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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Spain

Patrícia Font works on El maestro que prometió el mar

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- Based on the book of the same name by Francesc Escribano, the Catalan director's second film, starring Laia Costa, Enric Auquer and Luisa Gavasa, has finished shooting

Patrícia Font works on El maestro que prometió el mar
Director Patricia Font (centre), actor Enric Auquer and actress Luisa Gavasa on the set of El maestro que prometió el mar (© Sergi Bernal)

A few weeks ago, filming finished on El maestro que prometió el mar, a feature film directed by Patrícia Font (Gente que viene y bah [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
) and starring Enric Auquer (Goya for Best New Actor for Eye for an Eye [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile
]
) and Laia Costa (Best Actress at this year's Malaga Festival and the same award at the Forqué Awards for Lullaby [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
film profile
]
, seven years after her Lola award for Best Actress for Victoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sebastian Schipper
film profile
]
). Luisa Gavasa (Goya award-winner for The Bride [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paula Ortiz
film profile
]
, seen this year in Staring at Strangers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Félix Viscarret
film profile
]
), Ramón Agirre (Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño
film profile
]
), Milo Taboada (The Island of Lies [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) and the young newcomers Nicolás Calvo, Alba Hermoso and Gael Aparício, among other, complete the cast.

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This historical-political film (now in post-production) was shot last September and October on location in the province of Barcelona and in Briviesca (Burgos) and is based on the book of the same name by Francesc Escribano, adapted for the screen by Albert Val.It focuses on the life of Antoni Benaiges (played by Enric Auquer), a teacher from Mont-Roig del Camp (Tarragona) who in 1935 is assigned to the public school in Bañuelos de Bureba, a small village in the province of Burgos.

Little by little, and with a pioneering and revolutionary teaching methodology for the time, the man will start to transform the lives of his pupils, but also that of the village, something that not everyone welcomes. To explain Benaiges' epic, the film interweaves past and present, showing it through the eyes of Ariadna (Laia Costa), a woman searching for her great-grandfather who disappeared in the Spanish Civil War.

In the words of Patrícia Font, "there are two interacting narratives in this film: what happened in the past is echoed in the present in the form of a transgenerational wound. We touch upon the importance of keeping the memory of missing persons alive, but we also highlight the relatives, still alive, who continue to look for them.”

The producers wanted to highlight the essence of this exciting plot with these words, “it is a great story that has been unjustly forgotten for many years. With this film we remedy this neglect and at the same time we showcase the work of the republican teachers, recognising the struggle of so many people who are still searching for their relatives buried anonymously in mass graves during the Spanish Civil War and the dark times of Franco's regime. A moving and timely commentary."

El maestro que prometió el mar is produced by  Minoria Absoluta, Lastor Media, Filmax and Mestres Films AIE with participation from RTVE and TV3, and supported by ICAA and ICEC. It will be distributed in Spanish cinemas by Filmax.

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(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)

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