Aitor Arregi and José Mari Goenaga shoot Maspalomas
- The new film from the two people behind the films Marco and The Endless Trench and the series Cristóbal Balenciaga is a queer drama sold by Film Factory
Maspalomas is the title of the feature film currently being shot by José Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi, members with Jon Garaño of the Moriarti production company, behind such films as Marco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño
film profile] (premiered at the last Venice Film Festival, in the Orizzonti section), The Endless Trench [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño an…
film profile] (winner of the Best Director and Best Screenplay awards at San Sebastian and two Goya awards), Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño
film profile] (winner of the Special Jury Prize at San Sebastian and no less than ten Goyas) and the recent Disney+ series Cristóbal Balenciaga [+see also:
series review
series profile], centred around the life and work of the legendary Spanish couturier.
Maspalomas is named after the enclave located in the south of the island of Gran Canaria, famous for its sea of dunes next to its kilometres of beaches and a famous mecca for gay tourism, like Sitges and Mykonos. The film tells the story of Vicente, an elderly man who is openly homosexual and who, when he is admitted to an old people's home, decides to go back into the closet.
With a script written by José Mari Goenaga, the filmmaker states that this “is a film that aims to reflect on psychological (and physical) confinement, on erased identities, on how difficult it is to assert yourself in certain environments when you don't know where to start and how easy it can be to lose what you have already conquered.” In this theme of lack of freedom, social imposition and sexual repression, the Basque duo's new work links up with their previous works The Endless Trench and Cristóbal Balenciaga. With this feature film, Moriarti also returns to the intimacy of previous films such as For 80 Days [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Flowers [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], where the elderly and the LGBTQI+ community held great significance.
The feature film, shot in 35mm between the rainy Basque country and the sunny Canary Islands, stars Jose Ramón Soroiz (recently seen in The Bus of Life [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Lullaby [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
film profile]), Nagore Aranburu (currently known for her work in the wonderful series Querer [+see also:
series review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
series profile], although she has already worked with Moriarti in Cristóbal Balenciaga and Flower), Kandido Uranga (the series Segunda muerte and The Asunta Case [+see also:
trailer
series profile]), Zorion Eguileor (The Platform [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
film profile] and The Platform 2, The Elderly [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Raúl Cerezo, Fernando Gonzá…
film profile]) and Kepa Errasti (A Whale [+see also:
film review
film profile], Irati [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]).
Maspalomas is produced by Irusoin, Moriarti and Maspalomas pelikula AIE with the participation of the ICAA, RTVE, EITB and Basque Government. Film Factory will manage international sales and Bteam Pictures will distribute it in Spain.
(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)
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