Key Spanish Films for Sale at Berlin’s EFM – From an Ester Expósito Starrer to Sundance Hits and the Latest from Amenábar, Carla Simón and Cesc Gay
A selection of Spanish titles being sold at the European Film Market.
“My Friend Eva,” Cesc Gay
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A romantic comedy about Eva, who, after 20 years of marriage, seeks to rediscover love and passion, directed by “Truman” helmer Gay. “Cesc’s films are always highly anticipated. He’s a director who’s given us so much success in the past,” says the film’s sales agent.
S.A. Filmax
*”The Virgin of the Quarry Lake,” Laura Casabé (Argentina, Spain)
Set in 2001 Argentina, this film follows Natalia, who uses dark incantations to win back her love, leading to self-empowerment and a dramatic conclusion. A buzz title at last month’s Sundance market.
S.A. Filmax
*”Fury,” Gemma Blasco
A young actress, Alex, grapples with trauma and isolation after a New Year’s Eve assault. Her brother’s misguided support leads them down dark paths, while Alex finds solace in theatre. Headed to SXSW’s global program this year.
S.A. Filmax
*”The Light of Aisha,” Shadi Adib (Spain, Germany, Singapore)
In 11th-century Al-Andalus, Aisha dreams of becoming a pyrotechnic artist. Her journey to save her father and fulfill her dream is filled with adventure and self-discovery delivered in vibrant CG animation.
S.A. Filmax
“The Talent,” Carlos Polo Menárguez (Reposado P.C.)
“élite” standout Ester Expósito plays a young cellist facing a moral dilemma at a high-society party. Her life changes drastically as she navigates the complexities of wealth, power, and self-preservation.
S.A. The Film Factory
“Reversion,” Jacob Santana (Spain, Dominican Republic)
Mario’s brother returns home after a mysterious kidnapping but with no memories. Starring Jaime Lorente – Denver in “Money Heist” – thriller “in the vein of international blockbuster thrillers like ‘Old Boy’ or ‘The Invisible Guest,’ according to its sales agent.
S.A. The Film Factory
*”The Goldsmith’s Secret,” Olga Osorio
Starring Mario Casas as Juan Pablo, a skilled goldsmith, revisits his past love, Celia, in a journey across time. Their love story, marked by age differences, explores the complexities of fate and time.
S.A. The Film Factory
*”Mikaela,” Daniel Calparsoro
During a record-breaking snowstorm, a group of robbers hijacks an armored van. Leo, a finished policeman, and a young woman team up to stop them in this fast-paced action thriller.
S.A. The Film Factory
“Deaf,” Eva Libertad
Angela, a deaf woman, faces the challenges of motherhood with her hearing partner. One of the most prominent Spanish films selected for this year’s Berlinale program, it world premieres in the Panorama section.
S.A. Latido Films
“The Harvester,” David Pérez Sa?udo (Spain, Benelux)
The latest from one of Spain’s most promising auteurs. Based on true events, a thriller about a serial rapist and killer targeting women in Northern Spain during the Carlist Wars, 20 years before Jack the Ripper haunted the streets of London.
S.A. Latido Films
*“8,” Julio Medem (Spain, Uruguay)
From the director of “Sex and Lucia,” this romantic period drama stars recent breakouts Javier Rey (“Fari?a”) and Ana Rujas (“La Mesías”) in a narrative that starts during the Spanish Civil War and sprawls across 8 decades.
S.A. Latido Films
*”Rains Over Babel,” Gala del Sol (Spain, Colombia, U.S.)
A debut feature playing Sundance, this magical realist fable follows a group of misfits to Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as the purgatory. A tropical soundtrack and vibrant palette help fuel the film’s dreamlike narrative.
S.A. Latido Films
“The Cottage,” Silvina Schnicer (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain)
A family discovers signs of an intruder at their winter cottage. While the parents rally the community, unsupervised children make reckless choices, and tragedy unfolds. “It is a story that focuses on the intimate and quiet motivations that drive us, bringing to light the evil that secretly constitutes us,” say its producers.
S.A. Feel Sales
“My Brother Ali,” Paula Palacios (Spain, Portugal)
This Goya-nominated feature follows Ali, who fled Somalia at 14, over 12 years of his young life. Filmed in multiple countries, it depicts his personal growth and quest for a new tribe while pursuing “the American dream.”
S.A. Feel Sales
*“Death in Torrevieja,” Adriana Arriatia
Selected for the Berlinale Co-Production Market’s Talent Project Market, this is adapted from a 2022 short of the same name in which Chetia scams tourists but faces harsh realities at home, caring for her son in a city she desperately wants to escape.
S.A. Feel Sales
“A Bathroom of One’s Own,” Lucía Casa? Rodríguez
Antonia, a 65-year-old housewife, finds solace in bathrooms, where she writes and escapes her mundane life, ultimately challenging her amiable fa?ade. “The filmmaker flees from realism and the spectator does not see any character directly, but the image that the protagonist has of them,” says Begin Again.
S.A. Begin Again
“The Drunkmen’s Marseillaise,” Pablo Gil Rituerto
A film crew follows in the footsteps of a clandestine trip made by the band Cantacronache in 1961, collecting popular songs from anti-Franco resistance. The film’s soundtrack “demonstrates the undeniable link between a country’s political history and its geography.”
S.A. Begin Again
*”Black Site,” Peter Lindmark (Spain, Sweden, U.K.)
“Pure adrenaline and suspense with great doses of Scandi-noir,” this thriller takes place over a 24-hour period among a group of characters, none of which are who they say they are.
S.A. Neo-Art
“Funeral Family Trilogy (Part 2),” Claudio Amendola (Spain, Italy)
The Pasti brothers, now VIP gravediggers, face disaster when a massive financial blunder threatens their chance at a coveted prize as an unknown sister arrives to complicate things further. A dark comedy ideal for remakes according to its producers.
S.A. Neo-Art
“The 47,” Marcel Barrena
Released Sept. 6 by A Contracorriente Films, this story about a Barcelona bus driver who helped shape the city in the 1970s is the most-watched Catalan-language movie in theaters in more than four decades. Nominated for 13 Spanish Academy Goya Awards, in a historical first it shared the best picture prize and won four other awards.
S.A. The Mediapro Studio
“Transmitzvah,” Daniel Burman
The long-awaited film return of celebrated director Daniel Burman, this singing and dancing family story turns on a Yiddish singer returning to her childhood neighborhood in Buenos Aires. It screened at Cannes’ Cinéma de la Plage last year.
S.A. The Mediapro Studio
*”Still Life With Ghosts,” Enrique Buleo
Distressed by the troubles and difficulties of life and death, ghosts and humans of a small town in La Mancha attempt to solve their problems, going to desperate extremes to do so. A standout at last year’s Locarno.
S.A. Sideral
*“Close to the Sultan,” Javier Rebollo
From San Sebastián winner Rebollo, at the turn of the 20th century, adventurer and Lumière Brothers’ cameraman Gabriel Veyre lands in the Pays de Nour on a three-month contract to introduce the Venerable Sultan to the mysteries of cinematography.
S.A. Sideral
“From My Cold Dead Hands,” Javier Horcajada
Thousands of hours of off-the-wall YouTube videos are distilled into a crazy cocktail of the most extreme, wild and crazy gun lovers in the United States. Americans can’t all be like this, right?
S.A. Sideral
“El Captivo,” Alejandro Amenábar
In Algiers, 1575, Cervantes, a Spanish Navy soldier, captivates fellow captives with storytelling, gaining the attention of Bey Hasan, and devises a daring plan for freedom. A Cervantes origin story, written and helmed by “The Others” director Alejandro Amenábar striking some notable pre-sales led by Haut et Court for France.
S.A. Film Constellation
“Romería,” Carla Simón
Berlin Golden Bear winner Simón (“Alcarrás”) returns with this highly personal story about a woman who seeks out her biological father’s family after he dies from AIDS. Simón’s parents were taken by the disease when she was just six years old.
S.A. MK2
“Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake,” Irene Iborra Rizo
Catalonia’s first stop-motion animated feature turned heads during an Annecy WIP presentation last year. Olivia, 12, faces family eviction, depression and finds a new community to rebuild her life and overcome adversities.
S.A. Pyramide International
* Indicates a market premiere
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