Salitre (lit. “Saltpetre”) is the title of the first feature by Bilbao native Norma Vila, which is currently being shot until 18 December on location in Bilbao, Arrigorriaga, Munguía, Bermeo, Mundaka and Isla. The movie is a horror fable that examines empty-nest syndrome and the visceral fear of loss through a female, modern and demythologising lens.

The flick is toplined by actress of the moment Nagore Aranburu, who has won numerous prizes for the series Querer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
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intervista: Aitor Arregi e José Mari G…
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intervista: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
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intervista: Igor Legarreta
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The screenplay, penned by Candela Echenique, tells of how Maite’s (played by Aranburu) life is devoted to two pillars that give her existence meaning: her daughter, Nerea (Carneros), and her seafood business, a natural hatchery dug on the edge of the cliff where the house they both live in is perched. Her routine, which is austere and methodical, is shaken to the core when Nerea announces her intention to move to Barcelona in order to study Art. What represents a step towards independence for the daughter becomes a threat in Maite’s eyes.

Norma Vila, who has been notching up prizes with her short films at festivals such as Málaga and Zinebi (Bilbao), offers a profoundly human approach to the figure of the bad mother, an archetype rarely represented in film traditionally, as motherhood often appears as idealised or is boiled down to clichés.

According to the team behind it, the film aligns with new genre touchstones directed by women – such as Prevenge [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Alice Lowe), The Babadook (Jennifer Kent) and The Invitation (Karyn Kusama) – in which the horror elements emerge as a result of an emotional transformation. And so, Maite’s character embodies that far-from-idealised vulnerability: a mother paralysed by fear, who is unable to accept the fact that her daughter is growing up and who will be dragged towards the dark side by her inability to let go.

The helmer reflects on “the most latent fear” shown in Salitre: “Maite’s fear of losing her daughter and losing herself.” Her creation is a psychological journey blending drama, horror and body horror. Without making moral judgements, and told from a female perspective, it narrates a story about real motherhood in all its fragility and complexity. According to the producers, the movie will offer a sensorial experience that progresses from realism towards expressionism, while always preserving the character’s subjectivity and the latent horror inherent in everyday life.

Salitre is being staged by Ipuin Kontalaria AIE in co-production with Eduardo Carneros for Euskadi Movie, David Naranjo and Gonzalo Gilsanz for Pris&Batty Films, Andrés Salmoyraghi and Ricardo Uhagon for Bondi Stories, and distributor Festival Films, which will release it in Spanish theatres. In addition, it boasts the involvement of EITB and RTVE.