Una comedia gamberra dirigida por Fer García-Ruiz. © Filmax
Se ha publicado el tráiler oficial de “Mala Persona”, una nueva comedia española, dirigida por Fer García-Ruiz (“Descarrilados”).
“Mala Persona” sigue a Pepe (Valls), querido por todos sin excepción. Es el ángel del barrio. Ese ser humano al que te llevarías a casa. Pero un día recibe la terrible noticia, esa que nadie quiere recibir: le quedan pocos meses de vida. Pepe, “fenomenalmente” aconsejado por su mejor amigo, decide pasarse al lado oscuro de la conducta humana. Una historia gamberra que narra cómo Pepe decide convertirse en un ser deleznable para que su familia y amigos no lo echen de menos cuando ya no esté.
La comedia está protagonizada por Arturo Valls, Malena Alterio (“Que Nadie Duerma”), Julián Villagrán (“Operación Camarón”) y cuenta también con la colaboración especial de José Corbacho. Completan el reparto Víctor Benjumea (“El Ministerio del Tiempo”), Teresa Lozano...
Se ha publicado el tráiler oficial de “Mala Persona”, una nueva comedia española, dirigida por Fer García-Ruiz (“Descarrilados”).
“Mala Persona” sigue a Pepe (Valls), querido por todos sin excepción. Es el ángel del barrio. Ese ser humano al que te llevarías a casa. Pero un día recibe la terrible noticia, esa que nadie quiere recibir: le quedan pocos meses de vida. Pepe, “fenomenalmente” aconsejado por su mejor amigo, decide pasarse al lado oscuro de la conducta humana. Una historia gamberra que narra cómo Pepe decide convertirse en un ser deleznable para que su familia y amigos no lo echen de menos cuando ya no esté.
La comedia está protagonizada por Arturo Valls, Malena Alterio (“Que Nadie Duerma”), Julián Villagrán (“Operación Camarón”) y cuenta también con la colaboración especial de José Corbacho. Completan el reparto Víctor Benjumea (“El Ministerio del Tiempo”), Teresa Lozano...
- 5/24/2024
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
That sweet and innocent-looking friendly neighborhood Spider-Man guy from Marvel, who rampaged about spilling spoilers during interviews out of excitement, seems to be gone now. Looking at Tom Holland in the latest look for his Romeo & Juliet play seems a lot different than his usual happy-go-lucky ones. In fact, he feels completely different after witnessing him with his on-stage love interest for the play, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers.
Tom Holland in a still from The Devil All The Time.
However, fans aren’t clamoring in support of this duo, especially for their pairing up for the stage as the iconic couple from Shakespeare’s lore. This comes after the first look images of Holland and Amewudah-Rivers as their respective characters were released, which, unarguably, have been garnering quite a bit of sarcastic and terribly negative reviews and backlash from fans.
Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers’ First Look as Romeo and Juliet...
Tom Holland in a still from The Devil All The Time.
However, fans aren’t clamoring in support of this duo, especially for their pairing up for the stage as the iconic couple from Shakespeare’s lore. This comes after the first look images of Holland and Amewudah-Rivers as their respective characters were released, which, unarguably, have been garnering quite a bit of sarcastic and terribly negative reviews and backlash from fans.
Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers’ First Look as Romeo and Juliet...
- 5/16/2024
- by Mahin Sultan
- FandomWire
Alice Munro, the Nobel and prize-winning Canadian author of short story collections and novels including “Lives of Girls and Women” and “The Love of a Good Woman,” died Monday night at her home in Ontario, the New York Times reported. She was 92
Munro won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2013 for her short stories, the Man Booker International prize in 2009 and the O’Henry award in 2012. Born Alice Laidlaw in Ontario, Canada, she often wrote about women living in small towns in the province.
The Booker jury wrote in its prize statement, “Alice Munro is mostly known as a short story writer and yet she brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels. To read Alice Munro is to learn something every time that you never thought of before.”
Several of Munro’s stories were adapted for film and television,...
Munro won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2013 for her short stories, the Man Booker International prize in 2009 and the O’Henry award in 2012. Born Alice Laidlaw in Ontario, Canada, she often wrote about women living in small towns in the province.
The Booker jury wrote in its prize statement, “Alice Munro is mostly known as a short story writer and yet she brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels. To read Alice Munro is to learn something every time that you never thought of before.”
Several of Munro’s stories were adapted for film and television,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics is reuniting with Pedro Almodovar and will release the cinematic legend’s first English-language feature film, “The Room Next Door.”
The indie studio announced it has acquired all rights in North America, the Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to the film, which is set to star Oscar winners Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, along with John Turturro. The film will begin shooting this March in New York and Madrid. Almodovar has been thinking of directing an English-language feature for some time — at one point, he considered making 2016’s “Julieta” with Meryl Streep.
The news about the distribution deal is wholly expected (it would be more shocking if Almodovar found a different partner). That’s because Sony Pictures Classics has released nearly all of Almodovar’s movies. Most recently, it oversaw the distribution of “Parallel Mothers,” which earned an Oscar nomination for Penélope Cruz.
The indie studio announced it has acquired all rights in North America, the Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to the film, which is set to star Oscar winners Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, along with John Turturro. The film will begin shooting this March in New York and Madrid. Almodovar has been thinking of directing an English-language feature for some time — at one point, he considered making 2016’s “Julieta” with Meryl Streep.
The news about the distribution deal is wholly expected (it would be more shocking if Almodovar found a different partner). That’s because Sony Pictures Classics has released nearly all of Almodovar’s movies. Most recently, it oversaw the distribution of “Parallel Mothers,” which earned an Oscar nomination for Penélope Cruz.
- 2/1/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
A bio-series about iconic ranchera singer Chavela Vargas starring “La Reina del Sur” lead Kate del Castillo is in the works. Colombia’s Caracol Televisión and indie Miracol Media are co-producing “Chavela,” which will trace the tumultuous life and career of the legendary singer.
Del Castillo will transform into Vargas, the mythical woman in the red poncho, who boldly rejected the conventions of her time, paving the way for a unique and groundbreaking journey in the landscape of Mexican popular music.
Her internal battle with personal demons, heartbreak, and alcoholism propelled her to become a trailblazer, stepping onto the stage to sing Mexican songs in a jorongo, the traditional Mexican poncho, and pants. With a guitar pressed against her heart, a tequila in hand, and a pistol holstered on her belt, she mesmerized audiences, captivating both men and women alike.
“I came out of hell, but I did it singing,...
Del Castillo will transform into Vargas, the mythical woman in the red poncho, who boldly rejected the conventions of her time, paving the way for a unique and groundbreaking journey in the landscape of Mexican popular music.
Her internal battle with personal demons, heartbreak, and alcoholism propelled her to become a trailblazer, stepping onto the stage to sing Mexican songs in a jorongo, the traditional Mexican poncho, and pants. With a guitar pressed against her heart, a tequila in hand, and a pistol holstered on her belt, she mesmerized audiences, captivating both men and women alike.
“I came out of hell, but I did it singing,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Almudena Amor stars in female-led story.
Paul Hudson’s Outsider Pictures is at AFM with worldwide rights to the feminist genre film Ancestral from Pablo Aragüés and Marta Cabrera.
Almudena Amor (Sitges and London 2021 entry The Grandmother) stars in the Spanish-language, female-led story about Carla, a pregnant woman who returns to her childhood town where she reunites with her mother and a group of women who seem to be the only inhabitants.
However they are not alone, and Carla is forced to delve into her past to confront an ancestral curse and liberate the women of the town.
The cast...
Paul Hudson’s Outsider Pictures is at AFM with worldwide rights to the feminist genre film Ancestral from Pablo Aragüés and Marta Cabrera.
Almudena Amor (Sitges and London 2021 entry The Grandmother) stars in the Spanish-language, female-led story about Carla, a pregnant woman who returns to her childhood town where she reunites with her mother and a group of women who seem to be the only inhabitants.
However they are not alone, and Carla is forced to delve into her past to confront an ancestral curse and liberate the women of the town.
The cast...
- 11/3/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Chile’s Bf Distribution, among the leading distributors in Latin America, has picked up Latin American and Spanish distribution rights to “El Silencio de Marcos Tremmer” with Bf Distribution partners Carlos Hansen and Matias Cardone of Invercine Chile boarding the pic as executive producers.
Shot in the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Madrid, it was helmed by Spanish director Miguel García de la Calera and is currently in post.
The film stars Benjamín Vicuña, Adriana Ugarte (Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta”), Daniel Hendler (a Berlin best actor winner for “Lost Embrace”) and Felix Gomez (“La caza”).
“Given its A-list cast of Latin American and Spanish talent, we plan to release it next year in Chile, Argentina and Spain to start,” said Cardone.
Vicuña plays Marcos Tremmer, a prosperous Uruguayan ad executive residing in Madrid, who is madly in love with his wife, Lucía (Ugarte). However, one day, Marcos uncovers a grim truth...
Shot in the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Madrid, it was helmed by Spanish director Miguel García de la Calera and is currently in post.
The film stars Benjamín Vicuña, Adriana Ugarte (Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta”), Daniel Hendler (a Berlin best actor winner for “Lost Embrace”) and Felix Gomez (“La caza”).
“Given its A-list cast of Latin American and Spanish talent, we plan to release it next year in Chile, Argentina and Spain to start,” said Cardone.
Vicuña plays Marcos Tremmer, a prosperous Uruguayan ad executive residing in Madrid, who is madly in love with his wife, Lucía (Ugarte). However, one day, Marcos uncovers a grim truth...
- 11/2/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Pedro Almodóvar’s canon abounds in nimble, yet edgy, remembrances of things past. In Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, and Volver, he paid homage to the language of melodrama while crafting his own version of it. Those and many of his earlier films are pervaded with a humor toward the power that the most basic elements of drama have when pushed to their aesthetic, emotional, and formal limits.
Lately, though, Almodóvar’s work feels less bent on metatexually displaying his technical adroitness than his increasingly softer look at memory. Julieta, Pain and Glory, Parallel Mothers, and even his 2020 short The Human Voice are less fixated on accentuating the theatrical than stewing in nostalgia. And if his new short, Strange Way of Life, is any indication, each subsequent work in his filmography is proving the broth is losing a layer of flavor.
Perhaps the...
Lately, though, Almodóvar’s work feels less bent on metatexually displaying his technical adroitness than his increasingly softer look at memory. Julieta, Pain and Glory, Parallel Mothers, and even his 2020 short The Human Voice are less fixated on accentuating the theatrical than stewing in nostalgia. And if his new short, Strange Way of Life, is any indication, each subsequent work in his filmography is proving the broth is losing a layer of flavor.
Perhaps the...
- 9/22/2023
- by Kyle Turner
- Slant Magazine
Oscar-winning Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar has made a name for himself with a series of brightly colored, delightfully kinky and unabashedly melodramatic titles, mixing comedy, drama, sex and violence to great success. He shows no signs of slowing down, with his latest outing in 2019 being the Oscar-nominated “Pain and Glory.” Let’s take a look back at all 22 of his films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1949 in Spain, Almodovar came to prominence during La Movida Madrilena, a cultural renaissance that blossomed at the end of Francoist Spain. Staring with his filmmaking debut “Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom” (1980), the openly gay director showed an affinity for oddballs and outsiders, populating his films with transvestites, transexuals and homosexuals, all of whom had previously been relegated to the closet. He also showed a talent for working with women, and throughout his 40 year career has placed actresses such as Penelope Cruz,...
Born in 1949 in Spain, Almodovar came to prominence during La Movida Madrilena, a cultural renaissance that blossomed at the end of Francoist Spain. Staring with his filmmaking debut “Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom” (1980), the openly gay director showed an affinity for oddballs and outsiders, populating his films with transvestites, transexuals and homosexuals, all of whom had previously been relegated to the closet. He also showed a talent for working with women, and throughout his 40 year career has placed actresses such as Penelope Cruz,...
- 9/22/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Pulsar Content has closed a raft of major deals on “La Maison,” Anissa Bonnefont’s erotic drama based on Emma Becker’s controversial bestselling novel chronicling the young author’s two-year undercover experience working as a sex worker at a Berlin brothel.
The Paris-based company introduced the title to buyers at Cannes and sold it to Wild Bunch for Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, among other deals.
Wild Bunch will team with Capelight for the German release. The film will be handled by Wild Bunch subsidiaries in Italy and Spain, Bim Distribuzione and Vertigo, respectively. Other territories closed include Singapore (Shaw), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais), and the Baltics (Garsu Pasaulio Irasai). Pulsar Content is in talks to lock further deals.
“I’m excited to take on this ambitious, well crafted and daring film accross our European territories. ‘La Maison found its home,'” said Wild Bunch’s Marc Gabizon.
Pulsar...
The Paris-based company introduced the title to buyers at Cannes and sold it to Wild Bunch for Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, among other deals.
Wild Bunch will team with Capelight for the German release. The film will be handled by Wild Bunch subsidiaries in Italy and Spain, Bim Distribuzione and Vertigo, respectively. Other territories closed include Singapore (Shaw), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais), and the Baltics (Garsu Pasaulio Irasai). Pulsar Content is in talks to lock further deals.
“I’m excited to take on this ambitious, well crafted and daring film accross our European territories. ‘La Maison found its home,'” said Wild Bunch’s Marc Gabizon.
Pulsar...
- 5/24/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“El agua,” (Elena López Riera)
A Directors’ Fortnight title, the feature debut of Locarno winning López Riera (“Los Que Desean”), a fantasy-laced village-set critique of gender violence. S.A. Elle Driver
“Alcarràs,” (Carla Simón)
The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, Simón’s follow-up to “Summer 1993” and the flagship title for Catalonia and Spain’s newest filmmaking generation. S.A. MK2 Films
“Amazing Elisa,” (Sádrac González-Perellón)
The next from 2017 BiFan Grand Jury Prize winner González-Perellón (“Black Hollow Cage”), once more mixing fantasy and family dynamics as Elisa, 12, plans revenge after her mother’s tragic death. S.A. Filmax
“The Beasts,” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
One of 2022’s most awaited Spanish titles, playing Cannes Premiere, a Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”), produced by Arcadia, Caballo Films and Le Pacte. S.A. Latido Films
“The Communion Girl,” (Víctor García)
A revenge thriller involving an urban legend about a girl in a communion dress. S.
A Directors’ Fortnight title, the feature debut of Locarno winning López Riera (“Los Que Desean”), a fantasy-laced village-set critique of gender violence. S.A. Elle Driver
“Alcarràs,” (Carla Simón)
The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, Simón’s follow-up to “Summer 1993” and the flagship title for Catalonia and Spain’s newest filmmaking generation. S.A. MK2 Films
“Amazing Elisa,” (Sádrac González-Perellón)
The next from 2017 BiFan Grand Jury Prize winner González-Perellón (“Black Hollow Cage”), once more mixing fantasy and family dynamics as Elisa, 12, plans revenge after her mother’s tragic death. S.A. Filmax
“The Beasts,” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
One of 2022’s most awaited Spanish titles, playing Cannes Premiere, a Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”), produced by Arcadia, Caballo Films and Le Pacte. S.A. Latido Films
“The Communion Girl,” (Víctor García)
A revenge thriller involving an urban legend about a girl in a communion dress. S.
- 5/19/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Pulsar Content has boarded Anissa Bonnefont’s erotic drama “La Maison” based on Emma Becker’s controversial bestselling novel chronicling the young author’s two-year undercover experience working as a sex worker at a Berlin brothel.
Now in post-production, “La Maison” is headlined by Ana Girardot, the rising French star of “The Returned,” “Back to Burgundy” and “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” as well as Rossy De Palma and Aure Atika (“10 Days With Dad”). De Palma will also be at Cannes to preside over the jury of the Golden Camera Award.
Pulsar Content has secured worldwide sales and unveiling a first still of the movie (pictured above). The outfit will introduce the project to buyers at Cannes with a promo reel. Rezo will distribute “La Maison” in France.
Radar Films, a Mediawan company whose credits include “Vicky and her Mystery,” “The Deep House” and “Divorce Club” is producing the movie with and Belgian banner uMedia co-producing.
Now in post-production, “La Maison” is headlined by Ana Girardot, the rising French star of “The Returned,” “Back to Burgundy” and “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” as well as Rossy De Palma and Aure Atika (“10 Days With Dad”). De Palma will also be at Cannes to preside over the jury of the Golden Camera Award.
Pulsar Content has secured worldwide sales and unveiling a first still of the movie (pictured above). The outfit will introduce the project to buyers at Cannes with a promo reel. Rezo will distribute “La Maison” in France.
Radar Films, a Mediawan company whose credits include “Vicky and her Mystery,” “The Deep House” and “Divorce Club” is producing the movie with and Belgian banner uMedia co-producing.
- 5/4/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Unspooling March 21-25, the Malaga Festival Fund & Co-Production Event project (Maff) provides a forum for Latin American film projects to seek international production partnerships. Costa Rican productions will be highlighted by subsection Costa Rica Guest Country.
The socially impactful film “Silence of the Earth” will feature in the Maff Social subsection. Female directors earn special emphasis in the Women Screen Industry section.
Following, the profiles of Maff production.
“All My Journey Are Journeys of Return,”
A time-jumping, genre-blending “delirious adventure,” say its makers, from Los Niños Films and Vorágine, currently in production on the World Cinema Fund-backed “Carropasajero.” It depicts a journey which begins in the Rio Magdalena, in the early 19th century, during a search for poet Gaspar de la Noche, who has gone missing in northern Sweden. Carolina Zarate produces.
“Before the Memory,”
Shepherded by Agustina Chiarino, one of Uruguay’s most ambitious film producers, González’s...
The socially impactful film “Silence of the Earth” will feature in the Maff Social subsection. Female directors earn special emphasis in the Women Screen Industry section.
Following, the profiles of Maff production.
“All My Journey Are Journeys of Return,”
A time-jumping, genre-blending “delirious adventure,” say its makers, from Los Niños Films and Vorágine, currently in production on the World Cinema Fund-backed “Carropasajero.” It depicts a journey which begins in the Rio Magdalena, in the early 19th century, during a search for poet Gaspar de la Noche, who has gone missing in northern Sweden. Carolina Zarate produces.
“Before the Memory,”
Shepherded by Agustina Chiarino, one of Uruguay’s most ambitious film producers, González’s...
- 3/21/2022
- by John Hopewell, Emilio Mayorga and Justin Morgan
- Variety Film + TV
As other European TV giants such as the Rtl Group, Spain’s Atresmedia, owner of the Ott service Atresplayer Premium, is finding the sweet spot between auteur and broad audience shows.
Launched two years ago, Atresplayer Premium boasts fast growth in terms of subscriptions – reaching 400,000 users in Spain alone – and content production volume, readying some 20 new TV projects for this year.
Promoting original voices, the platform is winning international visibility. Iconic original series “Veneno,” created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Los Javis,” successfully launched on HBO Max in the U.S. and Latin America, with a strong impact on the international media, which contributed to strengthening the Atresplayer brand.
Now, “Cardo,” from creators and writers Claudia Costafreda and Ana Rujas, executive produced by Los Javis after becoming one of the hottest indie series of last year for TV critics and audiences, is close to an important international distribution deal.
Launched two years ago, Atresplayer Premium boasts fast growth in terms of subscriptions – reaching 400,000 users in Spain alone – and content production volume, readying some 20 new TV projects for this year.
Promoting original voices, the platform is winning international visibility. Iconic original series “Veneno,” created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Los Javis,” successfully launched on HBO Max in the U.S. and Latin America, with a strong impact on the international media, which contributed to strengthening the Atresplayer brand.
Now, “Cardo,” from creators and writers Claudia Costafreda and Ana Rujas, executive produced by Los Javis after becoming one of the hottest indie series of last year for TV critics and audiences, is close to an important international distribution deal.
- 2/15/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Musician and filmmaker Flying Lotus has set the sci-fi horror film Ash as his second feature, on the heels of his body horror anthology Kuso, which made its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
The new film, for which the multi-hyphenate will also compose an original score, watches as a woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed, her investigation into what happened setting in motion a terrifying chain of events.
Jonni Remmler penned the original screenplay. XYZ Films and Gfc Films will produce, with Echo Lake on board as exec producer. XYZ is also financing and handling worldwide sales. Casting will get underway later this month, with production slated for this summer.
Ash follows XYZ’s collaboration with Gfc on Toa Fraser’s New Zealand Oscar entry The Dead Lands, which was presented to the U.S. market by James Cameron,...
The new film, for which the multi-hyphenate will also compose an original score, watches as a woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed, her investigation into what happened setting in motion a terrifying chain of events.
Jonni Remmler penned the original screenplay. XYZ Films and Gfc Films will produce, with Echo Lake on board as exec producer. XYZ is also financing and handling worldwide sales. Casting will get underway later this month, with production slated for this summer.
Ash follows XYZ’s collaboration with Gfc on Toa Fraser’s New Zealand Oscar entry The Dead Lands, which was presented to the U.S. market by James Cameron,...
- 1/26/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Hailed in its day as Spain’s own “Downton Abbey,” period espionage drama “The Time In Between” (“El tiempo entre costuras”), a huge hit in Spain, has been sold to South Korea in a deal between Atresmedia International Sales and Germany-based distributor Jung Consulting.
The series will air this January in South Korea on Smile TV Plus, TVasia Plus and WeeTV.
“We are delighted to be distributing such a successful Spanish series in Korea, together with Atresmedia. We trust the Korean audience will enjoy the series, and that it will allow us to bring more international Spanish series to Korea,” said Woojae Jung, Jung Consulting managing director.
An Atresmedia TV original series about a spying seamstress first released in Oct. 2013, “The Time in Between” went up against “The Voice” and historical hit “Isabel,” averaging an extraordinary 25.5% share and almost 5 million viewers on Antena 3. It made a star out of Adriana Ugarte,...
The series will air this January in South Korea on Smile TV Plus, TVasia Plus and WeeTV.
“We are delighted to be distributing such a successful Spanish series in Korea, together with Atresmedia. We trust the Korean audience will enjoy the series, and that it will allow us to bring more international Spanish series to Korea,” said Woojae Jung, Jung Consulting managing director.
An Atresmedia TV original series about a spying seamstress first released in Oct. 2013, “The Time in Between” went up against “The Voice” and historical hit “Isabel,” averaging an extraordinary 25.5% share and almost 5 million viewers on Antena 3. It made a star out of Adriana Ugarte,...
- 1/12/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Lives of Mothers: Almodovar’s Melodrama Mines the Personal and Political
Coincidences abound in Parallel Mothers, the latest soap dish from Spain’s perennial auteur, Pedro Almodóvar. As the title indicates, favored motifs celebrating women and motherhood abound in a narrative which eventually has more bite than bark for the filmmaker’s boldest and most vibrant offering since 2011’s The Skin I Live In. While recent titles like Julieta (2015) and Pain & Glory (2019) concern protagonists forced to contend with painful memories from their past, Almodóvar widens the scope considerably in a sometimes tenuous deliberation on Spain’s wounds from the 1930s civil war.…...
Coincidences abound in Parallel Mothers, the latest soap dish from Spain’s perennial auteur, Pedro Almodóvar. As the title indicates, favored motifs celebrating women and motherhood abound in a narrative which eventually has more bite than bark for the filmmaker’s boldest and most vibrant offering since 2011’s The Skin I Live In. While recent titles like Julieta (2015) and Pain & Glory (2019) concern protagonists forced to contend with painful memories from their past, Almodóvar widens the scope considerably in a sometimes tenuous deliberation on Spain’s wounds from the 1930s civil war.…...
- 12/20/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Something strange happened to Penélope Cruz as she rehearsed on the set of “Parallel Mothers.” Whenever the crew would come to collect the doll she was using as a stand-in for a flesh-and-blood baby, Cruz tensed up. She became combative. It didn’t matter that it was only a toy — she refused to surrender her child.
“It freaked me out,” remembers Cruz. “When the prop department would take the doll, I went psycho. It was my baby. I felt something deep in myself that was like if you take the fucking doll from me, I’m going to hit you.”
That primal instinct and protective flame would serve Cruz well when it came to putting “Parallel Mothers,” the story of two women whose children are switched at birth, on the screen. The film, which marks her eighth collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar, is one of the most psychologically rich and surprising of their partnerships,...
“It freaked me out,” remembers Cruz. “When the prop department would take the doll, I went psycho. It was my baby. I felt something deep in myself that was like if you take the fucking doll from me, I’m going to hit you.”
That primal instinct and protective flame would serve Cruz well when it came to putting “Parallel Mothers,” the story of two women whose children are switched at birth, on the screen. The film, which marks her eighth collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar, is one of the most psychologically rich and surprising of their partnerships,...
- 11/17/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
No event in the world offers a broader spread of recent movies from Spain than the Malaga de Cine – Spanish Screenings. Unspooling online over Oct. 20-22, this year’s lineup offers buyers a chance to catch up with titles at San Sebastian, as well as upcoming releases, 2021 Malaga fest winners and its pix-in-post panorama. At the heart of the event are its Screenings, new or newish titles which in an ordinary onsite year would play in cinema theaters in Malaga. Variety drills down on a score of films playing at this year’s event, including a clutch of notable debuts.
“All the Moons,” (Arcadia Motion Pictures, Kowalski Films, Pris & Batty, Ilargia Films, Noodles Production)
A fantasy vampire period drama, set in 19th century Spain during its Carlist wars. Bullish sales prospects. Sales agency: Filmax
“Ama,” (Julia de Paz Solvas, La Dalia Films)
Paz Solvas’ first feature and a Malaga best...
“All the Moons,” (Arcadia Motion Pictures, Kowalski Films, Pris & Batty, Ilargia Films, Noodles Production)
A fantasy vampire period drama, set in 19th century Spain during its Carlist wars. Bullish sales prospects. Sales agency: Filmax
“Ama,” (Julia de Paz Solvas, La Dalia Films)
Paz Solvas’ first feature and a Malaga best...
- 10/20/2021
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s San Sebastian Festival, the most important film meet in the Spanish-speaking world, has unveiled the 13 title lineup of its 2021 New Directors lineup, which includes awaited debuts such as Argentine Mara Pescio’s “That Weekend” and Spaniard Javier Marco’s “Josephine” plus Jeonju Fest double winner “Aloners.”
Here are the titles and some descriptions. More details to come:
“Aloners”
Winner at May’s Jeonju Intl. Film Festival of the best actor prize for Gong Seung-yeon who plays a loner woman working at a customer call center who discourages any social contact. A psychological study in solitariness, “Aloners” also scooped the Cgv Arthouse award.
“Between Two Dawns”
A standout and eventual double winner at San Sebastian’s 2020 Wip Europa, Nacar’s debut, about a man struggling to do the right thing following an accident in his family’s business.
“Carajita”
Set in the Dominican Republic and the Argentine directorial duo’s follow-up to 2017 “Tigre,...
Here are the titles and some descriptions. More details to come:
“Aloners”
Winner at May’s Jeonju Intl. Film Festival of the best actor prize for Gong Seung-yeon who plays a loner woman working at a customer call center who discourages any social contact. A psychological study in solitariness, “Aloners” also scooped the Cgv Arthouse award.
“Between Two Dawns”
A standout and eventual double winner at San Sebastian’s 2020 Wip Europa, Nacar’s debut, about a man struggling to do the right thing following an accident in his family’s business.
“Carajita”
Set in the Dominican Republic and the Argentine directorial duo’s follow-up to 2017 “Tigre,...
- 7/28/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based Charades Films has boarded Carlota Pereda’s rural thriller “Piggy” (“Cerdita”), one of the most awaited feature debuts of the year from Spain.
Written and directed by Pereda, “Piggy” is produced by Morena Films and France’s Backup Media, the outfit behind “Still Alice,” “Submergence” and Ari Folman’s Cannes entry “Where Is Anne Frank.” Charades will handle world sales rights on “Piggy,” while Filmax, a frequent backer of first time directors, will distribute the film in Spain.
Starring Laura Galán, Richard Holmes and Carmen Machi, “Piggy” expands on Pereda’s short of the same title which marked her breakthrough as a film director and won 90 awards, including the Spanish Academy Goya Award for best short film in 2019, the José María Forqué Award for best fiction short and a Slamdance Russo Brothers Fellowship.
Though “Piggy” represents her feature debut, Pereda has an extensive C.V. as a director and writer.
Written and directed by Pereda, “Piggy” is produced by Morena Films and France’s Backup Media, the outfit behind “Still Alice,” “Submergence” and Ari Folman’s Cannes entry “Where Is Anne Frank.” Charades will handle world sales rights on “Piggy,” while Filmax, a frequent backer of first time directors, will distribute the film in Spain.
Starring Laura Galán, Richard Holmes and Carmen Machi, “Piggy” expands on Pereda’s short of the same title which marked her breakthrough as a film director and won 90 awards, including the Spanish Academy Goya Award for best short film in 2019, the José María Forqué Award for best fiction short and a Slamdance Russo Brothers Fellowship.
Though “Piggy” represents her feature debut, Pereda has an extensive C.V. as a director and writer.
- 6/24/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Pedro Almodóvar has wrapped production on his new feature, “Madres paralelas (Parallel Mothers),” which only started filming in March under strict Covid safety protocols. The film is notable for reuniting the Oscar winner with several of his longtime muses, including Penélope Cruz (their last movie together was 2019’s Cannes winner “Pain and Glory”) and Rossy de Palma (who got her acting start with three Almodóvar movies between 1987 and 1989 and last appeared in the director’s 2016 melodrama “Julieta”). Production company El Deseo celebrated the end of production by releasing first look photos from “Madres” and a behind-the-scenes video from the Covid safety set (see both below).
Joining Cruz and de Palma in the cast are “Veneno” actor Israel Elejalde and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” star Julieta Serrano, plus Aitana Sánchez-Gijón and Milena Smit. Per Variety, the story centers on three mother characters played by Cruz, Gijón and Smit.
Joining Cruz and de Palma in the cast are “Veneno” actor Israel Elejalde and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” star Julieta Serrano, plus Aitana Sánchez-Gijón and Milena Smit. Per Variety, the story centers on three mother characters played by Cruz, Gijón and Smit.
- 6/2/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Adriana Ugarte, star of hit Spanish TV drama “The Time in Between” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Julieta,” will play the lead role in Atresmedia original series “Madre.”
A remake of successful Turkish TV drama “Anne,” in turn an adaptation of Japanese series “Mother,” “Madre” continues Spanish media conglomerate Atresmedia’s bet on re-versioning recent standout Turkish scripted series. This strategy kicked-off with “Alba,” the Elena Rivera-starring redo of female empowerment skein “Fatmagul,” a modern Turkish classic.
A 13-hour series, “Madre” is produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Buendía Estudios, the joint-venture launched last year by Atresmedia and Telefonica-owned pay TV operator Movistar Plus.
Scheduled to premiere this year on Atresmedia’s SVOD service Atresplayer Premium and then launch on the group’s core channel Antena 3 in Spanish TV primetime, “Madre” will follow the same release windowing as “Alba,” which bowed in March on Atresplayer and now awaits a free-to-air TV debut.
A remake of successful Turkish TV drama “Anne,” in turn an adaptation of Japanese series “Mother,” “Madre” continues Spanish media conglomerate Atresmedia’s bet on re-versioning recent standout Turkish scripted series. This strategy kicked-off with “Alba,” the Elena Rivera-starring redo of female empowerment skein “Fatmagul,” a modern Turkish classic.
A 13-hour series, “Madre” is produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Buendía Estudios, the joint-venture launched last year by Atresmedia and Telefonica-owned pay TV operator Movistar Plus.
Scheduled to premiere this year on Atresmedia’s SVOD service Atresplayer Premium and then launch on the group’s core channel Antena 3 in Spanish TV primetime, “Madre” will follow the same release windowing as “Alba,” which bowed in March on Atresplayer and now awaits a free-to-air TV debut.
- 5/10/2021
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
At one of its increasingly regular presentations, on Thursday Netflix Spain unveiled seven new projects including “If Only,” a Spanish adaptation of the Netflix Turkish original canceled before shooting by Turkish authorities.
Where once Netflix would host its presentations early in the year and announce its ambitions for the next 12 months, the platform’s original Spanish programming pipeline has grown to an extent that Thursday’s showcase only covers the next few months and hinted at plenty more to come in late 2021.
In both level and volume of production, the day’s announcements confirm Netflix as one of if not the, foremost investors in original Spanish series and movies, at the same as its talent pool is expanding to include ever more of the principal producers in Spain. New Netflix originals are now being produced by now-regular partners Nostromo, producers of “The Minions of Midas”; “Élite” producers Zeta Studios; “Money Heist...
Where once Netflix would host its presentations early in the year and announce its ambitions for the next 12 months, the platform’s original Spanish programming pipeline has grown to an extent that Thursday’s showcase only covers the next few months and hinted at plenty more to come in late 2021.
In both level and volume of production, the day’s announcements confirm Netflix as one of if not the, foremost investors in original Spanish series and movies, at the same as its talent pool is expanding to include ever more of the principal producers in Spain. New Netflix originals are now being produced by now-regular partners Nostromo, producers of “The Minions of Midas”; “Élite” producers Zeta Studios; “Money Heist...
- 4/15/2021
- by Jamie Lang and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Gracia Querejeta’s “The Invisible,” toplining Emma Suárez, star of Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta,” and Toni Bestard’s “Pullman” have been acquired for international sales by Feel Content.
They will be made available for online access to buyers as part of next week’s Malaga Festival’s Spanish Screenings Market Premieres showcase, one of the industry event’s main draws.
A distinguished director of now 10 increasingly varied features – including 2017 dark melodrama “Happy 140” and doc feature “Tanto Monta,” and 2018’s absurdist thriller “Crime Wave” – “The Invisible” sees Querejeta returning to her more observational, character-driven mode of 2004’s Malaga Festival winner “Hector,” and “15 Years and One Day,” a 2013 best picture Goya contender, and Spain’s 2014 Academy Awards submission.
She does so in “The Invisible,” written with regular co-scribe Antonio Mercero, with a directness contrasting with her early often more oblique work.
In what Querejeta herself recognizes as her most personal work to date,...
They will be made available for online access to buyers as part of next week’s Malaga Festival’s Spanish Screenings Market Premieres showcase, one of the industry event’s main draws.
A distinguished director of now 10 increasingly varied features – including 2017 dark melodrama “Happy 140” and doc feature “Tanto Monta,” and 2018’s absurdist thriller “Crime Wave” – “The Invisible” sees Querejeta returning to her more observational, character-driven mode of 2004’s Malaga Festival winner “Hector,” and “15 Years and One Day,” a 2013 best picture Goya contender, and Spain’s 2014 Academy Awards submission.
She does so in “The Invisible,” written with regular co-scribe Antonio Mercero, with a directness contrasting with her early often more oblique work.
In what Querejeta herself recognizes as her most personal work to date,...
- 11/13/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The most interesting aspect of Pedro Almodóvar’s The Human Voice (in the Spotlight programme of the New York Film Festival), starring Tilda Swinton, is her DVD collection. Or is it his? Douglas Sirk’s Written On The Wind and All That Heaven Allows, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill (Volume 1 or 2), Blake Edwards’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread - do they signal that what is to come is also a story of melodrama and revenge, loneliness and grief and powerful infatuation? Yes. On the bookshelves we see F Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is The Night and Almodóvar inspirations past (Alice Munro’s Too Much Happiness; three of her short stories became his Julieta) and future (he is working on an adaptation of A Manual For Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin for 2022).
Swinton, always a...
Swinton, always a...
- 9/28/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Filming is underway on new police thriller “Parot” – a series based on the chaos that followed a controversial move seven years ago to reverse a piece of legislation in Spain that ensured prisoners served their full jail terms.
The ten-part drama, made up of one-hour episodes, focuses on a series of retribution attacks on prisoners who were subsequently released early, and a police officer determined to track down the person or people responsible for a series of revenge killings.
Filmed on location in Madrid – the series was ordered by ViacomCBS International Studios and Spanish public broadcaster channel and is being made by local production-sales company Onza, producers of Spanish time travel drama “The Department of Time.”
Since its launch in 2018, Vis has been on a major production drive and SVP & head of Vis Americas Federico Cuervo added that “Parot” marked the continuation of its strategy to pursue content partnerships with key European partners.
The ten-part drama, made up of one-hour episodes, focuses on a series of retribution attacks on prisoners who were subsequently released early, and a police officer determined to track down the person or people responsible for a series of revenge killings.
Filmed on location in Madrid – the series was ordered by ViacomCBS International Studios and Spanish public broadcaster channel and is being made by local production-sales company Onza, producers of Spanish time travel drama “The Department of Time.”
Since its launch in 2018, Vis has been on a major production drive and SVP & head of Vis Americas Federico Cuervo added that “Parot” marked the continuation of its strategy to pursue content partnerships with key European partners.
- 9/3/2020
- by Ann-Marie Corvin
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish filmmaker claimed releasing his films on streaming platforms would sever contact with his audiences.
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has heralded cinema as the “antidote” to quarantine and said releasing his films on streaming platforms would sever contact with his audiences.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker spoke at a press conference in Venice, where he is screening his first English-language short, The Human Voice. The 30-minute film stars Tilda Swinton, who joined the director and his brother and producer Agustin Almodovar at the event.
Speaking about how audiences turned to streaming platforms during the pandemic, Almodovar said: “The lockdown has forced us all to stay at home.
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has heralded cinema as the “antidote” to quarantine and said releasing his films on streaming platforms would sever contact with his audiences.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker spoke at a press conference in Venice, where he is screening his first English-language short, The Human Voice. The 30-minute film stars Tilda Swinton, who joined the director and his brother and producer Agustin Almodovar at the event.
Speaking about how audiences turned to streaming platforms during the pandemic, Almodovar said: “The lockdown has forced us all to stay at home.
- 9/3/2020
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Pedro Almodovar and Tilda Swinton heated things up at the Venice Film Festival this afternoon, speaking to the press after the screening of the Spanish maestro’s first English-langauge project, The Human Voice. “Freely” based on the 1930 Jean Cocteau play, the 30-minute movie was shot after the coronavirus lockdown was lifted. Almodovar will quickly return to work in October, because, “Despite uncertainty, we have to go on, we have to make films.”
The director joined others who over the course of two days on the Lido have made impassioned pleas for the big screen experience. That includes Swinton during her Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement speech last night. Today, she separately weighed in on another popular topic during a masterclass, praising Berlin’s decision to switch to gender-neutral awards. She predicted, it’s “inevitable that everybody will follow.”
During the Human Voice press conference, Swinton explained she had been “entirely besotted...
The director joined others who over the course of two days on the Lido have made impassioned pleas for the big screen experience. That includes Swinton during her Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement speech last night. Today, she separately weighed in on another popular topic during a masterclass, praising Berlin’s decision to switch to gender-neutral awards. She predicted, it’s “inevitable that everybody will follow.”
During the Human Voice press conference, Swinton explained she had been “entirely besotted...
- 9/3/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Pedro Almodóvar has a lot on his plate, with at least three new projects in the mix, but he’s not too busy to do his part during the pandemic and wear a mask, as seen in a recent photo out of Madrid shared by his brother and producing partner Agustín. In the photo, Almodóvar and his star Tilda Swinton are sporting their personal protective equipment while on the first day of shooting “The Human Voice,” the Academy Award-winning director’s latest short film and first screen collaboration with Tilda Swinton. See below.
“The Human Voice” is based on a one-act play by Jean Cocteau, written in 1928 and first mounted in France in 1930. It concerns one woman’s final phone conversation with her longtime lover, who has plans to marry another woman. Almodóvar previously alluded to interest in the material before, including as inspiration for his Oscar-nominated 1988 breakout “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown...
“The Human Voice” is based on a one-act play by Jean Cocteau, written in 1928 and first mounted in France in 1930. It concerns one woman’s final phone conversation with her longtime lover, who has plans to marry another woman. Almodóvar previously alluded to interest in the material before, including as inspiration for his Oscar-nominated 1988 breakout “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown...
- 7/18/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Paris — “Narcos” showrunner Chris Brancato and “Godfather of Harlem” star Giancarlo Esposito, actors Carole Bouquet and Zabou Breitman, and the cast and crew behind the Canal Plus series “The Bureau” will be among the many guest of honor at this year’s Series Mania, which will kick off its 11th edition on March 20.
Returning to the north-eastern French city of Lille, Series Mania will once again offer a broad cross-section of international scripted dramas, with a selection culled from 25 different countries including Chile, Peru, Niger, Senegal and South Korea, alongside high profile productions from the U.S., the U.K. and France.
Among the 38 productions world premiering in Lille, the BBC/Tvnz literary adaption “The Luminaries,” with Eva Green, will play as opening series while the closer remains unannounced.
Once again, Netflix makes a strong showing this year. Beyond bringing the cast and crew of their Paris-set drama “The Eddy,...
Returning to the north-eastern French city of Lille, Series Mania will once again offer a broad cross-section of international scripted dramas, with a selection culled from 25 different countries including Chile, Peru, Niger, Senegal and South Korea, alongside high profile productions from the U.S., the U.K. and France.
Among the 38 productions world premiering in Lille, the BBC/Tvnz literary adaption “The Luminaries,” with Eva Green, will play as opening series while the closer remains unannounced.
Once again, Netflix makes a strong showing this year. Beyond bringing the cast and crew of their Paris-set drama “The Eddy,...
- 2/19/2020
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon has firmed up cast for A League Of Their Own comedy pilot, adding Chanté Adams (Bad Hair) and Roberta Colindrez (Vida) as series regulars, joining previously announced Kelly McCormack (Killjoys) and Priscilla Delgado (Julieta). Also confirmed are Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam) and The Good Place alum D’Arcy Carden, who were previously reported to be nearing deals, along with writer-executive producer Abbi Jacobson. Florida Girls‘ Melanie Field is set to recur.
The hourlong pilot, a fresh approach to Penny Marshall’s 1992 feature film, hails from writers/executive producers Jacobson and Will Graham and Sony Pictures TV. The show will follow brand new characters who embody the spirit of a generation of incredible women who dared to play professional baseball. The show begins with the formation of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943 and follows our heroes as they fight to keep the League alive through close games, injuries, sexual...
The hourlong pilot, a fresh approach to Penny Marshall’s 1992 feature film, hails from writers/executive producers Jacobson and Will Graham and Sony Pictures TV. The show will follow brand new characters who embody the spirit of a generation of incredible women who dared to play professional baseball. The show begins with the formation of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943 and follows our heroes as they fight to keep the League alive through close games, injuries, sexual...
- 2/14/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Pedro Almodóvar has spent months on the campaign trail for “Pain and Glory,” but the 70-year-old Spanish auteur is wasting no time going back to work. In an interview over the weekend, Almodóvar revealed exclusively to IndieWire his plans to direct two new projects in the months ahead — a short film starring Tilda Swinton adapted from Jean Cocteau’s one-act play “The Human Voice,” followed by a feature-length adaptation of the late American writer Lucia Berlin’s short story collection, “A Manual for Cleaning Women.”
The two projects will mark Almodóvar’s long-awaited foray into English-language filmmaking after several other attempts over the years, from an offer to direct “Sister Act” in the early nineties to his Alice Munro adaptation “Julieta,” which was originally set to start Meryl Streep before Almodóvar decided to do the project in Spanish. Sources in Almodóvar’s inner circle expressed uncertainty about the overall timeline for the two projects,...
The two projects will mark Almodóvar’s long-awaited foray into English-language filmmaking after several other attempts over the years, from an offer to direct “Sister Act” in the early nineties to his Alice Munro adaptation “Julieta,” which was originally set to start Meryl Streep before Almodóvar decided to do the project in Spanish. Sources in Almodóvar’s inner circle expressed uncertainty about the overall timeline for the two projects,...
- 2/10/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
With “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar turns the camera on himself for a penetrating look at art and aging, using his own life and memories as dramatic fodder. The result is his best reviewed film in years, one that could return the Spanish auteur to the writing and directing Oscar races for the first time in 17 years.
See Alberto Inglesias Interview: ‘Pain and Glory’ composer
Almodovar last contended for writing and directing “Talk to Her” (2002), for which he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. His Best Director bid made him the first — and so far only — Spanish filmmaker to be nominated in that category. Prior to that his “All About My Mother” (1999) took home the Best Foreign Language Film prize, and before that his international breakthrough “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (1988) was nominated.
However, he’s had a long Oscar drought since his 2002 victory, despite receiving other...
See Alberto Inglesias Interview: ‘Pain and Glory’ composer
Almodovar last contended for writing and directing “Talk to Her” (2002), for which he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. His Best Director bid made him the first — and so far only — Spanish filmmaker to be nominated in that category. Prior to that his “All About My Mother” (1999) took home the Best Foreign Language Film prize, and before that his international breakthrough “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (1988) was nominated.
However, he’s had a long Oscar drought since his 2002 victory, despite receiving other...
- 11/27/2019
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
“What makes him very, very special is the way he loves music,” reveals composer Alberto Iglesias about working with acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodovar on their eleventh collaboration with his latest, “Pain and Glory.” “We have a past together, putting music in the most difficult places to tell the truth,” Iglesias says, adding that “the music has to be truth, it has to be true.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Iglesias above.
See ‘Pain and Glory’ reviews: Antonio Banderas gives ‘quite possibly his finest’ performance in his ode to Almodovar
“Pain and Glory” stars Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, reunited with director Almodovar in his new semi-autobiographical film about a filmmaker played by Banderas, reflecting on his life and the choices he’s made both past and present. It’s a deeply personal film from the Spanish maestro centering on familiar themes of love, loss, desire and regret. With “Pain...
See ‘Pain and Glory’ reviews: Antonio Banderas gives ‘quite possibly his finest’ performance in his ode to Almodovar
“Pain and Glory” stars Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, reunited with director Almodovar in his new semi-autobiographical film about a filmmaker played by Banderas, reflecting on his life and the choices he’s made both past and present. It’s a deeply personal film from the Spanish maestro centering on familiar themes of love, loss, desire and regret. With “Pain...
- 11/5/2019
- by Rob Licuria
- Gold Derby
Pedro Almodovar celebrates his 70th birthday on September 25, 2019. The Oscar-winning Spanish auteur has made a name for himself with a series of brightly colored, delightfully kinky and unabashedly melodramatic titles, mixing comedy, drama, sex and violence to great success. He shows no signs of slowing down, with his latest outing in 2019 being the critically acclaimed “Pain and Glory.” But where does it fall with the rest of his filmography? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at all 21 of his films, ranked worst to best.
SEEPenelope Cruz movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best
Born in 1949 in Spain, Almodovar came to prominence during La Movida Madrilena, a cultural renaissance that blossomed at the end of Francoist Spain. Staring with his filmmaking debut “Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom” (1980), the openly gay director showed an affinity for oddballs and outsiders, populating his films with transvestites,...
SEEPenelope Cruz movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best
Born in 1949 in Spain, Almodovar came to prominence during La Movida Madrilena, a cultural renaissance that blossomed at the end of Francoist Spain. Staring with his filmmaking debut “Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom” (1980), the openly gay director showed an affinity for oddballs and outsiders, populating his films with transvestites,...
- 9/25/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Just over two weeks before its Sept. 20 global launch, Netflix has dropped its first full franchise trailer of “Criminal,” a 12-episode, four-part police interrogation anthology which reworks the procedural format taking it to a new European level, while focusing on what episodic drama is often held to disdain: Character and actors’ performance.
Netflix has already teased the crime thriller’s best-of-their class European key cast. Others trailers have targeted the individual countries where “Criminal” episodes are set – U.K., Spain, France and Germany – three in each country.
Wednesday’s trailer is, however, the first full-franchise reveal of action across the series, hinting at some of the its major fascinations, innovations and character details.
Playing suspects, many of “Criminal’s” guests stars are hailed in home countries as among their generation’s finest actors. Of U.K. stars, entering a lift at the beginning of the trailer is the bulky former...
Netflix has already teased the crime thriller’s best-of-their class European key cast. Others trailers have targeted the individual countries where “Criminal” episodes are set – U.K., Spain, France and Germany – three in each country.
Wednesday’s trailer is, however, the first full-franchise reveal of action across the series, hinting at some of the its major fascinations, innovations and character details.
Playing suspects, many of “Criminal’s” guests stars are hailed in home countries as among their generation’s finest actors. Of U.K. stars, entering a lift at the beginning of the trailer is the bulky former...
- 9/4/2019
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano Granada
- Variety Film + TV
Antonio Banderas gives the performance of his career as a fictional stand-in for the Spanish director in a drama that blurs the line between art and life
In Pedro Almodóvar’s previous film Julieta, a middle-aged woman returns to her old apartment block in Madrid to write about – and thereby confront – the ghosts of her life. There’s a similar sense of revisiting in Pain and Glory, in which Antonio Banderas plays a becalmed film-maker, struggling to move forward, borne back ceaselessly into the past. Described as the third part of an “unplanned trilogy” which began with Law of Desire (1987) and continued through Bad Education (2004), it’s another deeply personal work from Almodóvar that mixes autobiography with fiction to powerful effect. As the title suggests, the result is a tragicomic swirl of heartbreak and joy, slipping dexterously between riotous laughter and piercing sadness. At its heart is Banderas giving the...
In Pedro Almodóvar’s previous film Julieta, a middle-aged woman returns to her old apartment block in Madrid to write about – and thereby confront – the ghosts of her life. There’s a similar sense of revisiting in Pain and Glory, in which Antonio Banderas plays a becalmed film-maker, struggling to move forward, borne back ceaselessly into the past. Described as the third part of an “unplanned trilogy” which began with Law of Desire (1987) and continued through Bad Education (2004), it’s another deeply personal work from Almodóvar that mixes autobiography with fiction to powerful effect. As the title suggests, the result is a tragicomic swirl of heartbreak and joy, slipping dexterously between riotous laughter and piercing sadness. At its heart is Banderas giving the...
- 8/25/2019
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
The Spanish auteur’s finest film in years, Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory” is also his most personal, a colorful vivisection of the director’s life and work, his regrets and achievements. No doubt playing a version of the Academy Award-winning director himself, Antonio Banderas stars as Salvador Mallo, a film director in creative crisis who begins experimenting with drugs in the lead-up to a local career retrospective of his work. Banderas won the 2019 Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal, which is the Spanish actor’s most sensitive performance in many years. With the Cannes prize under his belt, Banderas has a strong shot at his first Oscar nomination ever, especially since this is one of Almodóvar’s more accessible efforts.
“Pain and Glory” features several breakouts in the cast, including Asier Etxeandia as Alberto, Salvador’s former onscreen muse who’s now a high-functioning heroin addict.
“Pain and Glory” features several breakouts in the cast, including Asier Etxeandia as Alberto, Salvador’s former onscreen muse who’s now a high-functioning heroin addict.
- 8/8/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Pedro Almodovar’s ’Pain & Glory’ performed well in its home territory.
Total box office receipts in Spain fell slightly by 0.5% to $306.2m in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period the year before.
As in other European territories, cinema-going between April and June was much stronger than the first three months of the year. There were various reasons for this in Spain, including the biannual Fiesta del Cine initiative, held between June 3-5, when audiences were able to buy reduced-price tickets ($3.3) at participating cinemas.
The promotion registered the fourth best result in its 10-year history, a 36.3% increase in...
Total box office receipts in Spain fell slightly by 0.5% to $306.2m in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period the year before.
As in other European territories, cinema-going between April and June was much stronger than the first three months of the year. There were various reasons for this in Spain, including the biannual Fiesta del Cine initiative, held between June 3-5, when audiences were able to buy reduced-price tickets ($3.3) at participating cinemas.
The promotion registered the fourth best result in its 10-year history, a 36.3% increase in...
- 7/23/2019
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
Pedro Almodóvar is one of cinema’s all-time great sensual filmmakers and a director who has committed his career to bringing all types of sexuality to the big screen. No wonder the Spanish legend is not interested in the sexless Marvel Cinematic Universe. Catching up with Vulture during Film at Lincoln Center’s 50th anniversary gala, Almodóvar expressed disappointment with the superhero genre draining the sexuality out of its characters.
“Here, perhaps, there is a kind of self-censorship that doesn’t allow the writers to write other kinds of stories,” Almodóvar said. “There are many, many movies about superheroes. And sexuality doesn’t exist for superheroes. They are neutered. There is an unidentified gender, the adventure is what’s important. You can find, among independent movies, more of this sexuality. The human being has such sexuality! I get the feeling that in Europe, in Spain, that I have much more...
“Here, perhaps, there is a kind of self-censorship that doesn’t allow the writers to write other kinds of stories,” Almodóvar said. “There are many, many movies about superheroes. And sexuality doesn’t exist for superheroes. They are neutered. There is an unidentified gender, the adventure is what’s important. You can find, among independent movies, more of this sexuality. The human being has such sexuality! I get the feeling that in Europe, in Spain, that I have much more...
- 4/30/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Nineteen films are in contention for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 14 to May 25. The history of a filmmaker at this festival can offer wisdom as to who could be out front to win the coveted Palme d’Or. Seven of the entries are by filmmakers that have been honored during past closing ceremonies. Newcomers to Cannes could end up being big winners with three filmmakers making their first appearance on the Croisette and another four having their films shown for the first time in competition. The jury will be headed by four-time Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, who claimed the Best Director prize at Cannes in 2006 for “Babel.”
Below is a breakdown of the 19 films competing this year and the history of their helmers at the festival.
Pedro Almodóvar (“Pain and Glory”)
The acclaimed Spanish director is back at Cannes...
Below is a breakdown of the 19 films competing this year and the history of their helmers at the festival.
Pedro Almodóvar (“Pain and Glory”)
The acclaimed Spanish director is back at Cannes...
- 4/22/2019
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
It’s been three years since we’ve heard from Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar and he’s coming off the critical acclaim of “Julieta” which was the filmmaker’s 20th film and debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. As per usual, the film came out early in Spain, but was still elected to premiere in competition at Cannes—the festival loves its exclusivity and to tout its world premieres, but Almodóvar routinely gets a pass in this regard and is invited to screen regardless.
Continue reading ‘Dolor Y Gloria’ Trailer: Pedro Almodóvar Returns With Antonio Banderas & Penelope Cruz at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Dolor Y Gloria’ Trailer: Pedro Almodóvar Returns With Antonio Banderas & Penelope Cruz at The Playlist.
- 2/18/2019
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Pedro Almodóvar returns to his sensual tricks in the first trailer for his new directional effort, “Dolor y Gloria.” The movie reunites the legendary Spanish director with two of his most high profile collaborators: Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz.
Taking inspiration from Federico Fellini’s “8½,” “Dolor y Gloria” centers on an aging filmmaker who looks back at the pivotal figures from his life. A synopsis released when the film began production mentioned these figures will include “first loves, second loves, the mother, mortality, an actor with whom the director worked, the ’60s, the ’80s, current times, and the emptiness, a sense of incommensurate emptiness, caused by the inability to go on making films.”
Banderas stars as the fictional director Salvador Mallo in the present, while Almodóvar incorporates a flashback structure to depict the most pivotal moments from Mallo’s life. The supporting cast includes Asier Etxeandia, Julieta Serrano, and Leonardo Sbaraglia.
Taking inspiration from Federico Fellini’s “8½,” “Dolor y Gloria” centers on an aging filmmaker who looks back at the pivotal figures from his life. A synopsis released when the film began production mentioned these figures will include “first loves, second loves, the mother, mortality, an actor with whom the director worked, the ’60s, the ’80s, current times, and the emptiness, a sense of incommensurate emptiness, caused by the inability to go on making films.”
Banderas stars as the fictional director Salvador Mallo in the present, while Almodóvar incorporates a flashback structure to depict the most pivotal moments from Mallo’s life. The supporting cast includes Asier Etxeandia, Julieta Serrano, and Leonardo Sbaraglia.
- 1/31/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
A collective sigh by critics greeted Monday’s announcement of the nine films shortlisted for this year’s foreign-language film Oscar. For once, though, it was a sigh of relief rather than exasperation, with few complaints arising over the chosen titles, which were broadly acclaimed.
Controversy over prominent omissions is practically an annual tradition. Last year, critics castigated the Academy for leaving out France’s celebrated AIDS drama “120 Beats Per Minute,” while the year before that, they lambasted the snubbing of Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” (which went on to nab a nomination for Isabelle Huppert). From “Gomorrah” to “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” to “Two Days, One Night,” the roll call of recent critics’ darlings to fall at this first hurdle is a distinguished one.
The Academy addressed the outcry that followed the sidelining of 2007 Palme d’Or winner “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days...
Controversy over prominent omissions is practically an annual tradition. Last year, critics castigated the Academy for leaving out France’s celebrated AIDS drama “120 Beats Per Minute,” while the year before that, they lambasted the snubbing of Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” (which went on to nab a nomination for Isabelle Huppert). From “Gomorrah” to “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” to “Two Days, One Night,” the roll call of recent critics’ darlings to fall at this first hurdle is a distinguished one.
The Academy addressed the outcry that followed the sidelining of 2007 Palme d’Or winner “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days...
- 12/19/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Starring “La casa de papel’s” Ursula Corberó, “The Tree of Blood,” the latest movie from Spain’s Julio Medem, is being brought onto the international market at Rome’s Mia market by FilmSharks Intl., which has acquired world sales rights.
FilmSharks Intl. will continue introducing the film to buyers at the American Film Market, which opens Oct. 31 in Santa Monica.
The deal was negotiated by FilmSharks Intl.’s Guido Rud and Sandra Tapia, Ignasi Estapé and Ibon Cormenzana at the film’s lead producer Arcadia Motion Pictures (Amp).
A romantic thriller which Diamond Films Spain will release in Spain on Nov. 1 on over 200 locations, said FilmSharks’ Guido Rud, “The Tree of Blood” (El Arbol de la Sangre) marks the latest movie from the Cormenzana-founded, and the ninth fiction feature of Medem, a director whose debut, 1991’s “Vacas,” helped bring down the flag on the modern Spanish cinema through...
FilmSharks Intl. will continue introducing the film to buyers at the American Film Market, which opens Oct. 31 in Santa Monica.
The deal was negotiated by FilmSharks Intl.’s Guido Rud and Sandra Tapia, Ignasi Estapé and Ibon Cormenzana at the film’s lead producer Arcadia Motion Pictures (Amp).
A romantic thriller which Diamond Films Spain will release in Spain on Nov. 1 on over 200 locations, said FilmSharks’ Guido Rud, “The Tree of Blood” (El Arbol de la Sangre) marks the latest movie from the Cormenzana-founded, and the ninth fiction feature of Medem, a director whose debut, 1991’s “Vacas,” helped bring down the flag on the modern Spanish cinema through...
- 10/21/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
“Rojo,” a noirish retro drama-thriller by fast-rising Argentinean helmer Benjamin Naishtat, has closed a number of territories, including France and China, after scooping three prizes at the San Sebastian Film Festival following its Toronto world premiere. The distribution pacts sold by Paris-based sales agent Luxbox are for Benelux (September); Brazil (Vitrine Film); China (Time Vision); France (Condor); Greece (Spentzos); Switzerland (Filmcoop); and the U.K. (New Wave). Primer Plano will distribute in Argentina. Discussions are ongoing in Spain and other key territories. Described by Variety in its review as “a witheringly provocative examination of temporary moral eclipse becoming permanent moral apocalypse,” “Rojo” features a star-studded Latin American lineup, including Argentina’s Dario Grandinetti, and Chile’s Alfredo Castro, a favorite thesp of compatriot Pablo Larrain. Unspooling in a rustic province in 1975, the film is set against an ominous backdrop of mounting political violence that foreshadows Argentina’s approaching coup and Dirty War.
- 10/19/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The Accident
(Mediaset-Globomedia)
Starring Inma Cuesta (“Julieta”), a thriller about a wife discovering the truth about her husband.
Sales Agent: Eccho Rights
Arde Madrid
(Movistar Plus, Andy Joke)
Warmly received at San Sebastian, a B&W comedy-thriller half-hour set in 1961 Madrid’s Dolce Vita, featuring Ava Gardner.
A Different View
(Boomerang, Rtve)
A suspense dramedy portrait of the Spanish society in the ’20s, via a traditionalist Lycee in the provinces.
El Continental
(Gossip Events & Productions, Rtve)
One of Rtve’s big plays, a 10-hour, 1920’s set gang war thriller, with Alex Garcia and Michelle Jenner (“Isabel”).
Hierro
(Movistar Plus, Arte, Portocabo, Atlantique)
Movistar Plus’ first international co-production and Portocabo’s calling card, a murder investigation set against spectacular landscapes of the mid-Atlantic Hierro.
Sales Agent: Banijay Rights
Gigantes
(Movistar Plus, Lazona Producciones)
Building buzz before its San Sebastian Fest world premiere, Enrique Urbizu’s brutal Madrid crime family parable on the legacy of violence,...
(Mediaset-Globomedia)
Starring Inma Cuesta (“Julieta”), a thriller about a wife discovering the truth about her husband.
Sales Agent: Eccho Rights
Arde Madrid
(Movistar Plus, Andy Joke)
Warmly received at San Sebastian, a B&W comedy-thriller half-hour set in 1961 Madrid’s Dolce Vita, featuring Ava Gardner.
A Different View
(Boomerang, Rtve)
A suspense dramedy portrait of the Spanish society in the ’20s, via a traditionalist Lycee in the provinces.
El Continental
(Gossip Events & Productions, Rtve)
One of Rtve’s big plays, a 10-hour, 1920’s set gang war thriller, with Alex Garcia and Michelle Jenner (“Isabel”).
Hierro
(Movistar Plus, Arte, Portocabo, Atlantique)
Movistar Plus’ first international co-production and Portocabo’s calling card, a murder investigation set against spectacular landscapes of the mid-Atlantic Hierro.
Sales Agent: Banijay Rights
Gigantes
(Movistar Plus, Lazona Producciones)
Building buzz before its San Sebastian Fest world premiere, Enrique Urbizu’s brutal Madrid crime family parable on the legacy of violence,...
- 10/15/2018
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
San Sebastian – One of the biggest single public-sector funding systems in Europe, the European Union’s Creative Europe-Media Program, is up for renewal. On May 30, the European Commission, the E.U.’s administrative arm, set out a proposal for renewed funding over 2021-27 of €1.85 billion. The program’s head, Spain’s Lucía Recalde, used the San Sebastian Festival on Sunday to talk through some of the new program’s ideas, emphases and timeline for approval.
Here are five takeaways from Recalde’s talk:
1. There’S No Success Like Success
Creative Europe’s Media Program, which funds E.U. film-tv-vidgame development, distribution, training and promotion, and production in the case of TV, would take the lion’s share of the new program, with a proposed €1.081 billion. One leitmotif runs through several key proposals: rewarding movie and shows’ success – for example, with a success bonus for movies and TV shows able to attract substantial audiences internationally.
Here are five takeaways from Recalde’s talk:
1. There’S No Success Like Success
Creative Europe’s Media Program, which funds E.U. film-tv-vidgame development, distribution, training and promotion, and production in the case of TV, would take the lion’s share of the new program, with a proposed €1.081 billion. One leitmotif runs through several key proposals: rewarding movie and shows’ success – for example, with a success bonus for movies and TV shows able to attract substantial audiences internationally.
- 9/24/2018
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
San Sebastian — Geraldine Gonard’s Inside Content has swooped on “Josefina,” acquiring world sales rights outside Spain and Germany to the Spanish movie project, which has already attached laureled Spanish actress Emma Suárez, star of Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta,” to play the female lead.
One of the five film titles to be put through development at the Ecam Madrid Film School’s pioneering Incubator development program, “Josefina” is co-produced by Madrid’s White Leaf Producciones and Berlin’s One Two Films, whose recent films include Jennifer Fox’s “The Tale” and Isabel Coixet’s “The Bookshop.”
Producer Sergy Moreno is now beginning to reach out to potential actors comparable in stature to Suárez to play the male lead.
Described by Inside Content’s Geraldine Gonard as a romantic drama with lighter touches and a deft but penetrating criticize of contemporary societal ills, “Josefina” will be directed by Spanish short filmmaker Javier Marco.
One of the five film titles to be put through development at the Ecam Madrid Film School’s pioneering Incubator development program, “Josefina” is co-produced by Madrid’s White Leaf Producciones and Berlin’s One Two Films, whose recent films include Jennifer Fox’s “The Tale” and Isabel Coixet’s “The Bookshop.”
Producer Sergy Moreno is now beginning to reach out to potential actors comparable in stature to Suárez to play the male lead.
Described by Inside Content’s Geraldine Gonard as a romantic drama with lighter touches and a deft but penetrating criticize of contemporary societal ills, “Josefina” will be directed by Spanish short filmmaker Javier Marco.
- 9/23/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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