06/04/2023 - The Spanish helmer is directing a feel-good movie replete with songs, and starring Dani Rovira, Susana Abaitua, Elena Irureta, Antonio Durán “Morris” and Andrés Gertrúdix, among others

The cast and crew of The Bus of Life during the film's shoot (© David Herranz)

In March, Bilbao-born director-producer Ibon Cormenzana (who released two films last year, Beyond the Summit [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ibon Cormenzana
film profile] and Guilt [+see also:
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film profile]) began a seven-week shoot in Orduña (Biscay) for his fifth directorial feature, titled The Bus of Life. His lead actors are Dani Rovira (seen recently in the comedy Cuidado con lo que deseas [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Susana Abaitua (El comensal [+see also:
trailer
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trailer
film profile]), Antonio Durán “Morris”, Nagore Aramburu and Andrés Gertrúdix, with a special guest appearance by Roberto Álamo. In addition, its storyline will be embellished by a clutch of original songs by actress Manuela Vellés and artists such as Kase O, Los Chikos del Maíz, Fito & Fitipaldis, Chill Mafia and Rigoberta Bandini.

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Edu Solà (The Volunteer [+see also:
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film profile], Lunático) has written the screenplay together with Cormenzana, and the story tells of how a music teacher (played by Rovira) who works in Madrid has to relocate to a Basque town to cover a position in a school there. Having recently turned 40 and without ever having got over his stage fright, he feels as though his new life is stopping him from accomplishing his dream of becoming a musician. When he gets to the Basque Country, on his first day of teaching, he faints because of a loud ringing in his ear: he is diagnosed with cancer. In order to receive treatment, he has to go to a medical centre in Bilbao in an old coach that transports all of the patients in the area, free of charge. Thanks to the laughter, confessions, experiences and fears that he shares with his fellow travellers, Andrés will gradually gain the strength he needs to finally face his fears and make his dream come true.

According to Cormenzana, “This project was born three years ago, when I travelled to see some relatives, one of whom told me that he’d been diagnosed with cancer. Far from being an awkward topic, he started to explain to me what his routine had been like since then: he would travel to hospital in a bus together with other patients, and this vehicle full of light, laughter and mutual understanding came to be known as the ‘bus of life’.

“Voltaire recommended laughing about all the things we cannot fix. Well, my relative had struck up friendships with several of the passengers, and sharing the same space and quite a lot of time with them made it easier for them to laugh among themselves about their misfortunes and share awkward situations they’d been in. It’s something that perhaps would have been unthinkable in their homes or with their friends. Right there, as I listened to him, I thought: ‘This story deserves a film’,” sums up the director, who is also producing the movie.

The Bus of Life is being staged by Arcadia Motion Pictures, Aixerrota Films and Pachacamac Films, in conjunction with French outfit Noodles Production. It has secured support from the ICAA and the Basque Government, and it boasts the involvement of Amazon, ETB and TVC. It will be distributed in Spanish theatres by A Contracorriente Films.

(Translated from Spanish)