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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Spain / France

Pheasant Island, the feature debut by Asier Urbieta, to compete at the Göteborg Film Festival

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- Jone Laspiur and Sambou Diaby star in this border-set thriller that unfolds in Spain and France, and which will be sold internationally by Latido Films

Pheasant Island, the feature debut by Asier Urbieta, to compete at the Göteborg Film Festival
Jone Laspiur on the set of Pheasant Island (© Nicolàs de Assas)

The movie Pheasant Island, the feature debut by Asier Urbieta, will be locking horns in the international competition of the 48th Göteborg Film Festival, which will unspool in the Swedish city of Gothenburg from 24 January-2 February. Shot in Gipuzkoa (Spain) and France, this border-set thriller stars Goya winner Jone Laspiur (Ane Is Missing [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Pérez Sañudo
film profile
]
) and well-regarded stage actor Sambou Diaby. It was written by the director together with Andoni de Carlos, who also received a gong from the Spanish Film Academy for the screenplay of Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño
film profile
]
. The cast is rounded off by Itziar Ituño (the series Money Heist, seen recently in In the Company of Women [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
) and Josean Bengoetxea (who recently appeared in the series Cristóbal Balenciaga [+see also:
series review
series profile
]
and The Last Night at Tremore Beach [+see also:
trailer
series profile
]
).

The film was shot on location over six weeks, in the very places where the plot is set (Irun, Hendaye and San Sebastián): for this reason, the dialogue is in Basque, French and Spanish. The storyline introduces Pheasant Island as the smallest condominium in the world: for half of the year, it belongs to the Spanish state, and for the other half, it belongs to France. It sits in the middle of the Bidasoa river, the natural border separating both countries. A couple comprising Laida (played by Jone Laspiur) and Sambou (Sambou Diaby) are walking near the island and suddenly see two people swimming across the river in an attempt to reach the other side. Days later, a dead body appears during the island’s exchange of sovereignty. Who will take the lead in investigating this occurrence?

Asier Urbieta states about his feature debut: “One day, while leafing through the newspaper, I read that one Sunday, a group of cyclists were riding along the bank of the Bidasoa river when they heard cries for help from two people who were trying to cross the border by swimming, but the current was too strong. I put myself in their shoes, and a question arose in my head: what would I have done? I would love to say that I would have jumped in, but I’m not so sure. Using those real-life events as the starting point, I then developed the story of the movie.” He continues: “I wanted to approach a complex, global situation from the point of view of what happens near my home, events that people don’t know about: borders, the people who cross them and international politics affect us all, whether we’re aware of it or not. That’s why I wanted to tell this story from a local point of view, on the real-life border, but it’s also a perspective that could be of interest to an international audience.”

Pheasant Island is an Arcadia Motion Pictures, La Tentación Producciones and Galatea Films production, in conjunction with La Fidèle Production (France). It has secured funding from the ICAA and the Basque Government, and it boasts the involvement of EiTB and Movistar Plus+. Latido Films is overseeing its international sales, while BTeam Pictures will release it in Spanish theatres.

(Translated from Spanish)

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