Basque writer-director Lara Izagirre Garizurieta is gearing up to begin principal photography on her new feature, Yerma, a contemporary adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s seminal play examining the pressures surrounding motherhood and the constraints imposed by social norms.

Set in both Spain and Greece, the story follows Mara, a 36-year-old woman who has just got a job as a professor of sculpture at the University of the Basque Country after several years living abroad with her husband, Jon. Now that she has a new home in Bilbao and a stable job, the wish to become a mother begins to creep into her life, and a struggle for that desired biological motherhood thus begins. Failure in this effort will jeopardise her beliefs, her job, her partner and her happiness, and she will have to free herself from this desire in order to find herself again.

The film stars Ane Pikaza (Nora) as Mara and Aitor Borobia as Jon, reprising their roles from María Goiricelaya’s successful stage adaptation in Bilbao, on which the screenplay is based. Goiricelaya co-wrote the script together with Izagirre Garizurieta, bringing Lorca’s proto-feminist themes into a contemporary context.

This is the third feature directed by Izagirre Garizurieta, following her debut, An Autumn Without Berlin, which premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival and earned Irene Escolar the Goya Award for Best New Actress, and her sophomore feature, Nora, which also screened at the same festival six years later. As a producer, she is known for the award-winning 20,000 Species of Bees by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, which travelled to dozens of festivals worldwide and won 42 awards, including the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the Berlinale.

The director is collaborating once again with Gaizka Bourgeaud as cinematographer, who also lensed her two previous films. The art director is Izaskun Urkijo, with music composed by Paula Olaz, editing by Ibai Elorza and production direction by Ana Angulo Umaran. Filming is set to begin in Bilbao at the end of April, with the Greek leg of the shoot scheduled for June in Aidipsos, on the island of Evia. The project originated through the initiatives of the Thessaloniki Film Festival within the framework of the Evia Film Project. Izagirre Garizurieta participated in multiple editions of the programme between 2023 and 2025, which also facilitated connections with local authorities and promoted Northern Evia as an international filming destination.

Yerma is a Spanish-Greek co-production staged by Izagirre Garizurieta, Garazi Elorza and Ana Angulo Umaran for Bilbao-based Gariza Films, in co-production with Amanda Livanou and Katerina Tzourou for Athens-based Neda Film, and Greek pubcaster ERT SA. The film has received support from Eurimages, the Basque Government, public broadcasters EITB and TVE, the BBK Foundation, the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center and Creative Europe - MEDIA.