Historias is the title of the feature directed by Andalusian actor-director Paco Sepúlveda, which stars Maggie Civantos (an actress who appeared in the filmmaker’s previous work, The Game, and whom we glimpsed recently in the series Express), Aura Garrido (gracing screens this year in Alguien que cuide de mí [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] and Amanece), Fernando Tejero (seen in this year’s titles Lobo feroz [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] and Últimas voluntades), Eduardo Blanco (who appeared in El vasco [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] not long ago), Manuel Morón (this year’s Love and Revolution [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] and The Wait [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : F. Javier Gutiérrez
fiche film]), Emilio Gutiérrez-Caba (recently popping up in the series ¡García! [+lire aussi :
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fiche série]) and Luisa Gavasa (a nominee at the upcoming Goyas for her work in El mestre que va prometre el mar, which is currently on the Spanish cinema listings). In addition, it sees the participation of the late Juan Diego in one of his final big-screen appearances. Filming took place in various locations in Madrid, Cádiz and Montevideo, and the movie is now immersed in post-production.

According to the people behind it, Historias is a film with many protagonists, but with one in particular reigning supreme: the viewer. It is a linear voyage along the river of life, from birth to old age and death, via all of its different stages: first love, heartbreak, adulthood, the complications and disappointments of being a grown-up, resignation... It’s a movie narrated through ten different stories that, altogether, form one single tale. Ten scenes bound together by their protagonists’ struggle against fear and their search for happiness.

In the words of Sepúlveda himself: “With Historias, I intend to analyse the core of what, from my point of view, makes us human beings. This is even more important at the moment, as we are increasingly distanced from each other by things such as technology and the need to take a stance on everything, creating a kind of mob of football fans and turning us into these real-life hooligans. Now, it seems as though fear is consuming our lives because of the increasing number of continual wars and the more closed-minded politics owing to borders that are denying life to those who are striving for survival.

“With Historias, I take my time and examine what’s really important, what we call day-to-day life, as if we were aware of the real passing of time and the way we are living,” he continues. “I stop to examine the silences when things remain unsaid, and the things that truly worry me and grab my attention: the treatment we deserve as people, the time and love necessary to overcome the fear instilled in us by this ever-faster and ever-more exhausting whirlwind we call life. Even though each person has their own thoughts, ideologies, values and morals, there is something that unites us all: fear and love. Each story features different actors at different points in life, but in turn, my intention is to reflect the fact that, regardless of each person’s origins, we are all made of the same stuff.”

Historias is a production by Spain’s Guainot Produce and Uruguayan outfit Mother Superior.