31/05/2005

Antonio Saura (Zebra Producciones) is going to co-produce his father Carlos Saura’s new music and dance film Fados, with Portugal (Fado Filmes ) and Brazil.
Oscar-winning cinematographer Eduardo Serra (The Girl With a Pearl Earring) is set to begin photographing the film at the end of 2006.
The project will be dedicated to the famous Portuguese melancholic music style which spread from Angola to Brazil via Portugal. Re-creating Lisbon’s famous Fados Nights talent contest, it will combine past and present images of Fados top performers, using a fictionalized storyline.
“Carlos’ new film will be to the history of Fados what his previous films Tango was to the history of tango and Sevillanas to the history of flamenco” told Antonio Saura to Cineuropa. “It will be very appealing to collectors of this kind of visual music extravaganza”.
Antonio Saura produced in 2002 his father’s other music and dance film Salomé which was sold worldwide by French sales agent MK2.

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Also among Zebra Producciones upcoming projects is the €8m comedy Miguel & William about a fictitious encounter between William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. Filmmaker Ines Paris (My Mother Likes Women) will start filming the project based on her own script in February 2006. Juan Luis Galiardo will play the Spanish writer and casting is under way for the role of the famous English playwright. It is the only film project financially supported by the Don Quijote Foundation set up to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of Cervantes’ classic in 1605. The film will be released by Warner in Spain.

Warner Spain will also handle the release next autumn of another Zebra film: Occulto (Hidden) by award-winning director Antonio Hernandez (En la ciudad sin Limites) The film starring Laia Marrull (Te doy mis ojos), Argentinean rising star Leonardo Sbaraglia and Colombian Angie Cepeda pre-sold to several territories at the last Cannes Film Festival including Benelux (Paradiso) and the US (Venevision). The €3.9m is co-produced in Spain with Iconica, Sintra Film in Italy and Future Film in the UK. Through the Italian co-production, Istituto Luce has signed up for the film’s distribution in Italy.