On Friday 8 April, the filming of Que nadie duerma [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antonio Méndez Esparza
scheda film], the fourth feature film of the Madrid native Antonio Méndez Esparza, but the first to be shot in his home country, finished in the Spanish capital. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Juan José Millás, with a script written by the filmmaker together with Clara Roquet (Libertad [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Clara Roquet
scheda film], Goya for best new director in 2021). The film features a cast headed by Malena Alterio (soon to star in Espejo, espejo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]), Aitana Sánchez Gijón (seen last year in Parallel Mothers [+leggi anche:
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making of
scheda film]), Rodrigo Poisón, José Luis Torrijo, Manuel de Blas and Mariona Ribas.

It is a road movie that tells the story of Lucía (played by Malena Alterio, in an unusual role for her, very different to the comedies that made her famous) who, after losing her job as a computer programmer, decides to turn her life around and become a taxi driver. At the wheel of her car and driving through the streets of Madrid, she patiently waits for the chance to pick up her missing neighbour, who she has fallen in love with, and realises that she should never have trusted anyone she confided in.

We spoke to Pedro Hernández Santos (Aquí y Allí Films), Méndez Esparza’s producer ever since his debut film, to hear about this recently completed shoot, the first time the director has filmed in Spain. "It was a carefully thought-out decision. He is barely known here, and he had to come with a clearly-defined project, so we thought that the best way was to adapt a novel. We read many, but he especially liked this one by Millás and we agreed that Malena Alterio would be the best protagonist. And Millás, who is charming and hilarious, talked to Antonio about his proposal; he thought it was great and didn't interfere in anything, as he didn't want to affect the film with his decisions and opinions".

After studying law in Madrid, Antonio Méndez Esparza studied film directing at Columbia University in New York and is a professor at Florida State University. After winning the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival with his debut film Aquí y Allá: Here and There [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pedro Hernández
scheda film], he shot Life and Nothing More [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antonio Méndez Esparza
scheda film] in 2017 winning the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. At the 2020 San Sebastian Festival, he presented the documentary Courtroom 3H [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antonio Méndez Esparza
scheda film], filmed, like all his previous films, in the United States.

Que nadie duerma is a production by Aquí y Allí Films, Wanda Visión and Que Nadie Duerma AIE, supported by ICAA, Comunidad de Madrid and Impulsa Castilla La Mancha, and in collaboration with TeleMadrid. Wanda Visión will distribute the film in Spain, and Film Factory will manage international sales.