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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Spain / Belgium

Ravalear is the new project by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez

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- The directors of Saturn Return will direct the series set in Barcelona's Raval neighbourhood, with an ensemble cast headed by Enric Auquer, María Rodríguez Soto and Sergi López

Ravalear is the new project by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez
Actor Enric Auquer (© Guillem Medina), actress María Rodríguez Soto (© Guillem Medina) and actor Sergi López (© Pedro J. Pacheco)

The Max platform has announced the start of production for six episodes (45 minutes each) of its new series Max Original Ravalear, created by British documentary filmmaker Justin Webster (director of miniseries such as Nisman: El fiscal, la presidenta y el espía, Muerte en León and Six Dreams and feature films such as El fin de ETA) and Pol Rodríguez. The series will be directed by Rodríguez and Isaki Lacuesta, both of whom directed Saturn Return [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isaki Lacuesta
film profile
]
, the winning film at the last Malaga Film Festival, which has eleven nominations at the next Goya Awards.

According to its directors, Ravalear is a thriller inspired by real events set in Barcelona, specifically in the Raval neighbourhood (hence its title). It will feature an ensemble cast made up of Enric Auquer (Goya winner for Eye for an Eye [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile
]
and recently seen in Mamífera [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Liliana Torres
film profile
]
and A House on Fire), María Rodríguez Soto (awarded at SXSW for Mamífera and also in A House on Fire), Sergi López (winner of the César award for Harry, He's Here to Help and nominated four times for a Goya, now in Maldoror [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabrice Du Welz
film profile
]
), Quim Àvila (the series I, Addict [+see also:
series review
trailer
series profile
]
and See You in Another Life [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jorge and Alberto Sánchez-C…
series profile
]
), Francesc Orella (last year in The Asunta Case [+see also:
trailer
series profile
]
), Alba Guilera (One Year, One Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isaki Lacuesta
film profile
]
), Lluïsa Castell and Noor Ul Huda. The scripts are written by Isaki Lacuesta, Isa Campo, Eduard Sola, Alfred Pérez-Fargas, Roger Danés, and Maialen Vélez.

The series tells the story of how, after nearly a hundred years of history and three generations, Can Moscas—a long-established restaurant, esteemed and respected by everyone in the neighbourhood and frequented by artists, businessmen, and politicians—faces the imminent purchase by an investment fund.

In the words of Rodríguez, who draws inspiration from his own family history, “having grown up in the world of cinema and having experienced the personal story of our family restaurant, I feel compelled to share with the world what is happening in Barcelona and in many cities around the world, in the only way I know: through the camera. This is my therapy. I want to show the hidden side of Barcelona. A contemporary story that reflects some of the great conflicts of our society. At the same time I want Ravalear to be a warm and intimate story, one of struggle and rebellion. I want to unreservedly depict a reality, full of naturalism, that both surprises and captures. But I don't want to dwell in drama; I want to explain this social conflict through a suspenseful thriller, where tension gradually builds, pushing the protagonists to the brink of suffocation.  A suffocation that will force them to react and fight back.”

Isaki Lacuesta adds, “I met Pol Rodríguez at his family's restaurant, Can Lluís. Twenty years later, Pol and I were working together on a film, when he told me that an investment fund had bought the century-old building  of the restaurant, and they were being evicted. It was a blow to the family, to the neighbourhood and to those of us who had cherished the place. It made the news, but nothing came of it. It was not an isolated incident: the same process is happening in cities across the globe. That's why I was so excited when Pol responded by writing this thriller. A story about a family fighting for survival, about greed, the law of the strongest, and how the weak fight back against the vultures with their own weapons.”

Ravalear is produced by Arcadia and Supernova in co-production with 3Cat and Umedia (Belgium). It has the participation of Max, the support of ICEC and the Creative Europe MEDIA programme.

(Translated from Spanish)

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