25/06/2008

There could not have been a more auspicious moment for the release of Fernando Colomo’s new football comedy Rivales (“Rivals”), thanks to the collective fever that has taken hold of Spain after the magnificent performance of “la Roja” (the Spanish national football team) in the European Cup 2008 (as illustrated by the fact that the penalty shoot-out in the Spain-Italy match last Sunday was the most watched moment in the history of Spanish television with an almost 80% audience share).

Described by the director as “a comedy about fear and violence”, the film has a comic storyline with elements of a road movie and is set against the backdrop of the grand final of the national junior football tournament when two rival teams (one from Barcelona and the other from Madrid) face each other in Seville.

Rivales is co-written by screenwriter Joaquín Oristrell (who worked with the director on some of his major films, including Going Down in Morocco, Alegre ma non troppo and The Butterfly Effect) and Inés París.

Colomo, one of the most enduring Spanish directors, has made “the most intricate ensemble film of his career”, peopled by a vast number of characters. They are played by an exceptional cast that includes Ernesto Alterio, Gonzalo de Castro, Santi Millán, Juanjo Puigcorbé, Maria Pujalte, Jorge Sanz and Rosa Maria Sardá.

Rivales – which will be the 19th feature by the 62-year-old Madrid-born filmmaker – was produced by Luis De Val and Beatriz de la Gándara for Colomo Producciones (the director’s company) and Media Films. On Pictures will release the film domestically on June 27 on an initial print-run of 250.

(Translated from Spanish)