La mujer dormida (lit. “The Sleeping Woman”), a feature directed by Laura Alvea and starring Javier Rey (seen last year in Beyond the Summit [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ibon Cormenzana
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intervista: Cesc Gay
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The movie is a horror-thriller with supernatural elements, and its screenplay was penned by Miguel Ibáñez Monroy, Daniel González and Marta Armengol. It tells of how nursing assistant Ana (played by Almudena Amor) begins to feel an attraction for Agustín (Javier Rey), the husband of a woman in a vegetative state whom she is caring for. However, the young woman suddenly starts being pursued by strange paranormal phenomena that seem to be trying to eject her from the house.

Andalusian director Laura Alvea has worked as an assistant director for Paco León (Arde Madrid), Alberto Rodríguez (The Plague [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Manuel Martín Cuenca
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intervista: Benito Zambrano
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scheda film]. As a solo director, apart from La mujer dormida, she recently shot several episodes of the series The Snow Girl, toplined by Milena Smit, Tristán Ulloa and José Coronado, which will be aired this month on Netflix.

“I’m drawn to horror, even though I watch all sorts of films,” she explains to Cineuropa. “And my new movie talks about a love triangle and about relationships between women, but in a different manner to what we’re accustomed to; it turns it on its head.” But who are the true masters of genre, in her eyes? “Alfred Hitchcock, of course, because the script is steeped in his cinema, which is more closely associated with suspense and intrigue. I also love the inner worlds of Roman Polanski’s, Stanley Kubrick’s and even Robert Zemeckis’ characters; in some of his movies, the latter has retrodden the films of Hitchcock and is quite similar to what we started off with: although with our humble approach and despite our many references, eventually, we will end up with a film that has my own personal stamp on it.”

Incidentally, actress Almudena Amor seems to be specialising in genre film after having worked with Paco Plaza on The Grandmother and his new feature, Hermana muerte. “She’s a real guiding light, but she has something else through which she exudes a certain melancholy and darkness. The camera adores her and conveys something in her that’s very complex – and for this type of movie, it’s just wonderful,” Alvea sums up.

La mujer dormida is being produced by Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo for La Claqueta PC and by Marta Ramírez for Coming Soon Films. It boasts the involvement of RTVE and TV3, and has secured backing from the ICAA and the Andalusian Regional Government. It will land in Spanish dark rooms courtesy of Filmax.