Falling Star by Lluís Miñarro in Rotterdam
- The Catalan producer’s fiction debut will compete for the Tiger award

After two documentaries (Familystrip [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Blow Horn, both from 2009), producer Lluís Miñarro has launched himself into the world of independent cinema inside and outside of Spain’s borders. His return to directing will this time have him focus on a fiction project. Falling Star [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luis Miñarro
film profile] (or Estrella fugaz) is his fiction film first and has been selected for the International Film Festival in Rotterdam (running on January 22-February 2), where it will be enjoying its worldwide premiere and competing for a Tiger award.
The producer, whose company Eddie Saeta has supported big international films (among them Liverpool by Lisandro Alonso, The Strange Case of Angelica [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Manoel de Oliveira and Palme d'Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Apichatpong Weerasethakul), has put his name to his first fiction project, set during the rule of Amedeo of Savoy in Spain, who around 1870 sought to put order and modernise an ungovernable country. Resonating particularly in today’s crisis-ridden Spain, Falling Star powerfully retraces a misunderstood king who closes in on himself. Outside of palace walls, the country is falling apart, inside however, his court is abandoning itself to games, love intrigue, beauty and melancholy.
Lluís Miñarro has gathered a high level cast, with stars including Àlex Brendemühl, Bárbara Lennie and Lola Dueñas. The screenplay, written by Sergi Belbel and Miñarro himself, was converted into film by photography director Jimmy Gimferrer, who was strongly influenced by artistic pieces of work from the time. Eddie Saeta is the producer and will be guiding sales.
Other titles have been scheduled for out of competition screenings in Rotterdam: La distancia, a new film by Sergio Caballero, who won a Tiger in 2010 with Finisterrae [+see also:
interview: Sergio Caballero
film profile] (produced by Miñarro); La cueva, a horror film by Alfredo Montero, Sobre la marxa, a film debut by Jordi Morató, guided by Isaki Lacuesta, and the Cuban coproduction Hotel Nueva Isla [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], by Irene Gutiérrez and Javier Labrador.
Spanish presence in Rotterdam does not end there. Costa da Morte [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lois Patiño
film profile] by Lois Patiño, Historia de la meva mort [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] by Albert Serra, Caníbal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Manuel Martín Cuenca
film profile] by Manuel Martín Cuenca, El futuro [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Luis López Carrasco and El rayo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Fran Araújo and Ernesto de Nova, which have all already featured in previous festivals, will be given space in various sections of the festival.
(Translated from Spanish)
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