In its extensive coverage of Spain at Berlin, its European Film Market Country in Focus, Variety looks back at the country’s presence at this year’s EFM Co-Production Market.
The handful of Spanish titles at Berlinale’s 22nd Co-Production market was as diverse as they come. Aquí y Allí Films’ “Konbini” is a rare co-production with Japan while “Girl, Don’t Play” by Ainhoa Rodríguez calls itself an anti-film noir about female monsters. “Men and Days,” set in Barcelona and London, is a gay romantic drama while “March 14th,” a VFF Talent Highlight Award winner at the Talent Project Market, and “Death in Torrevieja” are family dramas, the latter with a murder mystery twist in a resort town.
What united the five projects, however – and this is typical of Spanish cinema made by its new generation of cineastes – is their strong social issue focus.
All five pics had their market debut at the European Film Market (EFM) where they were among some 35 feature film projects from 27 countries participating in the Co-Production Market, running Feb. 15-19.
“March 14th” (“Catorce de Marzo”), Alberto Gross Molo and co-screenwriter Tomàs Bayo Encontra
One of six projects which scooped awards at this year’s Co-Production Market, a €10,000 ($10,500) cash prize for the best new project at the Talent Project Market. Produced by Contraria Media, executive producer of Gross Molo’s shorts alongside Ayhe Productions, which backed Gross Molo’s acclaimed short “Solos,” and Solita Films, behind Sundance hit “The Fishbowl.” Héctor (11) and his sister Gema (6) are facing the final 24 hours before their parents’ divorce trial—a day that will determine their future. Tomorrow, they must choose which parent they want to live with. But Héctor fears that if their answers don’t match, the judge might separate them. Has gone through La Incubadora ECAM, Berlinale Talents Script Station in its development trajectory. “Beyond the divorce theme, ‘March 14th’ speaks about love between siblings, family and the pain caused by conflicts with loved ones,” says Contraria Media’s Laura Egidos.
“Konbini,” Pedro Collantes, Tomoe Kanno, Sayaka Akitsu
“Konbini” centers on Kisayo, a struggling sound artist working late shifts at a Tokyo convenience store. One night, he intervenes when an elderly man purposefully tries to get caught stealing. This chance encounter sparks an unexpected bond, connecting two vastly different lives. Still in early development, it is backed by Spanish Film Institute ICAA and Japan’s Tsutaya Programme, “‘Konbini’ is a wonderful story that reflects a harsh reality but narrated in such a tender way that it makes you fall in love with it. It is a dream to lead and participate in such an international co-production with Culture Entertainment, one of Japan’s most active production companies with over 30 years of experience,” says Collantes.
“Girl, Don’t Play” (“Niña, no juegues”) Ainhoa Rodríguez
Six-year-old María lives with her mother in a roadside hostel-restaurant in Extremadura. Her mother, constantly cooking and battling stomach pain, sometimes vanishes before dawn. One night, a sinister roadside encounter forces them to flee. As secrets unravel, María begins to question her mother’s true nature—and her own. Co-produced by Les Films du Worso and Tentación Cabiria, Rodriguez says her horror film “delves into the myth of the ‘female monster’ while exploring maternal bonds and the conflict between identity and social imposition. Told from a child’s perspective, it pays homage to cinematic tradition only to subvert it from a new point of view.”
“Men and Days” (“Els homes i els dies”), Arnau Vilaró
Produced by Nanouk Films, Local Films and Lluís Miñarro, “Men and Days” by Arnau Vilaró (“Alcarràs”) is inspired by the life of late Hispanic Studies scholar David Vilaseca. Set in 1992 Barcelona, it follows Vilaseca’s return from London after completing his PhD and a toxic breakup. Amid Olympic fever and the AIDS crisis, he starts a diary on love between men, later earning acclaim after it’s published. Supported by ICEC, Creative Europe Media, and 3CAT, the project awaits support from Televisión Española and CNC. Its producers highlight its fresh take on identity, pre-Olympic Barcelona and LGTBQ+ struggles rarely seen in Spanish cinema.
Men and Days
“Death in Torrevieja” (“Muerte en Torrevieja”) Adriana Arratia Screenwriters: Arratia, Marina Figueras and Pilar Romina
Participating in the Talent Project Market at the Berlinale Co-Production Market, the Maqueta Films and Nakamura Films co-production is set during a torrid summer in the tourist resort Torrevieja where Chetia, a single mother struggling to raise her unwanted son, survives each day through shady dealings and illegal balcony betting. But her world is upended when a tourist mysteriously dies at one of her parties. Cast is led by Caterina Hurtado Fernández and Ana Jiménez La Santa. “Adriana Arratia is 25 years old, uses a unique language and has a very clear purpose of giving visibility to the stories of women who live on society’s margins. Her film breathes contemporaneity, strength and rawness,” say its producers.
