Shooting in Spain: DANNY GLOVER and ROBERT ENGLUND

Robert Englund

The American actors Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, Dreamgirls, The Color Purple) and Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elmstreet, V, The Final Battle) have recently been working in Spain. In spite of their huge careers as both actors and directors they are mostly known for the popular characters of Roger Murtaugh from the blockbuster "Lethal Weapon" (Glover) and of the mythic Freddy Krueger from "Nightmare on Elm Street" or as Willie in "V" (Englund). Well, now these two big actors are lending their talent to the Spanish Film Industry by shooting together "I Want to Be a Soldier", a Spanish production shot in English and directed by the Catalan director Christian Molina. The film was opened in Spain first at the Sitges Film Festival on the 12th of October and officially in Madrid the 21st of October. 

Danny Glover

The movie supported by the Spanish Minor's Ombudsman tells the story of a 10 year-old American boy who is influenced by a problematic familiar situation and at the same time is distracted by the negative sides of the new technologies and the influence of the Mass Media.  The kid, Alex ( Fergus Riordan) develops an obsession for the war games and for the idea of becoming a soldier, as he is seduced by an imaginary military friend inviting him to experience violence and destruction. A school psychologist (Robert Englund) tries to help the child to get out of the situation by convincing his reluctant parents (Jo Kelly, Andrew Tarbet) about the need of putting and defining the limits of what a child can do and what not. In spite of their will to make their child follow the path of the correct behavior and goodness, Alex's parents have their own problems and do not always see the minor's crisis until it explodes.

The Premiere of the movie was held in Madrid on Wednesday 19th of October with the presence of, in addition to Danny Glover and Robert Englund, the director Christian Molina, the actors Fergus Riordan, Cassandra Gava, Valeria Marini and Ben Temple.

Valeria Marini, Robert Englund and Ben Temple

All of them had only beautiful and thankful words for the director, the crew and the audience. The Premiere was also supported by many other  Spanish professionals.

According to Danny Glover's contribution to this film as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, the movie is a brilliant reflection about  the Mass media impact on our children's lives and about the consequences of the unlimited and uncontrolled use of the new technologies in young people. In fact Glover's character in the film as the school principal is the narrator of an important part of the message the movie wants to send.

Emilia Uutinen and Danny Glover

In the photo Danny Glover has just been enjoying the premiere of the film in the Capitol Cinema of Madrid. Next to him the Finnish actress Emilia Uutinen, who is working now in  tv and films in Spain, also attended the event.

The participation of Robert Englund in "I want to be a Soldier"is equally magnificent. The actor who had actually worked in a Spanish production before shooting "Killer Tongue"in 1996 with Alberto Sciamma, plays with absolute conviction the role of the school psychologist worried about the young child.

R.Englund, Ben Temple, Fergus Riordan and Ch.Molina

It is worth highlighting also the characters of the young boy played by Fergus Riordan, the character of the mother played by an amazing Jo Kelly, the kid's father played by Andrew Tarbet, the part of the imaginary friend of the young boy played by Ben Temple and the two professors played by Cassandra Gava and Valeria Marini.

Danny Glover speaks to the audience with Cassandra Gava.

We hope to see these great actors work again soon in the Spanish Film Industry and will be following their interesting careers as actors, filmmakers or activists. 

We are sure the kind of collaborations by artists like Robert Englund or Danny Glover can only enrich the European film panorama, and together with brilliant directors like Christian Molina, can contribute to the increase of a new kind of universal filmmaking.

SITGES international Fantastic Film Festival 2011

 

The 44th edition of the oldest and one of most important fantastic genre film festivals SITGES took place in the Spanish Catalonia between the 6th and the 16th of October 2011.

Ryoo Seung-wan

 The traditional festival awarded this year as the Best Film "Red State" by Kevin Smith, awarding also the director Na Hong-jin for his film "The Yellow Sea" and the actors  Brit Marling for "Another Earth" and Michael Parks for "Red State".

Bryan Singer

The Special Jury Prize went to Joe Cornish for his "Attack the Block",

the Best Screenplay for Lucky Mckee and Jack Ketchum for "The Woman" and the Best Cinematography for Markus Förderer and Tim Fehlbaum for "Hell".

The Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan won the Casa Asia Award for his movie "The Unjust" and 

the Grang Honorary Prize of this traditional festival went to the American producer and director Bryan Singer. 

Actors Daniel Brúhl, Alberto Amman, Lluis Homar from " Eva" 

The "Máquina del Temps" Prizes (Time Machine) went to Jaume Balagueró, Michael Biehn, Ching Siu-Tung and Michael Ironside.

The María Honorary Prizes went to Bigas Luna,  Xavier Pérez, Mar Targarona, Caroline Williams, Gonzalo Suárez and Pedro Olea. The Nosferatu Prize was given to Luigi Cozzi.

The Spanish representation at this year's Sitges festival includes the opening movie "Eva" by Kike Maillo, a science fiction story starring Daniel Brühl.

American visitors at the Sitges Festival: the young actor Booboo Stewart and the screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg at the photocall.

San Sebastián International Film Festival 2011

The 59th edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival took place between the 16th and the 24th of September 2011. As every year, this traditional and prestigious Spanish Film Festival supported Spanish, Latin American and Basque Cinema sections in it's program, in addition to the international Official Selection.

Glenn Close with the Donosti Award

This year  the festival decided to honour the American actress Glenn Close by asigning her the Donostia lifetime achievement award. The actress came to collect the award as well as she presented her newest film "Albert Nobbs" that was opened in Europe in this year's San Sebastian Festival.

Los Pasos Dobles crew with Isaki Lacuesta

The winner of the Golden Shell this year in the Official Section was the Spanish  film "Los Pasos Dobles" (The Double Steps) by Isaki Lacuesta, where as the Special Jury Prize went to the French film "Skylab" by Julie Delpy. The Jury of the official selection presided by Frances McNormand decided to asign the Silver Shell for Best Director to the greek Filippos Tsitos, and the actors' awards went to Antonis Kafetzopoulos and María León for Benito Zambrano's "The Sleeping Voice". The Prize for the Best Cinematography was won by Ulf Brantas and the Best Screenplay by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

The rest of the Spanish presentation in the Official Selection "No Rest for the Wicked" by Enrique Urbizu or "The Intruders" by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo didn't receive prizes, although, according to the audience's reactions it seems the two movies are really good.

Enrique Urbizu

As far as the Spanish and Basque film selections are concerned I would distinguish Mateo Gil's "Blackthorn", starring Sam Shepard, Eduardo Noriega, Stephen Rea, Magaly Solier and Nicolak Coster-Waldau and Daniel Sánchez Arévalo's "Primos"(Cousinhood) starring Quim Gutiérrez, Raúl Arévalo, Adrián Lastra, Inma Cuesta, Antonio de la Torre in the Made in Spain- section. From the basque Zinemira- section we liked Alberto Gorritiberea's "The Stone" (Arriya, la Piedra) starring Iban Garate, Begoña Maestre, Sara Casanovas and Ramón Agirre.

As every year the San Sebastian Festival had a friendly and festive atmosphere. According to the new festival director José Luis Rebordinos, the intention of the Festival this year was to magnify the presence of the international film industry and press.
In fact the festival seeks an interactive approach between the filmmakers and the audience.
After every showing actors and directors answer the questions asked by the spectators.

In the photo the Finnish actress Emilia Uutinen speaking with Esteban & J. Miguel Ibarretxe.

We look forward to participating again next year in this traditional and cosy festival which, together with the Cannes Festival, has become a sort of a rundown of the Spanish film tendencies of the year.

Shooting in Spain: MELANIE GRIFFITH

The Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe awarded actress for "Working Girl", Melanie Griffith will soon shoot in Spain. Apparently she has joined the cast of "At 2:15" together with Nick Nolte, Angela Molina, Adrien Paul, Miguel Ángel Tobías and Fernando Guillén Cuervo. The film will be the debut feature of the young director María De Kannon Clé, who is also the scriptwriter of this piece that seems to be a small art-house type film with a good script. The film is supported by the Madrid Film Commission and will be shot entirely in the Spanish capital on October 2011.

Griffith will play the character of a multimilloinaire woman who is Nick Nolte's wife in a script that tells the story of various strangers meeting each other in the traffic lights of Madrid.

The budget of this movie will be around 3 millions of euros producing Maria De Kannon Clé, Miguel Ángel Tobías and Adrien Paul together with Accamedia, Filmblips UK an Hungarian Forma Films.

Melanie Griffith has also participated in two animation productions that are currently in production; her voice can be heard in Ben Stassen’s animation film "Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage" and in Manuel Sicilia’s "The Scales And The Sword".

We look forward to following the career of this beautiful actress who is lenting her talent to the Spanish film industry. As we have always been huge fans of hers, it's a real pleasure to hear she will be working in Spain.

Shooting in Spain: NICK NOLTE

Nick Nolte (Cape Fear, 48 Hours) is visiting the European film industry by shooting at least two movies in Spain.

This summer the veteran actor completed in Seville the shooting of  "A Puerta Fría" by the young Spanish writer and cinematographer Xavi Puebla and together with actors such as Antonio Dechent, José Luis García Pérez or María Valverde.

Nolte plays in this movie the role of a rich American business man running a multinational company who comes on a business trip to Spain. An unemployed Spanish itinerant seller played by Antonio Dechent tries to get in contact with him in order to get a job, but none of the two men speaks the language of the other.

In the press conference of the film produced by the Spanish production company Maestranza Films Nolte expressed his will to work in Spain: "It's a real pleasure to work in an independent movie in Spain". He says he found the script great, the kind of a European indie film everybody would like to work in. The budget of "A Puerta Fría" is one million euros.

 The other project Nick Nolte has in Spain will be shot during 2011 in the Spanish capital of Madrid. The project supported by the Madrid Film Commission is called "At 2:15" and will be directed by María de Kannon Clè. According to Screendaily.com alongside Nick Nolte will be starring Melanie Griffith, Ángela Molina and Fernando Guillén Cuervo in a film that tells the story of a number of people who's paths cross in the city of Madrid. The project is produced by Clo D'Art Productions, Accamedia, Filmblips UK ans the Hungarian Forma Films.

A Finnish actress in Spain: EMILIA UUTINEN

The Finnish born actress Emilia Uutinen works in Spain and is known for her roles in Spanish television and film industry.

She was introduced in theatre, music and dance already in her home country, Finland, from where she moved to Spain at the age of twenty in order to course the prestigious Royal Academy of Performing Arts of Madrid (RESAD). She tells us the theater education in Spain was conscientious and thorough, but well preparing. She spent four years studying from nine to nine and got to work in two movies at the same time.

In her beginnings she worked as dancer in Ramón Salazar’s “20 Centimeters” in 2004 and appeared as the beautiful hostess in Isidro Ortiz’s science fiction action movie “Somne” in 2005.

At that time she was dedicated also to the theater, acting in plays by Tennessee Williams, August Strindberg, William Shakespeare, Calderón or Lope de Vega and in fact she declares herself to be a great fan of Classical Spanish theater. She says acting is a passion and a vocation for her, and when asked whether she prefers theater or film acting, her response is clear:

“I couldn’t just choose one of them. They are two different techniques; in theater the communication with the audience is something unique, whereas camera acting is very subtle and natural. I’m very fond of both theatre and movies. Maybe lately I’ve been more passionate about filmmaking. I can’t stop watching films and learning from them. I just love movies.”

The Nordic actress Emilia Uutinen

After finishing her studies she got popular very quickly with the Spanish Sitcom hit series “Escenas de Matrimonio”.

She tells she started the series with a co-star role, but her character became bigger until converted in one of the starring roles, while the Internet audience chose her as the most popular character of the famous sitcom.

She.appeared also on the weekly hit series “Brothers and Detectives” and played the main role on a fiction based music video “Invocating” that tells the story of a Londoner composer and pianist.

Jon Ariño and Emilia Uutinen

In 2010 Emilia Uutinen was tempted again by the film industry by shooting “An Almost Perfect World” (Un Mundo Casi Perfecto) from the Basque directors and scriptwriters Esteban and José Miguel Ibarretxe (“¡Sabotage!”).

“It was great shooting in the Basque Country. The nature is beautiful and I got to know some really nice people there. And the food is great!”

The movie was presented at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival on 2011 and had its premiere in the month of July this year. Below a video from the red carpet of the Málaga Film Festival.

Emilia tells us that this year had it’s premiere also a short movie she participated in that was shot in English in 2010 in the spanish province of Soria under the title of “Unfarewell”.

 

In this short she plays the character of a mother who looks after her small son in an Amish alike community where old people are condemned to be sacrificed. The actress tells us it feels natural to act in many languages: 

“Acting in English or in French is very natural to me because I’ve spoken those languages since I was a child. Finnish is my mother tongue, Spanish my home tongue and I also speak fluent Swedish.”

Emilia Uutinen with Robert Englund

And asking her about her future, she tells us she can be seen soon in an intervention in the Spanish sitcom hit series "Aida", one of the biggest TV phenomena in Spain.

We wish all  the best to the career of this Nordic actress, who actually is very Spanish. We are sure, she will be hugely successful.

More information in  www.emiliauutinen.com

SPANISH PREMIERES for the month of September 2011

This month there will be three new Spanish premieres in Spain.

On one hand Pedro Almodóvar will open in Spain his film number 18 "The Skin I live In" on the 2nd of September. The movie based on Thierry Jonquet's novel "Tarantula" tells the story of a plastic surgeon (Antonio Banderas) who tries to create an artificial skin that could have saved his wife's life. Twelve years after he manages to grow it in his laboratory thanks to the advances of cellular therapy and crosses the medical boundaries using transgenesis on human beings. However that won't be the only crime he commits. 
 Cast: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Blanca Suárez, Fernando Cayo, Bárbara Lennie, Eduard Fernández, José Luis Gómez, Roberto Álamo, Susi Sánchez, Jan Cornet

Premiere:  2 of September

On the other hand the new film of the spanish director Enrique Urbizu "No Habrá Paz Para los Malvados" (There won't be peace for the wicked) will have its premiere later this month.
It tells the story of Santos Trinidad, a police officer in his fifties whose life seems to be a failure. Things don't go any better when he gets involved in a triple murder by accident and a witness that could incriminate him manages to escape. In order to eliminate the witness Santos begins a man hunt that reveals that nothing is what it seems to be.
Cast: José Coronado, Rodolfo Sancho, Helena Miquel, Juanjo Artero, Pedro María Sánchez, Nadia Casado, Younes Bachir, Karim El Kerem, Abdel Ali El Aziz, Nasser Saleh, Juan Pablo Schuck, Eduard Farelo

Premiere: 23 of September

At the end of the month will have its premiere a Basque movie called "Urteberri on Amona!" (Happy New Year, Grandmother!)  directed by Telmo Esnal.
The film is shot in Basque language and tells the story of a family whose father wants to send his mother-in-law to an old people's house in secret from his wife. The grandmother goes to the old people's house but in small time returns to the family home by her means.
Cast: Montserrat Carulla, Joxean Bengoetxea, Nagore Aramburu, Pedro Otaegi, Kontxu Odriozola

Premiere 30 of September