27 May saw the start of the shoot in the Spanish capital for Mantícora [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Carlos Vermut
scheda film], the fourth feature by Carlos Vermut and his second collaboration – following Magical Girl [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], which scooped the Golden Shell at San Sebastián in 2014 – with Pedro Hernández Santos, of Aquí y Allí Films. The movie stars Avila-born actor Nacho Sánchez (nominated for the Goya Award for Best New Actor in 2019 for his work on Seventeen [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo) and Argentinian thesp Clara Hails (seen in La máquina que escupe monstruos y la chica de mis sueños, a 2012 flick directed by Agustín Ross and Diego Labat). Principal photography will continue until July, also taking in the Catalonian town of Sitges.

In the words of Vermut himself, this story "about love and monsters in modern times […] talks about someone real – one of the people who live among us and whom you could easily come across on the Underground or in the queue for the bakery. It also talks about their need to love and be loved." The movie follows Julián (played by Sánchez), a successful video-game designer whose life is plagued by a dark secret. But when Diana (Hails) pops up in his life, the man will feel as though a chance at happiness is within his grasp.

“Mantícora has a flawless and ruthless screenplay. Supporting an auteur like Carlos is always a pleasure, but producing this film is turning out to be sheer indulgence," says Pedro Hernández. “Vermut and I have seen each other a lot since Magical Girl, and although we weren’t able to team up on Quién te cantará [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], we are delighted to be reuniting now with this story of two people attempting to look for their own version of idyllic love, even though it’s on the margins.

“And the fact is that Carlos has evolved a great deal over the last few years, and has attained a high level of clarity: that’s why he is not using any trickery now, as he tackles the things he wants to convey without beating around the bush, right from the start,” Hernández continued during a phone call with Cineuropa. “This whole project moved very quickly, in the midst of the pandemic last year, and while searching for a distributor, we came across Bteam, who really fancied the idea of also getting on board as a co-producer, something we had never done up until that point: teaming up with a national company… And the whole experience is just incredible.”

Álex Lafuente, of Bteam Prods, adds that it’s "a pleasure for us to be able to collaborate for the first time with Aquí y Allí Films, one of the leading independent Spanish film producers. Furthermore, the plot of Mantícora and Vermut’s outlook on things made a real impression on us from the get-go."

Mantícora is a production by Spanish outfits Aquí y Allí Films and Bteam Prods, in co-production with Romania’s Avanpost, which boasts the involvement of TV3 and Movistar Plus+. It will be distributed by Bteam Pictures, and its international sales will be overseen by Film Factory Entertainment.