schoolgirl,” and David Ilundain’s drama “One for All”.
Other standouts are Aurel’s European Film Awards best animated feature “Josep,” sold by The Party Film Sales, which also handles international rights of Javier Polo’s “The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo.”
CATALAN FILM MARKET SCREENINGS – EFM 2021
“All the Moons,” Igor Legarreta
“Amateur,” Martín Gutiérrez
“Armugan,” Jo Sol
“Baby,” Juanma Bajo Ulloa
“Breathe,” Susanna Barranco Iglesias
“Cane Malice,” Juan Alfonso Zapata
“C’est toi,” Roser Texidó, Jaume Fargas
“Closure,” Tuixén Benet
“Courage,” Rubén Rojo Aura
“Cross the Line,” David Victori
“Desletargia,” Pep Salvador
“Four Verses of Self Pleasure,” Heleni Smuha , Clara Ràfols Pérez
“Girlfriends,” Carol Rodríguez
“Josep,” Aurel
“Lucía,” Juan Pato
“Magaluf Ghost Town,” Miguel Angel Blanca
“Men’s cooking,” Silvia Subirós
“Mighty Flash,” Ainhoa Rodríguez
“Never Look Back,” Lupe Pérez García
“One for All,” David Ilundain
“Schoolgirls,” Pilar Palomero
“Sediments,” Adrián Silvestre
“Sinjar,” Anna Maria Boffarull
“Song to a Lady in the Shadow,” Carolina Astudillo
“The Barcelona Vampiress,” Lluís Danés
“The Luminous View,” Fabrizio Ferraro
“The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo,” Javier Polo
“The People Upstairs,” Cesc Gay
“The Piano Man,” Chauncey Alan
“The Pop Song,” Raúl Portero
“There’s still Someone in the Woods,” Erol Ileri, Teresa Turiera-Puigbò
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