Revista RUBIK Febrero 2024 - Especial Berlinale / EFM by Rubik Audiovisual

HERE IS… RUBIK INTERNATIONAL

anuary was the month of Rubik’s kick-off. A new monthly publication for the audiovisual industry in Spain. The objective: to put forward accurate and ambitious journalism that addresses the sector from its different points of view. Hence the name of our magazine, since we seek to show and analyze all the sides of Film and TV, with all their edges. Rubik approaches cinema, television, streaming platforms or video games in their broadest and most multifaceted professional sense: production, distribution, exhibition, creation and technology. This February issue marks our first one in English. We won´t be just a domestic magazine. For certain events, like Berlin Film Festival, we’ll have international editions. The subjects of these international editions will be global but we’ll put a stress on Spanish, Latin American and European content, bringing them to professionals from all over the world.

Complementing the magazine’s in-depth feature articles, the latest news will be found on our website www.rubik-audiovisual.com This issue 2 of Rubik is mainly dedicated to the 74th edition of the Berlin Film Festival and its European Film Market. This section highlights an overview of the films that will compete for the Golden Bear and eight titles by eight important auteurs in Berlinale Special. As we stated, we want to put special emphasis on Spanish and Latam Cinema. Thus, we cover here the films that festival’s committees have selected in this edition from these regions. We publish an interview with Ignasi Camós, new managing director of the Spanish Film Institute (ICAA) and address what Spain has prepared for EFM in terms of the Cinema from Spain Pavilion and its industry activities and market screenings. A preview for the Oscar is another of the edition’s cornerstones. WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

Besides an introduction with all the nominations, we focus on two Spanish films that have made it into the ceremony (Society of the Snow and Robot Dreams), Chilean documentary The Eternal Memory and brilliant European films The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall. Other relevant content in this edition is the interview of Jaclyn Philpott, executive director of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), the defense of Culture in Argentina, the Global Statement on IP and streaming platforms, the Geo-blocking Regulation in EU and the reopening of the Ciudad de la Luz Studios. We are eager for you to join us on this journey we have embarked on and we promise that we will continue working to offer comprehensive, quality information and to build up innovative visions of the audiovisual industry. Welcome to Rubik! Carlos Aguilar Sambricio and Miguel Varela 3

SUMMARY

BERLINALE

Sterben

JACLYN PHILPOTT (AFCI) SPANISH CINEMA AND BERLINALE, A TALE OF LOVE AND COOPERATION INTERVIEW:

IN SEARCH OF THE GOLDEN BEAR BERLINALE SPECIAL IN EIGHT AUTEURS INTERVIEW:

8 18

IGNASI CAMÓS (ICAA) LARGER SPANISH PRESENCE AT EUROPEAN FILM MARKET SPANISH MARKET SCREENINGS LATAM GOES TO BERLIN

20 24 34 38 40 42

FRONT COVER PHOTO: ZORRAS (TRAMPS) @ Atresmedia

EDITED IN MADRID IN FEBRUARY 2024 BY MARATÓN AUDIOVISUAL S.L. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED LEGAL DEPOSIT: M-1895-2024 ISSN: ISSN 3020-5107 GENERAL CONTACT: HOLA@RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM EDITORIAL CONTACT: REDACCION@RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM ADVERTISING CONTACT: MARKETING@RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

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RUBIK MAGAZINE

THE OSCARS A STRONG YEAR SOCIETY OF THE SNOW ROBOT DREAMS THE ETERNAL MEMORY THE ZONE OF INTEREST ANATOMY OF A FALL

46 48 52 55 56 58

FEATURES CINE ARGENTINO UNIDO GLOBAL STATEMENT ON IP GEO-BLOCKING REGULATION MBS GROUP AND CIUDAD DE LA LUZ STUDIOS

60 62 64 66 © ReinerBajo /Netflix

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IN SEARCH OF THE GOLDEN BEAR TWENTY FILMS WILL COMPETE FOR THE GOLDEN BEAR IN THE LAST EDITION TO BE CONDUCTED BY MARIËTTE RISSENBEEK AND CARLO CHATRIAN, BEFORE TRICIA TUTTLE, WHO LED THE BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, TAKES CHARGE OF DIRECTOR’S DUTIES. AT THIS PIECE WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE CONTENDERS FOR THE MAIN AWARDS AT THE 74TH BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, THAT TAKES PLACE FROM 15 TO 25 FEBRUARY 2024. CARLOS AGUILAR SAMBRICIO

egarding facts and figures, this year’s Competition has two first features as well as two documentary works. There are productions from 30 countries (three filmmakers are from Africa) and 19 films are world premieres. Six films were directed or co-directed by women and nine filmmakers have been at the festival before (six in Competition). “We are particularly proud of this year’s selection which achieves the best possible balance between auteurs we cherish and admire and powerful new voices in the independent cinema landscape. What drives the selection is of course the variety of the stories and their storytellers, but also and even more so the plurality of styles with the goal of showing the extensive possibilities of cinema language”, says Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director. The presence of top-level auteurs such as Olivier Assayas, Bruno Dumont or Hong Sangsoo stands out, as well as other praised filmmakers such as Victor Kossakovsky, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Andreas Dresen, Mati Diop, Abderrahmane Sissako or Gustav Möller. However, the spotlight will be on Martin Scorsese, who gets the Honorary Golden Bear this year. The jury, chaired by Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya/Mexico), includes Brady Corbet (United States), Ann Hui (Hong Kong, China), Christian Petzold (Germany), Jazmín Trinca (Italy), Oksana Zabuzhko (Ukraine) and Albert Serra (Spain). 8

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BERLINALE

SMALL THINGS LIKE THIS by Tim Mielants (Ireland and Belgium) Opening film in Berlinale 2024 is Small Things Like This. It is based on a book written by Claire Keegan (who was previously adapted with The Quiet Girl). Tim Mielants reunites with Cillian Murphy, who previously worked together on season 3 of Peaky Blinders. The film talks about Ireland’s Magdalen laundries, which were horrific asylums run by Roman Catholic institutions from the 1820s until 1996. The film was produced by Murphy and Alan Moloney through their company Big Things Films. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are involved as producers, it was co-produced in Belgium by Wilder Content and FilmNation is handling international sales. Storyline: Christmas in 1985. When devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong discovers startling secrets kept by the convent in his town, along with some shocking truths of his own.

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BERLINALE

A DIFFERENT MAN by Aaron Schimberg (USA) The only US film in the bunch is this A24 film. Produced by Killer Films and Grand Motel Pictures, this is the third feature film directed by Aaron Schimberg, who also penned the script. His previous work, Chained for Life, was praised at several festivals. The main cast includes Sebastian Stan (Pam and Tommy), Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World) and Adam Pearson (Under the Skin). Storyline: Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.

ARCHITECTON by Victor Kossakovsky (Germany and France) This is one of the two documentaries in competition. Back by A24, it´s directed by the acclaimed russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky (The Belovs, Gunda, Aquarela). The Match Factory, the sales company at EFM, says: “It is an epic, intimate and poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction — and offer hope for survival and a way forward. It raises an urgent question: How do we build, and how can we build better, before it’s too late?” Storyline: Centering on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele de Lucci, Kossakovsky uses the circle to reflect on the rise and fall of civilizations, capturing imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to AD 60, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023.

BLACK TEA by Abderrahmane Sissako (France, Luxembourg, Taiwan, Mauritania and Ivory Coast) Sissako is one of the most popular African contemporary filmmakers, after gaining glory with works like Timbuktu, La Vie Sur Terre and Bamako. It´s been a long while since his last feature film, Timbuktu, which premiered ten years ago at Cannes. Now he returns with “his most complex and fascinating work”, according to Carlo Chatrian. Gaumont handles French distribution and global sales. Storyline: Aya, a young Ivorian woman in her early thirties, says no on her wedding day, to everyone’s astonishment. After emigrating to Asia, she works in a tea export shop with Cai, a 45-year-old Chinese man. Aya and Cai fall in love but can their affair survive the turmoil of their past and other people’s prejudices? 10

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YEOHAENGJAOUI PYLIO (A Traveler’s Needs) by Hong Sangsoo (South Korea) Prolific filmmaker Hong Sangsoo is back at Berlin. It’s his sixth selection at this festival in the last years. Also, it’s the third collaboration of the renowed South Korean artist with French actress Isabelle Huppert, following Claire’s Camera and In Another Country. Carlo Chatrian describe it as “a special comedy that is another light yet piercing take on human relationships”. Leading Korean rights sales company Finecut manages international distribution Storyline: A French woman, who initially played a child’s recorder in a park and faced financial struggles, eventually became a French teacher for two women, finding solace in lying down on rocks and relying on makkeolli for comfort.

IN LIEBE, EURE HILDE (From Hilde, with Love) by Andreas Dresen (Germany) This veteran German filmmaker’s œuvre spans three decades with films such as Grill Point, Summer in Berlin and Stopped on Track. His new work features Babylon Berlin-star Liv Lisa Fries. “It´s a modern drama set in a difficult time, plain and straightforward, joyful and strong, renouncing to heavy music, opulent production design or costumes”, says Dresen. Beta Cinema is in charge of international sales for this movie produced by Pandora Film Produktion. Storyline: Berlin, 1942. It was the most beautiful summer for Hilde – madly in love with Hans and joyfully pregnant. But amid the passion there is grave danger. Hans becomes involved in the anti-Nazi resistance, with a group of young people who will later be called ‘The Red Orchestra’. Despite the huge risks, Hilde decides to get involved herself but is arrested by the Gestapo and gives birth to her son in prison. Now in a desperate situation, Hilde develops a quiet inspirational strength, but she only has a few months left with her son.

GLORIA! by Margherita Vicario (Italy and Switzerland) This is the debut film by Italian singer and songwriter Margherita Vicario. So it´s not surprising that it is a film that has music as its protagonist and that uses music as a narrative language. Vicario wrote the screenplay with Anita Rivaroli. It is produced by Tempesta with RAI Cinema, in coproduction with Tellfilm. The movie has a gorgeous cinematography, which is linked to old baroque paintings Storyline: Set in a girls’ boarding school in early 19th century Venice, Gloria! tells the story of Teresa, a young woman with visionary talent, who, together with a small group of extraordinary musicians, transcends the centuries and challenges the dusty catafalques of the Ancien Régime by inventing rebellious, light and modern music. Pop! 12

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BERLINALE

KEYKE MAHBOOBE MAN (My Favourite Cake) by DAHOMEY by Mati Diop (France, Senegal and Benín) Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha (Iran, French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop garnered great reviews from France, Sweden and Germany) Iranian Cinema doesn´t miss this critics with Atlantique, released five years ago. Diop reteams with the same edition. The filmmakers were already in competition in 2021 with Ballad of a White Cow. That movie was received by festival audience, since it was the most voted non-German movie. The film stars newcomer Lily Farhadpour and famous ranian actor Esmail Mehrabi. Filmsazan Javan, Caractères, Hobab and Watchmen are producing and Totem Films are handling global sales. There are concerns about the filmmakers being permitted to attend Berlinale. Storyline: Mahin (70) lives alone in Tehran since her husband’s death and her daughter’s departure for Europe, until an afternoon tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalize her love life. But as Mahin opens herself up to new romance, what begins as an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening.

producers: Les Films du Bal and Senegal’s Fanta Sy. Her new work blends facts and fiction to narrate the stories of the African artworks that were looted, exploring the issue of colonization. Les Films du Losange is its sales company. Storyline: November, 2021. Twenty-six royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey are about to leave Paris to return to their country of origin, the presentday Republic of Benin. Along with thousands of others, these artifacts were plundered by French colonial troops in 1892. But what attitude to adopt to these ancestors’ homecoming in a country that had to forge ahead in their absence? While the soul of the artifacts is freed, debate rages among students of the University of Abomey-Calavi.

ANOTHER END by Piero Messina (Italy) This sci-fi drama about love and memory could be a Black Mirror episode. Messina is known for the film The Wait, that had Juliette Binoche as main actress. Mexican star Gael García Bernal leads the cast along with emerging actress Renate Reinsve. Bérénice Bejo and Olivia Williams also appear in front of the camera. Produced by Indigo Film with Rai Cinema, global distributors who are interested in it must negotiate with Newen Connect. Storyline: Sal’s empty eyes seem to have been living only on memories since he lost Zoe, the love of his life. His sister Ebe suggests he turn to Another End, a new technology that promises to ease the pain of separation by briefly bringing back to life the consciousness of those who have died. Sal finds Zoe again in this way, but in the body of another woman. A body he does not know but in which he is mysteriously able to recognise his wife. WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

DES TEUFELS BAD (The Devil’s Bath) by Veronika Franz y Severin Fiala (Austria and Germany) This is a film about women, religion and ritual murders and it´s made by the directors of Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge. Produced by Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion and Heimatfilm, it tackles an unknown chapter of the European history: women who attempted to end their lives by committing murders in order to escape the damnation that was expected to those who committed suicide. Anja Plaschg is the lead actress, but also composed the music. Storyline: 18th century Austria. Villages surrounded by deep forests. A woman is sentenced to death after killing a baby. Agnes is marrying her loved one and candidly prepares herself for a spouse life. Soon after, her head and heart start to feel heavy. Day after day, she is increasingly trapped in a murky and lonely path leading to evil thoughts. Maybe not just thoughts…

PEPE by Nelson Carlos de los Santos Arias (Dominican Republic, France, Namibia and Germany) The most bizarre selection is, no doubt about it, Pepe, which is the name that the Colombian press gave to the first exiled hippopotamus from the Hacienda Nápoles, Pablo Escobar’s old house. Carlo Chatrian described the film as a “mixture of genres and styles” and “the least classifiable” entry in this year’s Berlinale competition. His previous film, Cocote, won Best Film Award at the Signs of Life section at Locarno, besides Best Latam Film at Mar del Plata. Production companies are Monte y Culebra (Dominican Republic), 4A4 Productions (France), Joe Vision (Namibia) and Pandora (Germany). They are still in negotiations to get a sales company. Storyline: In the jungle of Colombia, Pepe, a young Hippo was killed. Between sounds and bellows, his ghost narrates his story. Another story to add to the imaginary of these towns, full of macho fights, dictatorships and beings that have died without ever knowing where they really were.

LA COCINA by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Mexico and USA) Starring two-time

SHAMBHALA by Min Bahadur Bham (Nepal, France, China, Turkey, Taiwan, USA and Qatar) This is one of the most unknown

Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara, this black and white film is one of the most awaited titles in the competition. It´s the new movie by Mexicam filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios,whose previous films have been at Berlin: Güeros won Best First Feature Film, Museum took Best Screenplay and A Cop Movie’s editing was acknowledge for its Outstanding Artistic Contribution. HanWay Films is handling world sales for this adaptation of a theater play by Arnold Wesker dealing with inmigration and undocumented citizens in the US. Storyline: The life in the kitchen of a restaurant in New York City where cultures from all over the world blend during the lunchtime rush.

titles in the competition. There has been talk about the three films by African filmmakers in this edition but Berlinale 2024 is also historic for Nepal. Also, this is the first South Asian film to be selected in Berlinale’s Main Competition after three decades. It´s the second feature by Min Bahadur Bham; the first one, Kalo Pothi, won the Best Film Award at the Venice Critics Week. Best Friend Forever handles its sales. Storyline: In a Himalayan polyandrous village, pregnant Pema faces scrutiny as her first husband vanishes. With her de facto husband, a monk, she embarks on a journey to find him, evolving her quest into self-discovery and liberation.

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A BRIGHT SUN

NEGU HURBILAK

THE IMMINENT AGE New acquisition 2024

THE RIM

RIDER New acquisition 2024

beginagainfilms.es

UNCENSORED WOMEN

NEW EARTH

AWARDS New acquisition 2024

HORS DU TEMPS (Suspended Time) by Olivier Assayas (France) A new movie by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas is quite an event. He is hailed as one of the most prominent european directors in the last 30 years. This is his 18th feature but it´s the first time he goes in competition in Berlin (he has done it six times in Canne). It´s also noteworthy that it´s set during the pandemic because it seems filmmakers are not interested in portraying that period of time. Curiosa Films and Vortex Sutra produced the film,whose sales are handled by Playtime. Storyline: April 2020 – Lockdown. Etienne, a film director, and his brother Paul, a music journalist, are confined together in their childhood home with their new partners Morgane and Carole. Every room, every object, reminds them of their childhood, and the memories of the absents - their parents, their neighbors…This compels them to measure the distance that separates them from each other and the roots they share, those of their ground zero. As the world around them is becoming increasingly unsettling, unreality, and even a disturbing strangeness, invades their daily gestures and actions.

LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE (Foreign Tongue) by Claire VOGTER (Sons) by Gustav Möller (Denmark and Burger (France, Germany and Belgium) This is Claire Sweden) After a captivating first film like The Guilty (later remade by the Burger’s third feature, which follows Party Girl, film she co-directed and which won the Golden Camera in Cannes in 2014. She has written the screenplay with Léa Mysius (Paris, 13th District). Lilith Grasmug, Josepha Heinsius, Chiara Mastroianni, Nina Hoss and Jalal Altawil lead the cast. This is a Les Films de Pierre, Razor Film and Les Films du Fleuve production being sold by Goodfellas. Storyline: Fanny, a shy and lonely teenager, goes on a language exchange to Germany. In Leipzig, she meets her pen pal, Lena, a teenager eager to become politically active. Fanny is troubled. To win over Lena, she invents a life for herself, to the extent of becoming trapped in her lies.

US), Swedish director Gustav Möller brings us his second feature film. This awaited psychological thriller tells a story about forgiveness and revenge, love and justice, and it´s set in a modern Danish prison. Produced by Nordisk Film Produktion, Sidse Babette Knudsen (Borgen) leads the cast and Les Films du Losange is in charge of french distribution and international sales. Storyline: Eva, an idealistic prison officer, is faced with the dilemma of her life when a young man from her past gets transferred to the prison where she works. Without revealing her secret, Eva asks to be moved to the young man’s ward – the toughest and most violent in the prison. Here begins an unsettling psychological thriller, where Eva’s sense of justice puts both her morality and future at stake.

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BERLINALE

STERBEN (Dying) by Matthias Glasner (Germany) MÉ EL AÏN (Who Do I Belong To) by Meryam Joobeur Glasner has a long time record with Berlinale. In the 90s, he made the hipster (Tunisia, France and Canada) Tunisian filmmaker Meryam trilogy Die Mediocren, Sexy Sadie and Fandango, all of which premiered at the Berlinale. The film follows the members of the Lunies family, who haven’t been a family for a long time. Produced by Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion, Schwarzweiss Filmproduktion and Senator Film Produktion, The Match Factory is in charge of world sales. Storyline: Lissy is quietly happy about her demented husband Gerd slowly wasting away in a home. But her new freedom is short-lived: Diabetes, cancer and kidney failure mean that she doesn’t have much time left either. Son Tom, a conductor in his early 40s, is working on a composition called ‘Dying’, while at the same time being made the surrogate father of his ex-girlfriend’s child. And Tom’s sister Ellen starts an affair with the married Sebastian, with whom she shares a love for alcohol. As Death finally turns up on the doorstep, the estranged family members finally meet again.

Joobeur writes and directs this film produced by Tanit Films, Midi La Nuit and Instinct Blue, in coproduction with 1888 Films, Godolphin Films and Eye Eye Pictures. This is her first feature film after a good career in the short form, incluye her Oscar nominated short Brotherhood (2018). Luxbox is in charge of sales for this drama about maternal love set on a farm in Tunisia. Storyline: Aicha lives in the isolated north of Tunisia with her husband and youngest son. The family lives in anguish after the departure of the eldest sons Mehdi and Amine to the violent embrace of war. When Mehdi unexpectedly returns home with a mysterious pregnant wife, a darkness emerges, threatening to consume the entire village. Aicha is caught between her maternal love and her search for the truth.

L’EMPIRE (The Empire) by Bruno Dumont (France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Portugal) Bruno Dumont, one of the most relevanr French filmmakers, competes in this year’s Berlinale. Although he usually shows his film at Cannes, Berlin hosted the premiere of Camille Claudel 1915 in 2013. After a long career (this is his 11th feature film), it’s intriguing what Dumont may do when tackling science fiction, with touches of parody. It´s been described as a “caustic, cruel and crazy vision of Star Wars”. Starring Virginie Efira, Lily-Rose Depp, Camille Cottin, Lyna Khoudri, Anamaria Vartolomei, and Fabrice Luchini, Memento International handles sales. Storyline: Beneath the exterior of the common life of the inhabitants of a fishing village on the Opal Coast, arises the parallel and epic life of knights of interplanetary empires. In prey to the bloody fights of these clans at the announcement of the birth of Margat, child of a young separated couple. WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

BERLINALE SPECIAL ‘SHIKUN’ Amos Gitai (Kadosh, Kippur)

‘LOVE LIES BLEEDING’ Rose Glass (Saint Maud)

‘SEVEN VEILS’ Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica)

‘ABIDING NOWHERE’

Tsai Ming-liang

(Good Bye Dragon Inn, The Wayward Cloud)

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BERLINALE

IN EIGHT AUTEURS ‘DOSTOEVSKIJ’ Damiano & Fabio D’Innocenzo (Bad Tales, America Latina)

‘AVERROÈS & ROSA PARKS’

Nicolas Philibert (To Be and To Have, On the Adamant)

‘CHIME’ Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Tokyo Sonata, Cure)

‘TURN IN THE WOUND’ Abel Ferrara (King of New York, The Funeral)

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INTERVIEW

JACLYN PHILPOTT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · AFCI (ASSOCIATION OF FILM COMMISSIONERS INTERNATIONAL)

FILM COMMISSIONS ARE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ORGANIZATIONS IN THE FILM AND TV ECOSYSTEM, ACTING NOT ONLY AS FILMING PERMIT MANAGEMENT OFFICES BUT AS AUTHENTIC LEADERS OF THE INDUSTRY. WE HAVE INTERVIEWED NEW ZEALANDER JACLYN PHILPOTT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ASSOCIATION OF FILM COMMISSIONERS INTERNATIONAL (AFCI) TO FIND OUT THE GOALS AND ACTIVITIES OF THIS ASSOCIATION WITH 300+ MEMBER. CARLOS AGUILAR SAMBRICIO

ubik: AFCI was founded in 1975, there were very few film commissions at that time. Why was it created at that time? Jaclyn Philpott: It was founded in 1975 in America, and it was originally set up for American film commissions to talk to each other around the experiences that they were having, to understand what was happening in their regions, and to work together to educate themselves around how to do filming and how to do production. So it was very much an American-based organization for a long time, and then over the years, as filming started to be more prevalent around the world, they decided to bring in a global membership. And so now the organization is 48 years old, and there is just over 300 members from every continent in the world. Now we have a number of different areas that we look after. One of them is we’re the only professional organization in the world that trains film commissioners.

AFCI event panel

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Jaclyn Philpott, Executive Director, AFCI

“FILM COMMISSIONS ARE NOT FUNDED ENOUGH” We have a university attached to us where we train film commissions on how to be a film commissioner. We have a course called Film Commission Fundamentals. We have a film commissioner certification. We also do modules that are around economic development, marketing, and strategy. We run two major events every year. One of them is called AFCI Week, which is normally in Los Angeles around March. We bring all of the film commissions over, and we introduce them to all of the Hollywood executives and the heads of production from major and independent studios, and we give them an opportunity to talk to them around their regions. And we also do education and training at that event too. And then we have another one called Cineposium, which is where one of our member countries will bid to hold the event. We´ve had it in St. Petersburg, New Zealand, Bogota… In 2023 tt was supposed to be in Ireland, but we had to postpone it because of the strikes. It’s an opportunity to showcase their region and talk about workforce development in their country, but also for us

“We’re the only professional organization in the world that trains film commissioners. We have a film commissioner certification” to really educate of what’s happening with the trends. We also release research and insights papers, so we work quite a lot with companies like Olsburg SPI, #MeToo and other movements. We always try and keep them on top of what’s going on in the industry. Rubik: You´ve been in this position for less than one year. What’s the main priority for you? WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

J.P.: Our mission is really to enable film commissions and industry partners to bring successful productions to life, and we do that through knowledge sharing, skill development, and connection. And one of the biggest opportunities we have is to expand the membership. We’ve been given charity status in Los Angeles because of our education and professional development offerings. And we have film commissions as members. Then we have a section called affiliates, and that’s always been a membership section that hasn’t really been widely promoted, mainly because there hasn’t been enough resource in the business to service that. So what I’ve recognized through talking to a lot of these affiliates is that there very much needs to be some diversification of our membership. So we’re now going to be bringing on studios, streamers, and networks into the membership. Also we have two categories called production enablers and service providers. But film commissions are always going to be at the heart of our organization. And one of the reasons for diversifying the membership 21

INTERVIEW

is to wrap our arms around the industry and bring people closer together, but also so that we can get information and develop new products for everybody so that everybody works more collaboratively together. I’ve already been going out to pitch to the studios, and some of the studios are already signed up to be official members, which means instead of just working with us, they’re now giving us some funding. So that’s really important for us because COVID wasn’t good for anybody, but also for us when we traditionally had drawn a lot of revenue from our events, our revenue was down.

“One of the biggest opportunities we have is to expand the membership. We’re now going to be bringing on studios, streamers, and networks into the membership”.

Rubik: The role of a film commission is no bigger than ever. It´s not just an office in charge of giving permits... J.P.: A film commission varies from region to region, and they do a lot of things, and they’re all funded quite differently too. Some film commissions do permitting, they do manage the incentives, they do workforce development, they run events. And some don’t. Some don’t manage the incentives and some don’t do the permitting because they could be attached to a city council or a local or state government. But all of them have that one thing in common: promoting their destination as a region to film or do post-production. Rubik: Thanks to the work done by film commission, the politicians are also aware of the benefits and now the connection between tourism and filming is more essential. J.P.: Absolutely. My background has traditionally been economic development, marketing, strategy, transformation, and I think that’s one of the reasons why I was successful in getting this role. It’s because one of the things that I can do is help

AFCI networking event

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people understand the economic benefits to the film industry. Because a lot of people will just see, oh, this production company or this studio is coming in, and they’re doing this and they’re doing that and they’re getting our incentives, but they’re actually employing a lot of people from in the region. They are spending money on accommodation. They’re spending money at restaurants and bars. Youth or children are seeing opportunities within the industry, and it’s actually creating jobs. And at the end of the day, that’s what we’re about, is benefiting communities. I think that local politicians are now starting to understand being film-friendly and promoting and attracting film and having an incentive if you’re able to have one is really important, because the trickle-down effects are hugely important to a region, not only for that job creation, but for film tourism as well, which is almost a whole other thing in itself. Rubik: What are the biggest challenges film commissions are facing right now? J.P.: I think that they’re not funded enough. I don’t think the governments really give them enough money to do their jobs properly. We see that coming through because people struggle to pay their fees, they are overworked, they’re working ridiculous amounts of hours. And I think it’s very difficult for them sometimes to help the politicians and the funders understand what an amazing job they’re doing. And that’s something that I really want to change, it’s in our strategy, is around raising the awareness of the importance of a film commission. Their knowledge is irreplaceable. Those people need to be valued, therefore they need to be funded to do their jobs properly. So I would love to get to a position where we were earning so much revenue that we were able to have free fees for our film commissions, or even build a fund ourselves to help them.

La Hojarasca © El Viaje Films

SPANISH CINEMA AND BERLINALE, A TALE OF LOVE AND COOPERATION SPAIN HAD A LOVE AFFAIR WITH BERLINALE IN THE LAST YEARS. THE RECENT MILESTONE WAS THE GOLDEN BEAR FOR ALCARRÀS BY CARLA SIMÓN IN 2022. IN THIS 74TH EDITION THERE ARE NOT SO MANY PRODUCTIONS FROM SPAIN BUT IN THIS FEATURE WE’LL PROVIDE WITH AN IN-DEPTH LOOK ON WHAT THE FESTIVAL COMMITTES HAVE SELECTED AND WHAT THEIR CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION HEADS SHARE WITH US ABOUT THEM.

t´s not a overstatement. Spain certainly has an amazing track record at Berlinale Film Festival. Alcarràs winning the Golden Bear two years ago was not something new. It was the seventh Spanish film to win this award. The previous films that managed to achieve this feat were Lazarrillo (El lazarillo de Tormes) by César Fernández Ardavín in 1960, Las truchas by José Luis García Sánchez, the short film Ascensor de Tomás Muñoz, and What Max Said (Las palabras de Max) by Emilio Martínez Lázaro in 1978, Deprisa, deprisa (Hurry,Hurry!) by Carlos Saura in 1981 and The 24

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Beehive (La colmena) by Mario Camus in 1983. Actually, Carlos Saura’s film is back at this year’s edition, with a 4K restored version to be screened in Berlinale Classics. Screening Deprisa, deprisa (Hurry,Hurry!), a story about a gang of young delinquents, is also a tribute to its director, who passed away last year. The restoration of the film has been carried out by distributor Video Mercury Films, in collaboration with streaming platform FlixOlé. The process was done in its own laboratories (Cherry Towers) located in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid). The original 35mm negative has been used and scanned in 4K. Color correction WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

has been applied using as reference a material previously supervised by Saura. In addition, the film’s audio has been fully restored to be able to show its amazing soundtrack. Other than this, the section you can´t miss for Spanish Cinema is Forum. Here you can watch Macu Machin’s debut film: La hojarasca (The Undergrowth). The movie, which sales are handled by Split Screen, is produced by El Viaje Films, a company founded by José Alayón that celebrates this year its 20th anniversary. The film, between fiction and documentary, offers a new feminine look at the rural world. “Machín faces her own family conflicts and the physical,

BERLINALE

historical and emotional stuff that is the legacy of our families and our collective past”, says El Viaje Films. The production company adds: “The filmmaker combines the impressive rural landscape of La Palma (Canary Islands) with her personal story, on top of the reconciliation process of the women in her family, making Earth resonate with the course of her own family journey”. The Undergrowth’s storyline: After 20 years, Elsa and her younger sister, Maura, return to the house where they were raised. Carmen, the third sister, lives there alone and maintains the family’s meagre estates. Maura’s degenerative disease continues unabated, while Elsa and Carmen try to finally settle the distribution of their parents’ inheritance. Between almond harvests and neverending arguments, old conflicts surface and seem to awaken a long dormant volcano. Also in Forum: The Human Hibernation. Another debut film, another

Zorras (Tramps) © Atresmedia

BERLINALE

BERLINALE CLASSICS Hurry, Hurry! (Deprisa, deprisa) Feb 19th (Mon) 7:30 pm @ Akademie der Künste (Premiere) Feb 21th (Wed) 12:30 pm @ CineStar Cubix 6 Feb 25th (Sun) 6:30 pm @ Haus der Kulturen der Welt 2

woman filmmaker. This time the director is Anna Cornudella, teaming up with production companies Japónica Films and Batiak Films. They are still in talks to have a sales company. The story revolves around a brother and sister who are hibernating. Only the sister wakes up. Human hibernation blurs the boundary between people and animals. A thought experiment equal parts sci-fi and meditation shot in searing images. “The Human Hibernation deals with subjects of great universal significance (grief, faith, our relationship with nature, climate change) through a hypnotizing and mystical approach”, tells Rubik the producers.

They also highlight Anna Cornudella “has an unparalleled magic touch when it comes to creating symbolic images that stay engraved in the mind”. “The beauty of Pol Camprubí’s cinematography and the natural locations, together with Laura Tomás’ sound design that adds lots of layers to the atmosphere, accompanying the viewer from beginning to end in a film that mixes science fiction with auteur cinema and leaves you thinking for hours”, they add. I don´t want to ignore a short film included in Forum Expanded: Nanacatepec. It´s a co-production between Mexico and Spain directed by Elena Pardo and Azucena Losana. A 16mm film performance that draws

Deprisa, deprisa (1981)

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inspiration from the Nanacatepec, a rock traversed by a network that extends without a defined shape. Its fruits, in the form of mushrooms, serve as creators and transformers of everything in the world. “We are independent filmmakers from the Experimental Film Laboratory (LEC) in Mexico. However we developed this performance in an artistic residency held at Crater Lab, a laboratory for independent filmmakers in Barcelona that is part of a network of labs in the European Union called Spectral”, say Pardo and Losana about this project. When we said that Spanish Cinema has got great reception this late years in Berlinale, Generation section plays an

FORUM

The Undergrowth (La hojarasca) Feb 16th (Fri) 7:00 pm @ Kino Arsenal 1 (Premiere) Feb 17th (Sat) 4:00 pm @ CineStar Cubix 7 Feb 21th (Wed) 5:00 pm @ Kino Arsenal 2 (Press Screening) Feb 24th (Sat) 5:30 pm @ Kino Betonhalle

The Human Hibernation Feb 19th (Mon) 7:00 pm @ Zoo Palast 2 (Premiere) Feb 20th (Tue) 9:00 pm @ Delphi Filmpalast Feb 21th (Wed) 9:30 am @ Kino Arsenal 2 (press only) Feb 22th (Thu) 4:00 pm @ Kino Arsenal 1 Feb 23th (Fri) 7:00 pm @ CineStar Cubix 7 Feb 25th (Sun) 6:00 pm @ Delphi Filmpalast

essential role. Films like Schoolgirls (Las niñas) or Summer 1993 (Verano 1993) were succesfully screened here. One of the dark horses for this edition is Los tonos mayores (The Major Tones) directed by Ingrid Pokropek also a debut film and a co-production between Argentina and Spain. Bendita Film Sales is in charge of global sales. Produced by Jaibo Films, Gong Cine and 36 Caballos, this is a coming of age story with a fantasy touch. Synopsis: It’s winter holidays and fourteen-yearold Ana discovers that the metal plate she has in her arm from an accident she suffered as a child is now receiving a strange message in Morse code. “We fell in love with The Major Tones fresh story since we saw first images. Pokropek masterfully combines daily life of a teenager with science fiction. We think it’s a universal story, simple, but at the same time profound and with a message. We can all empathize with the leading character,” notes Spanish producer Adán Aliaga. Just after competing in Sundance, Berlinale hosts european premiere for Reinas, film directed by Klaudia Reynicke and produced by Alva Film (Switzerland), Inicia Films (Spain) and Maretazo Cine (Peru). Bteam Pictures is the Spanish distributor and The Yellow Affair handles international sales. “The film follows two girls who understand that they have to leave the country in which they have grown up and 28

where their roots are, without delving into the wounds or loss. It is the awareness of the end of an era. Although it is very linked to a place and a time, what matters is the drama of having to leave and that the girls accept their parents, in their complexities and contradictions. This is universal, in many places they have been forced to migrate and adapt to adverse circumstances.”, remarks producer Valérie Delpierre (Inicia Films). The story is set in Lima (Peru) in the summer of 1992. Lucia, Aurora and their mother Elena are about to leave. They are apprehensive about saying goodbye to a country, to family and friends, but above all to Carlos, a father and ex-husband who has all but disappeared from their lives. In the midst of Peru’s social and political chaos, this announced departure will give rise to contradictory feelings, reviving old regrets and generating new illusions. Another Spanish title in Generation is Cura sana, a short film produced by ESCAC Films. “Cura sana is a film school work that stems from my concern to something I had not often seen represented; the consequences of violence. The short film focuses on two sisters whose bond is conditioned by the physical and psychological abuse of their father. It has to do with how violence gets under the skin and takes refuge in fear, to make you either a perpetual victim of abusive behavior or the person who inflicts it in other people”, comments director Lucía G. Romero. WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

Other topic is “how institutional equidistance unprotects and further harms those who suffer violence”. Also, the character of Jessica, black, lesbian and lower-class, makes visible “those women forgotten by the system and underrepresented by art”. Storyline: Spain during the Noche de San Juan festivity. Sisters Jessica and Alma are once again on their way to pick up food stamps from the Caritas charity. Although they have experienced violence at home, they both try to break the cycle and treat each other with love. Panorama houses a couple of feature films with Spanish co-production. One of them is Memorias de un cuerpo que arde (Memories of a Burning Body), directed by Antonella Sudasassi, who premiere his first film, El despertar de las hormigas (The Awakening of the Ants) in Berlin in 2019. Produced by Sub·stance Films (Costa Rica) and Playlab Films (Spain), its sales are managed by Bendita Film Sales. The film talks about how repression and taboos have shaped the image of womanhood for Ana (68), Patricia (69) and Mayela (71). Their stories poetically combine to form a kaleidoscope of memories, secrets and longings that are incarnated by another woman’s body. Spain coproduces with Germany Alle die du bist (Every You Every Me), a romantic social drama written and directed by Michael Fetter Nathansky that was formerly called Mannequins.

Déjame Ver (Show Yourself © Javier de Agustín

Productions companies are Contando Films & Studio Zentral / Network Movie in co-production with ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel and Nephilim Producciones. Sales are handled by Be for Films. What is it about? Factory worker Nadine falls in love with her colleague Paul. Years later, she questions her view

of him. This is a film about the magic of falling in love and the pain of falling out of it, set in the Rhineland lignite mining region. Another Spanish co-production can be found at Encounters. Argentine Matías Piñeiro will show in this section Tú me abrasas (You Burn Me), produced

by Trapecio Cine, Películas Mirando el Techo (also sales company), Matías Piñeiro and Spanish Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola as associate producers. This film, shot in 16 mm, is an adaptation of ‘Sea Foam’, a chapter of Cesare Pavese’s 1947 book Dialoghi con Leucò. By the sea, the ancient Greek

GENERATION The Major Tones (Los tonos mayores) Feb 17th (Sat) 10:00 am @ Miriam Makeba Auditorium (Premiere) Feb 18th (Sun) 10:00 am @ Zoo Palast 2 Feb 19th (Mon) 10:00 am @ Miriam Makeba Auditorium Feb 21th (Wed) 12:30 pm @ Filmtheater am Friedrichshain Feb 25th (Sun) 09:30 am @ Filmtheater am Friedrichshain

Reinas Feb 17th (Sat) 1:00 pm @ Miriam Makeba Auditorium (Premiere) Feb 21th (Wed) 4:00 pm @ Miriam Makeba Auditorium Feb 22th (Thu) 12:30 pm @ Filmtheater am Friedrichshain Feb 25th (Sun) 09:30 am @ Zoo Palast 1

Cura sana (Short Film) Feb 19th (Mon) 1:30 pm @ International (Premiere) Feb 20th (Tue) 6:45 pm@ Cubix 8 Feb 23th (Fri) 12:30 pm @ Filmtheater am Friedrichshain Feb 25th (Sun) 6:30 pm @ Cineplex Titania

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BERLINALE

A veces silencio (Silence Sometimes) © Álvaro Robles

poet Sappho and the nymph Britomart are talking of love and death. Sappho is supposed to have thrown herself into the ocean from heartbreak. Britomart, to have accidentally fallen into the water from a cliff, while running from a man. Together they discuss the stories and images created around them, hoping to grasp, at least for a moment, the bittersweet nature of desire. Piñeiro says this work has helped him to rethink his own filmmaking: “How can I adapt these text? How can we adapt footnotes in cinema? What images and sounds may be produced around the topic of “sea foam”? In a film about death in connection to the sea, can science by the hand of biologist Lynn Margulis provide a new way to see that same sea, a world of bacteria, as an actual surface for life?” Berlinale Co-Production Market is once again a place to be if you can have a grasp on projects in development. One hightlight this year is A veces

silencio (Silence Sometimes) by Álvaro Robles, filmmaker whose short film Umbrellas earned a nomination for Best Animated Short in Goya Awards. This Spanish talent is looking for a Spanish production company. He already has minority co-production with Cartuna (USA) and Sardinha Em Lata (Portugal). It tells the story of Silvia, a girl with a special condition: everything that comes into contact with her skin loses the ability to emit sound. When she grows up and becomes an adult, Silvia meets Marco, a very talented musician with whom she falls in love. Now she is facing the problem that she cannot touch him, because if she does he will not be able to sing and play again. “I am particularly interested in works of fiction that take into account the conflicts that people in the deaf community. It´s also a challenge in narrative terms. Although the leading character of my story is not deaf, her

Los tonos mayores (The Major Tones) © Jaibo Films

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relationship with the world is through sign language (…) Other themes that interest me as a narrator also emerge in Silence Sometimes, bringing up issues related to consent or the potential toxicity of romantic love”, tells Rubik Álvaro Robles. In the market, professionals can also get to know about Los días contados (The Numbered Days) by Argentine Agustina San Martín. Set in 1999, it follows Vanesa, a 16 year-old girl who is the new star in a popular telenovela. Trapped in a world of unscrupulous adults who poison her day by day, two years later she is found dead. The question is who or what killed her first. Producer Maximiliano Monzón (Mil Monos) speaks with Rubik about this coming-of-age film: “The Numbered Days is designed as an organic co-production between Argentina and Spain. Mil Monos is also, in fact, the Spanish side right now: we have recently opened an office in

PANORAMA

Memories of a Burning Body (Memorias de un cuerpo que arde) Feb 19th (Mon) 6:45 pm @ Haus der Berliner Festspiele (Premiere) Feb 20th (Tue) 11:15 am @ CinemaxX 9 (Market Screening) Feb 20th (Tue) 3:45 pm @ Cubix 5 Feb 21th (Wed) 9:30 pm @ Cubix 5 Feb 23th (Fri) 10:00 pm @ Zoo Palast 2 Feb 24th (Sat) 1:00 pm @ Cubix 9

Alle die du bist (Every You Every Me) Feb 16th (Fri) 6:30 pm @ Zoo Palast 1 and 2 (Premiere) Feb 17th (Sat) 6:30 pm @ Cubix 9 Feb 18th (Sun) 1:00 pm @ Cubix 5 Feb 20th (Tue) 3:30 pm @ Colosseum 1 Feb 20th (Tue) 8:30 pm@ Kino Toni Feb 23th (Fri) 9:30 pm @ Zoo Palast 1

Barcelona. In any case, we are looking for more partners in Spain and Europe to move forward”. The barriers between Cinema and TV are getting thinner and thinner and Berlinale is giving more space to serial content every year. Actually, in 2024, Berlinale Series Market, EFM’s main industry platform for serial content, has relevant Spanish presence. The conference programme, national and international showcases, and market screenings of the tenth anniversary edition from February 19 to 21, 2024 will take place at CinemaxX. Déjate Ver (Show Yourself), created by Álvaro Carmona is produced by Atresmedia Televisión (also handling sales) in collaboration with Buendia Estudios. This is a dramedy about Ana, the assistant to a famous artist, who has started to disappear… literally. At first, it’s just the tip of a toe, but if she doesn’t want to become fully invisible, she’ll have to become an artist in her own right. Rubik has reached Laura Abril, EVP Scripted and Global Business Development, for a comment on it: “For us, the selection of Show Yourself in Series Market Select represents international recognition for one of Buendía’s most unique productions, and for the one-of-a-kind talent of

Álvaro Carmona. We trust Berlinale will serve as a definitive launch pad for global distribution”. Actually, and along Morena Films, Buendía has another title in Berlinale, Que muera el amor (Death to Love), in Co-Pro Series. Carlota Pereda, the director of Cerdita (Piggy), has created a story spanning several centuries about an abandoned vampire who tries to come to terms with the separation from her girlfriend. “At Buendía we are excited about this special and different story, which also has enormously attractive attributes to reach international audiences: vampires, forbidden desire and humor, among other things, and all from the original perspective of Carlota Pereda. Together with Morena films we hope to find the right partners in Berlin to go forward”, says Laura Abril. Atresmedia TV and Morena Films have a production together in Berlinale Series Market: Zorras (Tramps). Atresmedia handles sales for this TV show directed by Aritz Moreno and Ana Vázquez. It´s the adaptation of the best-seller of the same name by Noemí Casquet, which has been a great literary success and has a great impact on social media.” It puts the spotlight on Alicia, Emily, and Diana, three women from

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very different backgrounds. They find a commonality, however, in a desire for friendship and exploration of themselves through sexual experimentation and novelty. We got in touch with Montse García, Head of Fiction in Atresmedia TV, and also exec producer here: “Zorras is an innovative, fresh TV series that speaks the language of the street and shows women of today. That is why it will engage viewers from any country, because they will feel represented. It is a series that is about sex, but not only about sex. Its three protagonists search for their identity in a fun and inclusive way. Zorras deals with common themes such as the sense of belonging, non-normative, complex

bodies, work ambitions, life in the big city, family relationships”. Other than Death to Love, CoPro Series also host another Spanish project, Verdugos (Executioners), selected in cooperation with Series Mania. Created by Pedro García Ríos and Rodrigo Martin, it’s a coming-of-age thriller set in 1996 with dialogues in Spanish and Basque and executive production by César Martínez (Dexiderius) y Alberto Rull (Vertice360), and French participation through Bonne Pioche Fiction. It´s a series about a group of teenagers who accidentally come across a businessman kidnapped by terrorist group ETA in the 1990s; they are forced to navigate between

extremism, their parental generation’s striving for independence, and their own desire for freedom. Alberto Rull (Vértice360) tells us about it: “Executioners talks about feelings and big themes within a story of growth where guilt, remorse and forgiveness mark the lives of four preadolescents who grow up in a small community in the Basque Country in the 90s. The reception of the project in the last Series Mania confirmed to us what we already felt, that these stories are understood in very different countries and cultures, which gives an idea of the “glocal” element of the series. We are currently in advanced conversations with international distributors”.

The Human Hibernation © Japonica Films and Batiac Films

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IGNASI CAMÓS

MOLORUP TURERIONE NOSTO MOLUPTATET PLIQUAS MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ICAA

Ignasi Camós © ICAA

THE INSTITUTE OF CINEMATOGRAPHY AND AUDIOVISUAL ARTS (ICAA) IN SPAIN, AN INDEPENDENT BODY ATTACHED TO THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SHAPES POLICIES TO SUPPORT THE FILM AND TV INDUSTRY. RUBIK HAS TALKED TO IGNASI CAMÓS, WHO IS ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR SINCE LAST JUNE, TO GET THE DETAILS ABOUT HIS GOALS, THE SPANISH PRESENCE IN BERLIN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ‘SPAIN, AUDIOVISUAL HUB OF EUROPE’ PLAN, WHICH PURSUES TO TRANSFORM CURRENT SPANISH ECOSYSTEM AND BOOST FOREIGN INVESTMENT. CARLOS AGUILAR SAMBRICIO

ubik: Given that you have only been in your position for a short time, I think it’s necessary to start by asking what your goals and priorities are at the head of the ICAA. Ignasi Camós: The goals of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) are none other than to support the different fields and 34

actors of the audiovisual sector in the process of projects creation, development, exhibition and sale. In short, we focus on the internal and external promotion of Spanish Cinema and Screen arts, and the preservation, restoration, documentation and cataloging of our heritage. On a personal note, I like to pay attention to the concerns and needs of all agents in the film and TV landscape, WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

from the smallest and those who are just starting out, to the largest and already consolidated, in order to analyze the way to address them. Dialogue and collaboration with the ICAA is essential to improve the lines of action and adapt them to the needs of the industry. Rubik: Berlinale is here, one of the great international festivals and markets

INTERVIEW

“SPAIN HAS A NEW GENERATION OF WOMEN FILMMAKERS TAKING A LEADING ROLE” of the year. What do you think Spain contributes to the global cinema culture? I.C.: Without a doubt, one of the great milestones is the rise of a new generation of women filmmakers taking leading role and making their way in prestigious cultural circles. In recent years, there has been a commitment to unique perspectives, to new narratives that break with usual standards and that also connect with a global audience. We are talking about a creative industry whose talent and strategy have been able to position themselves on the international scene in a very competitive way. We have an ecosystem with great opportunities for co-production and distribution. Rubik: This year may not be one of the strongest in terms of selections but in recent years Spanish cinema has been

very succesful in Berlin and not only because of the Golden Bear for Carla Simón’s Alcarràs. I.C.: Berlin continues to be a strategic place for our cinema to première films that will later continue their journey at major festivals. This year we will have an important presence in sections such as Forum or Panorama with films such as The Undergrowth (La hojarasca) by Macu Machín, or The Human Hibernation by Anna Cornudella. Also, there will be an opportunity to pay tribute to Carlos Saura at Berlinale Classics with his film Deprisa, deprisa (Hurry, Hurry!). We are sure that, even if they are not in the Official Competition, Spanish films will have a great impact and will not leave either critics or the audience indifferent. Rubik What can you highlight about what you team worked on for

the European Film Market, in terms of the Spanish pavilion and activities? I.C.: This year we have set up our Pavilion, which we worked on together with our ICEX (Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade) partners, to give more space to the producers who attendthe market to find potential co-producers. One of the great novelties will be coproduction breakfasts with countries such as Canada, Portugal or Colombia. Sales agents may also invite relevant buyers for breakfast. Likewise, we will organize a ‘Meet & Greet’ in the Industry Lounge to foster networking between the Spanish delegation and the rest of the international professionals. We have renewed our New Spanish Films publication It will be online, interactive, with a labeling system that we understand will make the work of programmers and potential buyers easier.

Networking at the EFM

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INTERVIEW And following what we have been doing in recent years, we will participate in the Coproduction Market with a wide selection of projects in development, where we will have the opportunity to talk about the chances of minority co-production offered by our subsidy schemes.

“At EFM, Spain will have co-production breakfasts with countries such as Canada, Portugal or Colombia. We will also organize a ‘Meet & Greet’ in the Industry Lounge” Rubik: The ‘Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe’ Plan has been the main project in the last three years. In terms of budgetary allocation,

what do you think it has been most beneficial for the industry? I.C.: The main goal is to turn Spain into a leading country in film and TV production in the digital age, a pole of attraction for international investment and talent, and to foster a reinforced industry-services ecosystem to export and compete in international markets. I believe that these objectives have been met and the Spanish industry competes in the league it deserves. In this sense, the most beneficial thing has probably been to work with various ministries in harmony, so that certain bureaucratic procedures have been streamlined. Without a doubt, the increase in the allocations of the subsidy system has been essential, as well as the lines of internationalization of the industry that have raised our production visibility and presence in the world.

have been driven are destined to last over time and to be sustainable. The institutions will ensure that we maintain all those commitments that have become necessary for the promotion and development of our cinema.

Rubik: The plan ends in 2025. On the one hand, what is left to do? And also, once the funds run out, will it have a lasting effect? I.C.: The fundamental principle of the vast majority of initiatives that

Now is the time to evaluate, together with the industry, those lines that, without a doubt, must be maintained. It will be a gradual work that, of course, we will do hand in hand with the industry and with the support of all the public organizations.

Spanish industry in Berlín

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“The main goal with Spain AVS Hub plan is to turn Spain into a leading country in film and TV production in the digital age, a pole of attraction for international investment and talent”

LARGER SPANISH PRESENCE AT EFM EUROPEAN FILM MARKET (EFM) TAKES PLACE FROM FEBRUARY 15 TO 21, WITHIN THE 74TH EDITION OF THE BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. AS USUAL, SPAIN WILL BE A MUST-VISIT IN GROPIUS BAU, THE MAIN VENUE FOR EFM. THIS YEAR, 42 SPANISH COMPANIES AND INSTITUTIONS IN THE AV SECTOR, ALMOST 40% MORE THAN IN THE LAST EDITION, WILL BE THERE UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF SPANISH INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN TRADE (ICEX) AND THE INSTITUTE OF CINEMATOGRAPHY AND AUDIOVISUAL ARTS (ICAA).

he Spanish Pavilion at the EFM, powered by Cinema from Spain in collaboration with ICAA, will be located at booth C1 of the Gropius Bau. The companies attending under 38

this umbrella are sales companies and distributors Begin Again Films, Bendita Film Sales, Feelsales, Latido Films, Movistar Plus+ International and Sideral Cinema; film commissions and regional public bodies Andalucia Film Commission, Basque. Audiovisual, WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

Canary Islands Film, Catalan Films, Films from Galicia, Institut Valencià de Cultura, Madrid Make It Possible and Spain Film Commission. Spanish sales companies Filmax (#270/272) and Film Factory (#274/276) have rooms on their own at the Marriott Hotel.

BERLINALE incentives and other relevant aspects for filming. Besides working in collaboration with ICEX, ICAA is setting up networking breakfasts at the Spanish Pavilion. For example, there will be a talk with the Locarno Film Festival to announce big news. Also, there will co-production events with companies from Canada, Colombia and Portugal. Sales agents will also have the opportunity to undertake negotiations with international buyers. On the other hand, ICAA has arranged a networking meeting on the 19th at 6:30 p.m. in the Industry Lounge and another one at the Spanish Embassy in Berlin on the 20th at 7:00 p.m. PARTNERSHIP WITH IBERSERIES & PLATINO INDUSTRIA Iberseries & Platino Industria is one of the largest international events of the Ibero-American audiovisual industry, and its fourth edition wil celebrate from October 1 to 4, 2024. They are teaming up with ICEX for the second time for Berlinale Series

Market.Attendees will be able to enjoy the Next from Spain (First Look and Q&A) sessions at CinemaxX 2 on February 20, where a preview of three relevant upcoming of TV fiction series will be screened. At 11 a.m. first images of Marbella will be presented. This is a thriller from Movistar Plus+ produced by Buendía Estudios Canarias, created and developed by director Dani de la Torre and screenwriter Alberto Marini. At 2 p.m. there will be a preview of Red Flags, a series by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Zeta Studios based on an idea by Nando López. It is a coming-of-age drama about four teenagers who share their fears, problems and disappointments. At 4:15 p.m. it’s scheduled the promo reel for La ley del mar (The Law of the Sea), a miniseries about the drama related to migration by sea in the Mediterranean that recently premiered on RTVE. It is directed by Alberto Ruiz Rojo and produced by Studio60 and MCFLY Prod. AIE, with Tatiana Rodríguez and Víctor Pedreira as scriptwriters.

Visitors Programme is an initiative developed within the framework of the Berlinale Co-Production Market for 200 emerging producers and rising global talents. From February 16 to 19, ICEX is inviting 10 young Spanish producers: Gema Arquero (Debut Films), Eva Bodas Gómez (Entre las piedras Films), Charli Bujosa (Mansalva Films), Marian Fernández (Garabi Films), Silvia Fuentes (Sétima), Gentzane Martínez Osaba (Marmoka Films), Miguel Molina (Jaibo Films), Victoria Pérez de la Cruz (Admirable Films), Silvia Sánchez (Kino-Pravda) and Clara Santaolaya (Batiak Films). Cinema from Spain is also supporting several market screenings from Spanish companies. In the following pages we’ll address the Spanish companies screenings that market attendees will be able to watch this year. Regarding Berlinale Co-Production Market, ICEX is also assembling a Country Session on Spain on February 18, as well as Fund Meetings on February 19: a presentation and oneto-one meetings with international producers interested in learning about co-production in Spain, its tax 39

SPANISH SALES COMPANIES BEGIN AGAIN FILMS

BENDITA FILM SALES

Negu Hurbilak Feb 17th (Sat) 11:00 am @ Virtual Cinema 8 (online) Feb 19th (Mon) 2:20 pm @ Cinemobile

Amal Feb 18th (Sun) 1:00 pm @ CinemaxX 18 Feb 19th (Mon) 2:00 pm @ Virtual Cinema 8 (online) Feb 19th (Mon) 4:00 pm @ Cinemobile

Rider Feb 16th (Fri) 2:30 pm @ dffb-Kino Feb 17th (Sat) 16:15 pm @ Virtual Cinema 6 (online) The Imminent Age (La edad inminente) Feb 18th (Sun) 5:40 pm @ CinemaxX 3 Feb 20th (Tue) 10:00 am @ Virtual Cinema 8 (online) The Rim (La parra) Feb 18th (Sun) 1:00 pm @ CinemaxX 19 Feb 19th (Mon) 12:10 pm @ Virtual Cinema 6 (online)

El Paraíso Feb 16th (Fri) 11:00 am @ Virtual Cinema 6 (online) Feb 18th (Sun) 3:00 pm @ Marriott 1 Feb 19th (Mon) 12:40 pm @ CinemaxX 12 Memories of a Burning Body (Memorias de un cuerpo que arde) Feb 20th (Tue) 11:15 am @ CinemaxX 9 Milk (Melk) Feb 17th (Sat) 12:20 pm @ Marriott 1 Feb 18th (Sun) 4:00 pm @ Virtual Cinema 8 (online) Feb 19th (Mon) 9:15 am @ CinemaxX 13 The Girls Are Alright (Las chicas están bien) Feb 17th (Sat) 9:00 am @ Marriott 1 Feb 18th (Sun) 10:30 am @ CinemaxX 16 Feb 18th (Sun) 2:00 pm @ Virtual Cinema 7 (online)

FILM FACTORY Something Is About to Happen (Que nadie duerma) Feb 15th (Thu) 5:45 pm @ Gropius Bau Cinema The Girls at the Station (Las chicas de la estación) Feb 17th (Sat) 12:30 pm @ CinemaxX 9

FEELSALES Gold Lust (L’Escanyapobres) Feb 19th (Mon) 3:55 pm @ Kino Arsenal 2 Aamelat. Day Laborers of War (Aamelat. Jornaleras de la guerra) Feb 18th (Sun) 12:45 pm @ CinemaxX 2 240

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BERLINALE

MARKET SCREENINGS FILMAX A Moroccan Affair (Ocho apellidos marroquís) Feb 16 (Fri) 3:45 pm @ dffb-Kino Andrea’s Love (El amor de Andrea) Feb 17th (Sat) 9:10 am @ Kino Arsenal 2 Feb 15th (Thu) 2:15 pm @ Virtual Cinema 1 (online) Bad Hair Day (Un mal día lo tiene cualquiera) Feb 16 (Fri) 9:00 am @ dffb-Kino Birds Flying East (Pájaros) Feb 18th (Sun) 3:00 pm @ CinemaxX 12

LATIDO FILMS

Ellipsis (Puntos suspensivos) Wed 14 at 2:15 pm @ CinemaxX 11

Aire: Just Breathe (Aire) Feb 17th (Sat) 9:25 am @ CinemaxX 12 Feb 18th (Sun) 10:40 am @ CinemaxX 1

Teresa Feb 18th (Sun) 11:15 am @ CinemaxX 17 Feb 18th (Sun) 4:30 pm @ Virtual Cinema 1 (online)

Artificial Justice (Justicia artificial) Feb 17th (Sat) 12:50 pm @ Kino Arsenal 2 Feb 19th (Mon) 11:00 am @ CinemaxX 6

The Chapel (La ermita) Feb 15th (Thu) 11:00 am @ CinemaxX 16

Championext (CampeoneX) Feb 18th (Sun) 9:15 am @ CinemaxX 11

The Night My Dad Saved Christmas (La Navidad en sus manos) Feb 15th (Thu) 4:15 pm - dffb-Kino The Sleeping Woman (La mujer dormida) Feb 16 (Fri) 12:35 pm @ dffb-Kino Feb 17th (Sat) 4:00 pm @ Virtual Cinema 1 (online) The Teacher Who Promised yhe Sea (El maestro que prometió el mar) Feb 17th (Sat) 5:30 pm @ dffb-Kino Feb 16 (Fri) 11:00 am @ Virtual Cinema 1 (online) We Treat Women Too Well (Tratamos demasiado bien a las mujeres) Feb 17th (Sat) 2:05 pm @ dffb-Kino

Latido Films Showreel Feb 17th (Sat) 9:00 am @ Virtual Cinema 3 (online) One Night with Adela (Una noche con Adela) Feb 16 (Fri) a las 12:15 pm @ CinemaxX 13. Summer in Red (Verano en rojo) Feb 15th (Thu) 10:50 am en CinemaxX 12

SIDERAL CINEMA

While You’re Still You (Mientras seas tú) Feb 17th (Sat) 11:00 am @ CinemaxX 12 Feb 18th (Sun) 9:30 am @ Virtual Cinema 1 (online) WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

Hate Songs Feb 20th (Tue) 2:45 pm @ CinemaxX 9 From My Cold Dead Hands Feb 17th (Sat) 12:45 pm @ CinemaxX 5 41 3

La Cocina © Juan Pablo Ramírez, Filmadora

LATAM GOES TO BERLIN ALONG WITH THE SPANISH CINEMA THAT WILL PREMIERE AT THE 74TH EDITION OF BERLINALE, WE WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE LATIN AMERICAN AND PORTUGUESE CINEMA THAT ATTENDEES WILL BE ABLE TO ENJOY THIS YEAR. TWO FILMS IN COMPETITION FOR THE GOLDEN BEAR, LA COCINA AND PEPE, ARE LEADING THE SQUAD. CARLOS AGUILAR SAMBRICIO

Pepe ©Monte and Culebra

BERLINALE

a Cocina is probably the Latam film poised to attract more buyers. Starring two-time Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara, this black and white film directed by Mexican Alonso Ruizpalacios is a must-watch in Competition. Ruizpalacios is praised as one of the most brilliant and talented voices in contemporary Mexican cinema. His previous films have been at Berlin: Güeros won Best First Feature Film, Museum took

Best Screenplay and A Cop Movie’s editing was acknowledge for its Outstanding Artistic Contribution. La Cocina is his first time shooting outside Mexico. It portrays the life in the kitchen of a restaurant in New York City where cultures from all over the world blend during the lunchtime rush. It´s inspired by British Playwright Arnold Wesker’s 1950s play as well as writerdirector Alonso Ruizpalacios’ time working in a busy central London kitchen (the Rainforest Café). The feature film expresses Ruizpalacios’ vision of a multicultural society. The kitchen becomes a microcosm where undocumented Mexicans and people from diverse countries work together. The film is produced by Fifth Season, Seine Pictures, Astrakan Film AB, Filmadora and Panorama Global, while HanWay Films handles sales. “We are all universally fascinated by the world of food and the professional kitchen, it’s intensity, it’s strict hierarchy. Shows like recent The Bear are incredibly popular. What La Cocina brilliantly does is turn its kitchen into a kinetic microcosm that represents our society in one of the most international cities of the world, New York, the tension in a motley crew of immigrants both legal and illegal, capturing in particular the eternal chase of the American Dream from those peoples coming from South and Central America”, says Rubik Gabrielle Stewart, HanWay Films, to Rubik. Stewart believes that, at its heart, it is “a love story between a white American

waitress and a Mexican chef”. Also, she remarks its global appealing: “We could be in any great international city, in the kitchen of any cosmopolitan restaurant with all the same dreams, tensions and emotions. Ruizpalacios has made a captivating film for a wide international audience”. If Carlo Chatrian, Berlinale’s artistic director, describes your film as “the least classifiable” entry in this year’s Berlinale competition, that´s a huge compliment. We are talking about Pepe, the other Latam film in contention for the Golden Bear.

“A film like Pepe has never been made. The singularity and originality orchestrated by Nelson Carlo De los Santos Arias will not leave anyone indifferent” Andrea Queralt, 4A4 Productions Chatrian added that it has a surprising blend of genres and styles, showing the contradictions of our globalised world from a non-western perspective. ‘Pepe’ is the name that the Colombian press gave to the first exiled

Memories of a burning body © Substante Films and Playlab Films

hippopotamus from the Hacienda Nápoles, Pablo Escobar’s old house. The movie tells the story of this hippo, born in Namibia and killed in the jungle of Colombia. Between sounds and bellows, his ghost narrates his story. Another story to add to the imaginary of these towns, full of macho fights, dictatorships and beings that have died without ever knowing where they really were.

“What La Cocina brilliantly does is turn its kitchen into a kinetic microcosm that represents our society in one of the most international cities of the world, New York, the tension in a motley crew of immigrants both legal and illegal, capturing in particular the eternal chase of the American Dream” Gabrielle Stewart, HanWay Films Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias is directing. His previous film, Cocote, won Best Film Award at the Signs of Life section at Locarno, besides achieving Best Latam Film at Mar del Plata. It is a historic selection not only for the Dominican Republic, but for the Caribbean. It is the first film in Berlin’s Official Selection since Strawberry & Chocolate, a Cuban film by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea that competed in 1993. The film shakes off colonial scars, and makes voices of Caribbean peoples resonate on a transoceanic journey. “A film like Pepe has never been made. The singularity and originality orchestrated 44

by Nelson Carlo De los Santos Arias will not leave anyone indifferent”, tells Rubik one of the producers, Andrea Queralt (4A4 Productions). Its co-production structure is as atypical as the film: Dominican Republic (Monte y Culebra), France (4A4 Productions), Namibia (Joe Vision) and Germany (Pandora), with the Dominican Republic having the majority participation. They are still in negotiations to get a sales company. “It has been very enriching to be able to work with such different countries, and to feel that Pepe as a project was generating great support in each of these territories, proof of its international potential as a film”, says Queralt. OTHER LATAM FILMS AT BERLINALE We cannot ignore other Latin American feature films that will be at Berlinale out of the main competition. Generation is always one of the most interesting sections in every Berlinale. We already talked about Reinas and The Major Tones in our piece on Spanish Cinema, because they have spanish coprodution, but both of them are destined to get some buzz. The other Latam feature film here is Raíz (Through Rocks and Clouds), a coproduction between Peru and Chile directed by Franco García Becerra which is competing in Kplus. It tells the story of Feliciano, an eight-year-old alpaca herder who is euphoric: Peru has the chance to qualify for the World Cup! But the machinations of a mining company endanger his village and threaten Feliciano’s world and his dreams. Interested buyers should speak with Luxbox for sales. There are three short films at Kplus: Aguacuario, directed by José Eduardo Castilla Ponce (Mexico), Un pájaro voló (A Bird Flew) directed by Leinad Pájaro de la Hoz (Colombia / Cuba) and Uli directed by Mariana Gil Ríos (Colombia). Also, there´s a Brazilian short film at 14plus: Lapso, directed by Caroline Cavalcanti. Regarding Panorama, a traditional audience favourite, Latam Cinema has an important presence as well. In the Spanish piece we already gave WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

information about Memorias de un cuerpo que arde (Memories of a Burning Body), co-production from Costa Rica and Spain. There are two debut films here that you should take a look at. One is the Brazilian film Betânia by Marcelo Botta which sales are managed by MPM Premium. What´s the story? After losing her husband, 65-year-old midwife Betânia is persuaded by her daughters to leave her remote village. She moves near the sand dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses in northern Brazil and ventures a new beginning. The other one is Yo vi tres luces negras (I Saw Three Black Lights), a co-production between Colombia, Mexico, France and Germany. Directed by Santiago Lozano Álvarez , it tells the story of a wise old man who embarks on his final journey, entering the Colombian jungle to find a place to die. But the illegal army groups who control the area endanger his peaceful transition to the

BERLINALE realm of the dead. Sales are handled by Arthood Entertainment Encounters, platform aiming to foster aesthetically and structurally daring works from independent, innovative filmmakers, has chosen several films from Latam/Portugal directed by women filmmakers. German director Nele Wohlatz, who had great reviews with The Future Perfect (and won Locarno’s Golden Leopard for best first feature in 2016), is back with Dormir de olhos abertos (Sleep with Your Eyes Open), a co-production between Brazil, Taiwan, Argentina and Germany. Set in summer in a coastal city in Brazil, it tells the intertwined story of a heartbroken traveller from Taiwan, a man who owns an umbrella store and a woman who used to live in the city. Chinese company Rediance handles sales. Portuguese Margarida Gil brings here Mãos no fogo (Hands in Fire). While exploring old manor houses along the

Douro River, the young film student Maria do Mar finds herself trapped in a house of horrors. Cidade; campo (Brazil / Germany / France) is a film directed by Juliana Rojas. Two migration stories between the urban and the rural world. Joana emigrates to São Paulo to live with her sister and her sister’s grandson and discovers the precarious working world of the big city. The couple Flávia and Mara move to the countryside and have to face the frustrations and ghosts of the past. In the Spanish cinema article we tackle Tú me abrasas (You Burn Me), which was also selected for Encounters. Other section with Latam films is Forum, an area for reflections on the medium of film, socio-artistic discourse and a particular sense for the aesthetic. Yennifer Uribe Alzate will be here with La piel en primavera (Skin in Spring), a film from Colombia and Chile. It´s set in Medellín and it revolves around Sandra, a security guard at a mall who takes her

job seriously. It´s a film about places, sounds, a woman, her body, the self and the world. There are two documentaries here: Oasis (Chile) directed by Tamara Uribe and Felipe Morgado, set in 2019, when a nationwide movement forms in Chile to create a new constitution; and Resonance Spiral (Portugal / Guinea-Bissau / Germany), directed by Filipa César and Marinho de Pina, depicting The Mediateca Onshore in Malafo, a village in Guinea-Bissau. At Forum Expanded we can find Quebrante, Brazilian documentary made by Janaina Wagner and the short film Nanacatepec, that we talk about in the Spanish cinema article. Lastly, we wrap this piece up by mentioning the screening in Berlinale Classics of a restored version of Batalla en el cielo (Battle in Heaven), Mexican feature film directed by acclaimed director Carlos Reygadas. The film was part of Competition in Cannes 2005.

Reinas © Diego Romero

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CRÍTICA

THE OSCARS 2024: A STRONG YEAR AFTER BEING SNUBBED SO MANY TIMES BY THE HOLLYWOOD ACADEMY, THIS MIGHT BE CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S YEAR, CONSIDERING OPPENHEIMER LEADS THE PACK WITH 13 NOMINATIONS, BUT WE SHOULDN´T COUNT OUT POOR THINGS, WHICH EARNED 11 NOMINATIONS. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON COMES THIRD WITH 10, AND BARBIE, THE HIGHEST-GROSSING FILM OF 2023, FOLLOWS WITH EIGHT NODS. ALL IN ALL, WE ARE FACING ONE OF THE BEST OSCAR LINE-UPS IN A WHILE.

he 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide. Below you can read the full list of nominations in the 23 categories. BEST PICTURE - American Fiction by Cord Jefferson - Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet - Barbie by Greta Gerwig - The Holdovers by AlexanderPayne - Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese - Maestro by Bradley Cooper - Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan - Past Lives by Celine Song - Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos - The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM - Io Capitano by Matteo Garrone (Italy) - Perfect Days by Wim Wenders (Japan) 246

- Society of the Snow by J.A. Bayona (Spain) - The Teachers’ Lounge by Ilker Çatak (Germany) - The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer (United Kingdom)

BEST ACTOR - Bradley Cooper – Maestro - Colman Domingo – Rustin - Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers - Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer - Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

BEST ANIMATED FILM - The Boy and the Heron - Elemental - Nimona - Robot Dreams - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

BEST ACTRESS - Annette Bening – Nyad - Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon - Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall - Carey Mulligan – Maestro - Emma Stone – Poor Things

BEST DOCUMENTARY - Bobi Wine: The People’s President - The Eternal Memory - Four Daughters - To Kill a Tiger - 20 Days in Mariupol BEST DIRECTING - Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer - Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest - Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall - Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon - Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - Sterling K Brown – American Fiction - Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon - Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer - Ryan Gosling – Barbie - Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer - Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple - America Ferrera – Barbie

THE OSCARS

- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Oppenheimer - The Zone of Interest BEST COSTUME DESIGN - Barbie - Killers of the Flower Moon - Napoleon - Oppenheimer - Poor Things BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - Golda - Maestro - Oppenheimer - Poor Things - Society of the Snow

- Jodie Foster – Nyad - Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

- Killers of the Flower Moon - Oppenheimer - Poor Things

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - Anatomy of a Fall - The Holdovers - Maestro - May December - Past Lives

BEST FILM EDITING - Anatomy of a Fall - The Holdovers - Killers of the Flower Moon - Oppenheimer - Poor Things

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - American Fiction - Barbie - Oppenheimer - Poor Things - The Zone of Interest

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - Barbie - Killers of the Flower Moon - Napoleon - Oppenheimer - Poor Things

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - El Conde - Killers of the Flower Moon - Maestro - Oppenheimer - Poor Things

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - The Creator - Godzilla Minus One - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 - Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - Napoleon

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - American Fiction - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

BEST SOUND - The Creator - Maestro WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - The Fire Inside – Flamin’ Hot - I’m Just Ken – Barbie - It Never Went Away – American Symphony - Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) – Killers of the Flower Moon - What Was I Made For? – Barbie BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM - The After - Invincible - Knight of Fortune - Red, White and Blue - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM - Letter to a Pig - Ninety-Five Senses - Our Uniform - Pachyderme - WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM - The ABCs of Book Banning - The Barber of Little Rock - Island in Between - The Last Repair Shop - Nài Nai & Wài Pó 47 3

SOCIETY OF THE SNOW The highest budget Spanish production to tell the biggest survival story THIS MOVIE’S €60M BUDGET REPRESENT THE LARGEST INVESTMENT EVER MADE IN A FILM WITH A SPANISH LABEL (ALTHOUGH 90% OF THE IP BELONGS TO THE U.S.). A PRODUCTION EFFORT THAT HAS BEEN REWARDED WITH 13 GOYA AWARD NOMINATIONS AND NOMINATIONS FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM AND BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING AT THE OSCARS. MIGUEL VARELA

“

I’m coming from a plane that crashed in the mountains. I am Uruguayan. We have been walking for 10 days. I have an injured friend upstairs. There are 14 people injured in the plane. We have to get out of here fast and we don’t know how. We have no food. We are weak. When are they going to pick us up? Please, we can’t even walk. Where are we?” This letter, written by Nando Parrado to the Chilean muleteer Sergio Catalán, marked the end of the ordeal of the 16 survivors of the so-called Miracle in the Andes. The story of how a group of young Uruguayans whose plane crashed in the mountains managed to survive 72 days in extreme conditions, facing hunger and cold, was described by National Geographic as one of the most impressive and intense survival stories in history. An opinion shared by Spanish director J.A. Bayona, who got his hands on the book about this odyssey written by Pablo Vierci while he was preparing the filming of The Impossible. Little by little, the auteur fell in love with the story and decided he wanted to make it into a film. 48

It was not the first time that the survival story of the Andes was brought to the big screen: Frank Marshall did it in 1993 in Alive and before that Mexican René Cardona had done it in his Survive! (Supervivientes de los Andes) in 1976. However, J. A. Bayona had the ambition to tell the story in a way that his predecessors had not achieved: without artifice, without morbidity, without epics. The Spanish director wanted to tell the story taking the degree of realism to the extreme, with an absolutely naturalistic tone that made production needs more expensive and with non-professional actors. An approach that caused the search for financing to drag on for a decade. Then, in 2021, Netflix appeared, backed the director’s vision and became the main producer of his fifth film -the first without the banner of Telecinco Cinema.The streaming platform thus added another name to its list of great directors they work with, seeking the prestige of the big awards season, along the lines of Martin Scorsese in The Irishman or Alfonso Cuarón in Roma. The WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

production was in charge of Spanish Belén Atienza and Sandra Hermida, who faced the goal of recreating the tragedy of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 with maximum fidelity by means of a 140-day filming.

Netflix backed the director’s vision and added another name to its list of great directors they work with, seeking the prestige of the big awards season, along the lines of Martin Scorsese in The Irishman or Alfonso Cuarón in Roma.

SPAIN AT THE OSCARS

SIERRA NEVADA AS THE ANDES Although the first objective of Bayona, and the film’s producers, was to shoot in real locations, it soon became clear that filming in the real valley where the plane crashed (known as El Valle de Lágrimas, which means Valley of Tears) was unfeasible due to the inaccessibility of the location, given that it is 5,000 meters above sea level among the rugged mountains. Once it became clear that it would not be possible to film in the Valley of Tears, line producer Margarita Huguet began to look for locations that shared the same orography and solar orientation as the location of the accident, seeking the maximum degree of realism. The location chosen was Laguna de las Yegüas, located in Sierra Nevada (Granada, Spain) at 2,800 meters above sea level. This location was selected, in the words of its producer Sandra Hermida, for “its great resemblance in a reduced version to the place of the accident, its excellent geographical location and the logistical support offered by the ski resort”. However, getting used to the environment for the shooting was not a bed of roses: Bayona himself and part of the crew suffered from altitude sickness during the first days. To replicate the fuselage of the Uruguayan air force plane, an exact replica of the real plane was built, with a detailed design with the same size as the original one. It was even made of iron and was assembled with the same angulation and tilt, being as an uncomfortable as the real one. In addition to the set, that was located on the mountain, the team had several replicas located on different filming sets, prepared to shoot when conditions did not allow to do it on the mountain set. These were located in a temporary construction shed at the foot of the mountain, with a virtual set and a backlot also ready to use. VIRTUAL PRODUCTION AND AN ACTION SEQUENCE FOR HISTORY Among the film’s stunts, the most difficult moment was the plane crash, which required a great deal of planning and the participation of several Matías Recalt as Roberto Canessa ©Quim Vives / Netflix

specialized Spanish companies to give the scenes the desired realism. This part of the film, as producer Sandra Hermida explains to Rubik, “was the last phase of the shooting plan and was planned based on an animatic prepared by J.A. Bayona himself. This served as a tool from which the corresponding departments broke down the needs of each one to carry out each shot, coordinated by direction and production. The virtual production work by MO&MO Film Services was especially key to filming the plane crash scene, integrating the virtual backgrounds on chroma key into all the shots that are filmed from inside the plane. Art and Construction departments created a fuselage that would adapt to each shot, where every action was possible. The fuselage installed on a large hydraulic mechanism (gimbal), designed and built by the SFX team (Pau Costa) to recreate the dramatic and violent movements of the plane, as well as all the action elements, including the impressive “accordion” of seats and bodies. Twisted bodies created by the special make-up team (DDT), combined with the spectacular work of the stuntmen (The Stunt Club). All of it supervised by the VFX team (El Ranchito), responsible for the final image result with everything integrated. Accompanied by a team of photographers, cameras, electricians and machinists working with pinpoint accuracy. And finishing with the spectacular sound design and editing. “A true team effort”, concludes the producer. LIMITED THEATRICAL RELEASE AND WORLDWIDE SUCCESS ON NETFLIX Society of the Snow broke the dynamic of the very limited theatrical releases that Netflix had made in Spain for its originals. The film was made available since its premiere on December 15 in more than a hundred theaters. In fact, as explained by the director himself on his Twitter account, the film is still available with the same number of copies at the close of this edition, in its eighth week in theaters. Although Netflix does not provide its audience data to Comscore, a private company dedicated to audience measurement in Spain, it is obliged to do so

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SPAIN AT THE OSCARS

On January 4th of this year, Sociedy of the Snow landed on Netflix and immediately became a global hit. It took just ten days to surpass 10 million views, thus entering the top-10 most watched non-English language films in the history of the platform. to the Spanish Film Institute (ICAA), which reflects the figure on its official website. In eight weeks available in theaters in Spain, the film has grossed 2.7 million euros, a satisfactory release considering its limited distribution. On January 4 of this year, Sociedy of the Snow landed on Netflix and immediately became a global hit. It took just ten days to surpass 10 million views, thus entering the top-10 most watched non-English language films in the history of the platform. It should be noted that Netflix only offers the data corresponding to the first 91 days of the title on the platform, which start counting from the day of release. Bayona’s film accumulated at the close of

this edition no less than 75 million views in just 29 days, making it the fourth most watched film in this category in history. It is ahead of two Spanish films, The Platform and Nowhere, in third and second place, respectively. Norway’s Troll leads the ranking, with 103 million reproductions. Netflix’s method for measuring is based on the average number of views per hours and minutes of the movies, so it is not exact. If one user watches the entire movie once and only half of it in another, and another user watches only half of the movie, the system will count two views. Anyway, everything points to Society of the Snow ending up being the most watched non-English speaking film in

the history of the platform, as it still has 62 days ahead to continue to fatten its statistics, with the celebration of the Goyas and the Oscars in between, which will surely offer it a great boost in terms of visibility. For the moment, it became the non-English speaking film that has accumulated the most viewing hours with 182.7 million, surpassing the 178.6 million achieved by Troll. Globally, in the last week, the film has been the most watched film of all those on the platform, with 28.1 million views behind Lift: A First-Class Heist, which accumulated 32.2 million. As of today, the film with the most views in Netflix history continues to be Red Notice, with 364 million.

SPAIN AT THE OSCARS

ROBOT DREAMS A one of a kind animated film whose potential lies in its universality THE FOURTH FILM BY BILBAO-BORN DIRECTOR PABLO BERGER TELLS THE CUT SHORT STORY OF THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN DOG AND THE ROBOT HE HAS BUILT TO BE HIS INSEPARABLE FRIEND. A UNIVERSAL PROPOSAL, AT TIMES GLITTERING AND AT OTHER TIMES HEARTBREAKING, THAT HAS WON OVER THE HOLLYWOOD ACADEMY, EARNING A NOMINATION FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. MIGUEL VARELA

he touching adaptation of the graphic novel by Sara Varon about a lonely dog who decides to build a robot to be his best friend, which is directed by Pablo Berger, is conquering the hearts of critics and audiences. To cap it all, the film will be at the Oscar 2024 ceremony, where it will compete with animation heavyweights like Studio Ghibli or Pixar. Its rivals for the award will be Nimona, The Boy and the Heron, Elemental and SpiderMan: Across the Spider-Verse, four firstrate movies. The film premiered at the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival and since then it has been reaching milestones, such as the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the European Film Awards or the five nominations achieved at the Annie Awards, the Oscars of animation, in the categories of Best Independent Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Character Design and Best Storyboard. This is the director’s first animated film, but Berger has already shown on other occasions his immense talent for telling 52

highly expressive stories without the need for dialogue. In Robot Dreams, he doesn’t need words to create a beautiful story of friendship that is cut short when Dog must abandon his best friend on the beach. He had already worked solely with images and music -which plays a leading role as a common thread and reinforces the New York atmosphere- in Blancanieves, his Spanish reinterpretation of Snow White starring Macarena García, which swept the 2013 Goya Awards, winning 10 of the 18 awards for which it was eligible. THE PRODUCTION OF A STORY “EMPTY OF DIALOGUE BUT FULL OF EMOTION”. One of the main objectives of the production was to give its own personality to an adaptation of a graphic novel with certain features already determined. In this sense, Sandra Tapia and Maite Miqueo (Arcadia Motion Pictures), producers of Robot Dreams, highlights in a statement to RUBIK the importance of the production designer José Luis Ágreda, who had previously worked on Buñuel in WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

the labyrinth of turtles and whose vision fascinated the team. His music provides the film with the right personality and realism after testing various styles. However, the search of the creative identity proved easier than the production itself, which faced a major problem from the very beginning. “This was our first animated feature, so we had to set up a studio created specifically from scratch for the production of this feature film. As production got underway, we had to deal with the lockdown caused by Covid, so we had to continue the work remotely. Taking advantage of the experience of working remotely, we were able to establish several coordinated offices between Barcelona, Madrid and Pamplona, achieving a magnificent result”. Although the bulk of production took place during the pandemic, the project came into the hands of Arcadia Pictures five years ago. Pablo Berger had fallen in love with the graphic novel during the filming of Blancanieves and had long wanted to bring it to the screen. However, from the first production talks it was clear that the project needed a high budget,

so a co-production with France was considered, and a financing plan was developed based on a combination of public funds, private investment and the pre-sale of rights to television stations and international distribution advances, the latter being especially key in the financing of animation projects. The production company adds that Robot Dreams has been possible thanks to the great deal of support it has received: “MEDIA, ICEC, Basque Government, ICAA, Eurimages, RTVE, Movistar+.... Also on the French side, we partnered with Jérôme Vidal, from Noodles Production and with the production company Les Films du Worso. France has provided both public support from the CNC, as well as acquisitions by television stations such as Cine+ and Canal+ and the Soficas. Also, it was essential to find the right partners for distribution: Bteam for Spain and Elle Driver, which handled international sales,” explains the producers. It is clear to any viewer watching Robot Dreams that this is not a traditional animated film and that it has a very unique look to begin with. “We found no

previous references for the film during the development phase. We are dealing with a 2D animated film, made in the purest traditional style with a realistic vocation. It tells a story for all audiences, starring a dog and a robot living in New York in the 80s... but there is no dialogue. And yet, it expresses a lot and manages to move the viewer”.

“The movie tells a story for all audiences, starring a dog and a robot living in New York in the 80s... but there is no dialogue. And yet, it expresses a lot and manages to move the viewer” Sandra Tapia Arcadia Motion Pictures WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

A work conducted with the utmost care at the artistic and production level for nearly three years that aspires to obtain one of the greatest awards that you can get: the Oscar for Best Animated Film. “It was extremely exciting to hear the news. It has been long and hard to get here, and this reward is the best we could have hoped for. A remarkable aspect is that the film has made it to the Oscars without having had a commercial release in the U.S., which will happen in the spring of this year, so we have to work on the American publicity. AN OSCAR NOMINATION BOOSTS INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION “Internationally, it’s been released in France and Benelux and many already sold territories are moving their releases and dating this spring to make the most out of the Oscar nomination buzz. The release in France on December 27, a key territory, went very well. In Spain it’s still in distribution and has joined an education programme that will make many students see it in theaters, thus increasing its final 53

SPAIN AT THE OSCARS

boxoffice”, explains to Rubik Lara Pérez Camiña, from the Spanish distributor Bteam. Moreover, Bteam proudly highlights the film’s performance at Festivals, where it has had an outstanding run: “Robot Dreams is traveling around the world. Since its screening at the Cannes Film Festival, it´s been very intense: Sitges (where it won the audience award), Toronto, BFI, Tokyo, New Zealand, Melbourne, Mar de Plata... the film has been in both specialized and general animation festivals, receiving mentions and awards.

“It was a pity not being nominated at the Goya Awards in the Best Film Category. It could have broken that barrier that animation still has” Lara Pérez Camiña Bteam

In a project of this nature, it is often difficult to define the target. The distributor had to carry out a test to be sure of the best strategy to follow. “At first glance, it looks like an animated film for adults, but we also needed to know what segment of the children’s audience was interested in it. We did a test at a school and the ones who liked it the most were those between 4 and 6 years old, although some of them found it very sad. We thought that, as with Miyazaki’s films, it was a film that children would not ask to see directly, but that their parents would take them to see it, because they found it interesting for both of them. However, you have to be careful with this type of release, as you take the risk of children finding it a film for adults and adults finding it for children,” points out. As for the factors contributing to the film’s international circulation, Lara mentions the universal themes that are highlighted in the film... and which at the same time make it so special. “Good stories travel well internationally. This project brings together themes that are perfectly understood anywhere

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in the world: friendship, mourning separation, love... it is true that the fact of not having dialogues is a handicap for marketing, because you don’t have famous actors in the dubbing to contribute to the publicity, but this also means savings for international distributors, who don’t have to make an investment for their dubbing in two or three different languages. The Goya Awards and the Oscar Awards are the two main events marked on the calendar of the film’s crew. Regarding the former, Lara Pérez Camiña regrets that the film has not been nominated at the Goya Awards in the Best Film category. “It was a pity, it could have broken that barrier that animation still has. I think it had all the ingredients to make it, regardless of whether it is animation or not.” Regarding the Hollywood Academy Awards, she thinks it’s difficult but not impossible... “We are competing against very important works, including what could be Miyazaki’s last film, but I think that in terms of quality, originality, uniqueness, production, story, music... Robot Dreams could win”, she concludes.

LATAM AT THE OSCARS

MAITE ALBERDI, DIRECTOR OF THE MOLE AGENT, RETURNS TO DIRECTING WITH THIS STORY PRODUCED BY FÁBULA AND MICROMUNDO PRODUCCIONES. HER NEW WORK FOCUSES ON LOVE AND MEMORY AND IT REVOLVES AROUND A COUPLE HAVING TO COPE WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, RESULTING IN A DOCUMENTARY FULL OF TENDERNESS THAT WON THE GRAND JURY PRIZE AT THE SUNDANCE FESTIVAL.

ugusto Góngora and Paulina Urrutia are the protagonists of The Eternal Memory. He, a well-known Chilean cultural journalist; she, a former Minister of Culture. Both have shared their lives, in love, for more than 25 years. When Augusto is diagnosed with Alzheimer, both must reinvent their relationship. In the process, however, they both prove that their love and the relationship that unites them remains unbreakable. The project has its genesis in the admiration that the director felt for the two protagonists of this story, both famous figures in the political and cultural life of Chile. When Augusto announced his illness, Alberdi was surprised to see, in her words, “for the first time an Alzheimer’s patient and a caregiver show themselves to the world,

MIGUEL VARELA

since Alzheimer’s patients tend to isolate themselves socially. Shortly after the announcement, Alberdi began filming the couple, until Covid-19 arrived. From that moment on, it was Paulina herself who took the camera and filmed the routine of the pandemic with her husband. A day by day full of love but also of very hard moments. “We didn’t know if we could finish the work,” explains the director, who combines images of the time of the disease with footage belonging to the couple’s 25 years of life to offer the complete story of a life together. “Alzheimer’s disease serves only as a context to tell the love story of a happy couple”. A story that ended in the middle of last year, with the death of Augusto. The film, shot over five years, now honors his memory and the care that Paulina offered him in his last days. WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

Bteam manages the distribution of a work by the Chilean director, after having worked together on The Mole Agent. Lara Pérez Camiña, explains for Rubik that “this is a very particular production, both for the vision of its director and for the fact that its protagonists are two popular people in Chile. When you have such a good story, the most important thing is to make good artwork, posters, put a lot of love in the word-of-mouth, setting up Q&As... both the director and Paulina have done a very good job making the work known to people through proximity”. The British company Dogwoof is handling international sales of this film, nominated in 2024 for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Its rivals in this category will be Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Four Daughters, To Kill a Tiger and 20 Days in Mariupol. 55

THE ZONE OF INTEREST REVIEW

The weight of the off-screen WITH FIVE OSCAR NOMINATIONS, JONATHAN GLAZER SNEAKS IN THE ACADEMY HEGEMONY WITH A FILM ENTIRELY INSPIRED BY THE NARRATIVE THAT USUALLY FEATURE HOLLYWOOD FILMS. BELIT LAGO

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he director of the cult film Under the Skin (2013) returns to feature film after ten years dedicated to making shorts and advertisements. Brands such as Apple, Burberry or Canon have counted on his artistic skills to direct their commercials, visibly soaked with an aesthetic, both visual and sound, very much in line with the filmography of the author of Birth (2004). His triumphant premiere at Cannes, where he won the Grand Jury Prize, is a fact that, in part, explains his following success. The winner of the last Palme d’Or, Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet), has strongly entered the list of nominees as well, which implies a historic milestone: for the first time, the winners of these two awards will compete for Best Film at the Oscars. Considering Holocaust subjects are overused in the history of cinema, Glazer is committed to put the originality of his approach on the point of view. The weight of morality when it comes to portray such a historic event set alarm bells ringing among avant-garde critics with the

EUROPE AT THE OSCARS very famous tracking shot of Kapò (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1960), where the director attempted to embellish the suicide of a Jewish woman in a death camp, a decision strongly criticized by Jacques Rivette in issue 120 of Cahiers du Cinéma: “He who decides at that moment to do a close-up tracking shot to reframe the corpse from a low angle shot (...) only deserves the deepest contempt.” Years before, Alain Resnais dared to talk about the Holocaust from a non-fiction perspective, creating a shocking story based on unpublished archive images recorded at Auschwitz in 1944. Night and Fog (1956), a 36-minute footage, explained the horror from the concentration camps just 12 years after the Liberation. The Zone of Interest, a loose adaptation of the novel of the same name by Martin Amis, portrays the idyllic life of the Höss family. Commander Rudolf (Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) have built a dream home in which to raise their children. The garden, meticulously designed in order to make the adjacent background invisible, is full of flowers,

vegetables and vines. A few meters from paradise is the wall, the dividing border between the luminosity of life and the horror of death, contrasting two realities that feed off each other. What happens beyond the wall is always off-camera: the only thing we see are the chimneys, always at work, whose smoke ends up irremediably affecting the air that the Germans breathe. Although the couple insists on ignoring the atrocity they inflict, Hedwig’s mother, who will come to their house to visit, will soon flee in terror, unable to continue inhaling those particles that force her to cough relentlessly. On one of the outings to the river with the commander’s new canoe, he notices something on his leg: the rubbing of a human bone. He will immediately take his children out of the water to return home and have the maids wash them thoroughly, trying to erase any trace of monstrosity, maintaining that isolation in which they have based their vile existence. Despite not being an explicitly horror film, Glazer uses certain narrative devices so that discomfort infects the viewer’s experience. The two minutes of black screen in the prologue, accompanied by sinister WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

music that will turn into bird songs to give rise to the bucolic first scene, is already a symptom of a bad omen. Towards the middle of the film another shot, this time in red, causes confusion and surprise. The film ends as it begins, with the opacity contained in this luminous story of a family oblivious to the horror, but who at the same time lives enclosed between the walls of their house and the flowers of their plot, which are some elements that cloister characters who, contrary to live in the freedom they proclaim, they show themselves imprisoned under infamous ideals. However, what is truly terrifying about The Zone of Interest is the sound design, precise and minimalist, and at the same time overwhelmingly successful. Especially when it accompanies the negative scenes, two stylistically brilliant moments, where the British director directly plunges into genre to represent, once again, the unjustifiable nature of what he is showing us. Without forgetting the corporeality of that hidden cruelty that we hear insistently in the form of gunshots, screams and murmurs, which end up intermingling with the barking of the dog and the desperate tantrums of the youngest of the Hösses. 57

EUROPE AT THE OSCARS

ANATOMY OF A FALL REVIEW

The Ghost of Those We Were THROUGH THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE OF A COURT ROOM THRILLER, JUSTINE TRIET NOT ONLY DELVES INTO THE MARITAL CRISIS OF HER LEADING CHARACTERS, BUT ALSO QUESTIONS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE REALITY THAT SURROUNDS US.

n Triet’s previous work, Sybil (2019), a film that is not very well regarded, its protagonist (Virginie Efira) tried to resume her career as a writer, which she had abandoned to dedicate herself to psychology, using real elements obtained from her environment as a source of inspiration. Similarly, Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller), in the interview attempt that opens Anatomy of a Fall (2023), briefly talks about the extent to which the use of her own life as the basis of her fictions is one of the keys to his literary success. From that perspective, should we understand Sandra as a kind of mature version of Sybil? Not in the sense that one film is a sequel or an extension of the other. But it does regarding Triet’s particular interest in exploring a series of recurring themes and situations (especially everything related to the creation of realities through fiction), as well as a certain tendency to use some genre tropes for which she feels attached to, because they open up the possibility of addressing, in the background, the existential and emotional crises of its bourgeois protagonists. At the time, it was said that the process of identification and/or 58

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projection that occurred in Sybil between the character of Efira and Margot (Adèle Exarchopoulos) had something Hitchcockian, when it came closer to Bergman’s intimate explorations. The British director has been mentioned again regarding the court room thriller plot of Anatomy of a Fall (a genre that, on the other hand, the director had already approached in a comedic way in Victoria (2016)), perhaps refering to its recurring theme of the falsely accused man. But, more than to the geometric precision of Hitchcock’s cinema, Triet’s work is closer to what Billy Wilder experienced with Witness for the Prosecution (1957): seizing upon the genre cover (a novel by Agatha Christie in that case) to highlight how, despite its appearance of normality, the relationships between her characters are marked by lies and toxicity. Precisely, the fact that both Sandra and her husband, Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis), dedicate themselves to literature marks one of the fundamental themes around which Anatomy of a Fall revolves: the fictionalization of reality. One of the keys to analyze the film is in the small sequence, apparently anecdotal, in which, during a television talk show, WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

it is pointed out that the trial of Hüller’s character seems to come out of one of his novels. And Triet and his co-writer, Arthur Harari, make the most out the nature of the court room subgenre to delve into how human beings tend to (re)interpret what surrounds them in a fictional way to try to grasp the complexity of human existence; but also how we have publicly become accustomed, especially since the arrival of social media, to creating an image through which we project what we want the world to think about us. For this reason, even more than Wilder, Triet is not so much interested in the resolution of the trial as in what the entire process reveals, both about the participants and with respect to each member of the jury. Triet, in fact, approaches again to Bergman’s territory by describing a couple’s crisis off-screen, through memories, descriptions, recordings and vague circumstantial evidence, to the point that Samuel’s presence ends up being purely phantasmatic: we never see his real, complete version, but always through the filter of others, of the impression they have left of him. When he follows that parameter, outside of the mere verbalization of conflicts to which the

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court room subgenre tends, Anatomy of a Fall really gets off the ground. In particular, through the numerous expressive resources that the director uses to create a contrast between, let’s say, conventional reality, in which Simon Beaufils’ photography is more naturalistic and more placid, and those moments in which she is visualizing the reinterpretation of the reality that each character has created, in which the camera is freer and it toys much more with the editing. In Sybil, the name of its protagonist was an irony of the myth of the Sibyls, the prophetesses of Greek and Roman mythology, and how they influenced the behavior of the great heroes. Here, however, it seems to be telling us about an entire society enclosed in the myth of Plato’s cave: the metaphor of the emotional distance of the SandraSamuel couple that emphasizes their isolation in a house lost in the mountains (not too subtle, as the blindness of little Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) can be applied to practically all the relationships shown to us in Anatomy of a Fall, marked by a unique, simplified vision of the labyrinthine nature of the human essence. 59

Argentina 1985

CINE ARGENTINO UNIDO THE RISE OF FAR-RIGHT LEADER JAVIER MILEI IN ARGENTINA HAS PUT IN JEOPARDY A WHOLE COUNTRY’S CINEMA. HIS OMNIBUS BILL PROPOSED THE ELIMINATION OF PART OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FILM AND AUDIOVISUAL ARTS (INCAA) FUNDING. THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROTEST AGAINST THIS HAS MADE MILEI WALK BACK AND NOW IT SEEMS STATE FUNDING OF CINEMA IS OFF THE TABLE. HOWEVER, INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES CONSIDER THE CHANGES SENT TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS ARE INSUFFICIENT AND ORNAMENTAL.

avier Milei, a selfproclaimed anarchocapitalist, won the elections in Argentina with a flagship reform: Omnibus Bill, a highly controversial 664-article legislative proposal. Among many other things, it aims to deregulate industries. In Cinema, this meant stripping the National Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) of most of its funding and eliminating funding to the staterun film school ENERC. 60

Cinema state funding in Argentina is based on two pillars. One has to do with taxes on cinema tickets and the other with a government levy on broadcasting companies. Milei’s bill wanted to eliminate the latter. This measure would have a devastating effect and would mean the end of Argentine cinema as we know it. Just a few films could be produced and mostly supported by streamers. A last-minute amendment has apparently put the fear of the state funding of cinema away. But the movie sector doesn´t really think the WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

changes are essential. The association Cine Argentino Unido believe they are “purely ornamental” and “do not affect in any way the true objective of the proposal: defund the INCAA and annihilate film production.” Although there´s still a lot of skepticism about what the future will bring, the industry has dodged a bullet. This couldn´t have happened without the campaign in opposition to Milei’s bill. For example, Santiago Mitre, film director of the acclaimed Argentina, 1985 among others, and producer

FEATURES Vanessa Ragone, responsible for The Secret in Their Eyes, spoke in Congress against the modifications the cinema measures included in the Omnibus Bill. “During the entire journey involved in promoting Argentina, 1985 I was able to see the admiration that our cinematography and our country generates in the world. It is, and I am not going to be modest, one of the most respected cinematographies in the world. Everyone here admire Ricardo Darín but I don’t know if everyone knows that Ricardo Darín is admired all over the world and that is because our cinema is exported”, said Mitre. But the main protest was a letter that was signed by more than 300 filmmakers around the world. The list included prominent artists like Pedro Almodóvar, Olivier Assayas, Kelly Reichardt, Alejandro GonzálezIñárritu, Justine Triet, Pedro Costa, Gael García Bernal, Isabelle Huppert, J.A. Bayona, Abel Ferrara, Isabel Coixet or Corneliu Porumboiu.

Trenque Lauquen

CINE ARGENTINO UNIDO’S LETTER “Argentina knew how to build a vibrant, heterogeneous and dynamic film industry from its beginnings. Since 1944, the country has had state institutions that regulate and promote cinematographic activity from the resources that audiovisual exploitation generates. Today, the film industry involves tens of thousands of quality jobs; it trains professionals who collaborate on co-productions throughout the world. Year after year, Argentine Cinema is present at the Cannes, Berlin, San Sebastián and Venice festivals, among many others, offering the world our perspective, our stories and our identity. None of this would have been possible without public policies to promote culture and without the Cinema Law that grants specific funds for the activity. The Law that the Executive Branch intends to be approved involves the destruction of the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) and with it, the eight headquarters of the National School of Cinematographic

Experimentation and Production (ENERC), an institution that provides public education and free high quality in all regions of the country. In this way, the new government, under the pretext of economic efficiency, seeks to strip society of a vital tool for the exercise of citizenship: culture. It is not coincidental. A people without history, without memory and without identity, is easily dominated and dehumanized. Argentine cinema is a thriving industry that generates thousands of jobs, exports content and brings foreign currency into the country. The application of this Law will have a devastating, incalculable and irreparable effect on all culture and national sovereignty and especially for the workers who depend on cultural industries, generating thousands of new unemployed people. At Cine Argentino Unido we defend everyone’s right to expression, access to culture and the possibility of our country continuing to support one of the most admired and acclaimed cinematography in the world, as the scope of this request can attest.”

The Delinquents

Could these recent acclaimed Argentine films be made with Milei’s Omnibus Bill? Argentine 1985 won the Golden Globe for non-english Best Feature and was nominated to Best International Film in the Oscars 2023. Trenque Lauquen by Laura Citarella was named the best film of 2023 by Cahiers du Cinema. When Evil Lurks by Demián Rugna won Best Film Award in 2023 edition of Sitges, the most important genre film in the world. The Delinquents by Rodrigo Moreno won in 2023 several awards in film festivals like Chicago, Havana, Lisbon, Ghent or Jerusalem.

When Evil Lurks

PRODUCERS DEMAND ROBUST STREAMING PLATFORM REGULATION AN ARRAY OF GLOBAL SCREEN PRODUCTION ORGANISATIONS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO SIGN A JOINT STATEMENT ON THE KEY PRINCIPLES NECESSARY TO GUARANTEE THE FUTURE OF THE AV INDUSTRY: A MORE ROBUST STREAMING PLATFORMS REGULATION AND THE RECOGNISITION OF THE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES TIED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) PROTECTION.

n array of global screen production organisations have come together to sign a joint statement on the key principles necessary to guarantee the future of the AV industry: a more robust streaming platforms regulation and the recognisition of the growth opportunities tied to intellectual property (IP) protection. A heated debate is coming. The rise of streaming platforms has increased global production but, at the same time, has raised enormous concerns about intellectual property. 62

If the independent production companies do not own the rights to the content, we face a situation in which those who actually make the productions become just service employees. The European Union is serious about cultural heritage. Therefore, it should consider the urgent need of stronger regulation in terms of the relationship between streaming platforms and intellectual property. Several screen producers organisations around the world are already taking a step forward. AECINE, Animation in Europe, AnimFrance, APA, APCA, APFC, WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

APIT, AQPM, CEPI, CIMA, CMPA, Doc/it, EPC, FIPCA, FPS, IBAIA, MAPA, PATE, PIAF, PROA, PROFILM, Produzentenverband, SPA, SPADA, SPI, UPFF+ and USPA, among others, call on their governments to take decisive action to protect local content and its intellectual property. Below you can read the full statement: GLOBAL SCREEN PRODUCERS STATEMENT ON STREAMING PLATFORM REGULATION & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTIONS

FEATURES

Together we represent thousands of screen industry businesses and share a commitment to securing regulation from our respective governments that will ensure that our industry continues to both be sustainable and maintains our nation’s cultural sovereignty. To help achieve this, government regulation of digital streaming platforms should be guided by the following principles: ● Local content has both significant cultural and economic importance and is a strategic national asset. ● Local audiences should have access to a broad range of new local stories across all the platforms they are using. ● All platforms that derive financial benefit from conducting business in the local market should

financially contribute, proportionally, to the creation of new local content for the benefit of local audiences. ● To meet audience expectations, there is a need to maintain and support a healthy screen sector (development, production (including post-production), distribution), that delivers employment, economic activity, industry upskilling, exports, and growth opportunities. ● Government has a role to address market failure and any imbalance in commercial bargaining power in the creation and delivery of quality new local screen content. ● Independent screen businesses (SMEs) are critical to achieving this cultural and economic objective. ● There is significant scope for growth in existing levels of production, investment, employment, WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

commissioned content hours and exports, provided fit for purpose regulation, that protects local cultural assets, is in place. ● Independent screen businesses should own and/or retain control of the intellectual property (IP), and rights in their work, including the right to financially participate in the success generated by their work on a platform, created as part of a nation’s own unique cultural heritage. ● Any government regulated investment framework should specify that the majority of this investment should be fulfilled through projects where IP is under the control of independent screen businesses. This principle will assist businesses to remain strong and sustainable, thereby enhancing their capacity to invest in the development and production of new IP. 63

A SIGH OF RELIEF EU MAINTAINS GEO-BLOCKING FOR FILM AND TV CULTURAL DIVERSITY WAS AT RISK. EVEN MORE, THE PURE SURVIVAL OF THE FILM AND TV INDUSTRIES WAS AT STAKE. BUT MEPS, IN THE END, RECTIFIED. AFTER A MASSIVE PETITION SUPPORTED BY MORE THAN 700 EUROPEAN ORGANISATIONS, IN DECEMBER, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTED YES TO THE AMENDMENT THAT PRESERVES THE EXCEPTION FOR AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR REGARDING GEO-BLOCKING REGULATION.

he Geo-Blocking Regulation is not a new thing. It goes back to 2018, when European Union wanted fo foster the digital single market. The goal was to put an end to unjustified geo-blocking rules which undermine cross-border sales in the EU. After this regulation, you can no longer be blocked or limited in accessing a website or a smartphone application from a business based in another EU Member State, aiming to ensure equal access for all EU customers to goods and services. But there was a problem. The point is being fair, not equal. Because every business is not created equal, they don’t all operate in the same way.

There was a huge threat: loss of revenue, decrease of investment in new content and distribution channels, cultural diversity reduction and, ultimately, price increase for consumers. 64

On average, according to European Audiovisual Observatory, European consumers currently have access to more than 8,500 European films online. Culture must always be an exception. Thus, several amendments were put forward to preserve the exception for film and TV. There was a huge threat: loss of revenue, decrease of investment in new content and distribution channels, cultural diversity reduction and, ultimately, price increase for consumers. Since the whole industry was in danger, more than 700 organisations from the film, cinema, and AV sector in Europe jointly urged the European Parliament to cast a vote in favour of culture by opposing the call for future inclusion of audiovisual services in the scope of the EU Geo-blocking Regulation. Rubik wants to acknowledge this effort by publishing the letter that contributed to save the industry: A ban on the use of geo-blocking technology to support territorial exclusivity for film and audiovisual content and services would severely jeopardize the creative and economic sustainability of the film and audiovisual sector in Europe. This would result in a drop in the number and range of films and audiovisual content produced, with a smaller variety of languages. Distribution and circulation would be drastically reduced across the WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

EU. This would have a direct and negative impact on consumer welfare: significant reduction of choice in content, distribution, and access options as well as a surge in prices. Surely this cannot be the intended outcome. We therefore urge you to vote for the plenary amendments which secure continued exclusion of audiovisual services from the Geo-blocking Regulation. The entire film, cinema, and audiovisual sector in Europe is counting on you to ensure that the European Parliament does not jeopardise a 47 billion EUR sector largely composed of SMEs and individual creators, totaling more than 2 million jobs in the EU. This would also reduce access to content for European citizens. EDITOR’S NOTES: The importance of territorial exclusivity for the European film and audiovisual sector is widely documented, for example by the European Audiovisual Observatory and recently also by the European Parliament’s Research Service. The European Audiovisual Observatory publishes ongoing research documenting the development of offers of film and television content to European consumers. According to the EAO, on average, European consumers have access to more than 8,500 European films online, of which 82% (~7000) are produced in other European countries – an exponential growth in content and services offered to consumers and a market development

FEATURES

welcomed by the film and audiovisual sector in Europe. European consumers are also benefiting from increased access to and availability of audiovisual content and services through the EU Portability Regulation and the EU TV & Radio Programmes Directive. Consecutive impact-assessments and independent economic analysis have consistently concluded that erosion of territorial exclusivity through a ban on the use of geoblocking in the context of financing and distributing films and audiovisual content also erodes the economic value of the rights concerned with a direct and negative

impact on the financing and distribution opportunities as well as on recoupment of investments of future film and audiovisual content in Europe. Erosion of territorial exclusivity would also have a direct and negative impact on consumer welfare resulting in less choice in content, distribution, and access options as well as higher prices. The impact of including AV in the EU Geoblocking Regulation, by Oxera, indicates that erosion of territorial exclusivity would have a “significant short-term impact on industry and consumers, with up to €9.3bn of welfare lost per annum—as well as medium- to long-term outcomes that would be worse than they are

More than 700 organisations from the film, cinema, and audiovisual sector in Europe jointly urged the European Parliament to cast a vote in favour of culture today (a welfare loss of up to €4.5bn per year.”

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FEATURES

MBS WINS MANAGEMENT CONTRACT FOR CIUDAD DE LA LUZ CIUDAD DE LA LUZ STUDIOS (ALICANTE, SPAIN) IS ONE OF THE BEST AUDIOVISUAL COMPLEX FACILITIES IN THE WORLD. AFTER A SANCTION BY THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR UNFAIR COMPETITION, IT HAS REOPENED AND, ACTUALLY, IT HOSTS THE FILMING OF VENOM 3 BLOCKBUSTER. THE ORGANISATION LAUNCHED A COMPETITION FOR A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT MANAGEMENT AND NOW WE KNOW THE WINNER: MBS GROUP, WHICH OPERATES SOME OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY’S MOST ICONIC, INDEPENDENT STUDIO LOTS.

he resolution was announced in January and this will put the complex into operation at full capacity. Ciudad de la Luz, opened in 2005, quickly became a major force in hosting huge filmings during several years but closed in 2012 after a complaint of unfair competition from Pinewood. The European Union lifted the sanction last year and it has now reopened. Although several years have passed, the facilities have been maintained and conserved by the Valencian Community government. With more than 100 locations, spanning 95 cities, 13 states and seven countries, Ciudad de la Luz owners have taken into account MBS Group resources for both studio owners and content producers. Other companies in the running 66

were Stage Fifty, Mediapro, Nu Boyana, Consulting Navarra and Secuoya. MBS services more than 500 sound stages across North America and Europe and supports more than 900 productions a year. It operates 30+ studios and provides production services to more than 100 studio locations in top production markets, from Los Angeles to New York, from Vancouver to London. Ciudad de la Luz Studios has 6 soundstages, with a total of 120.125 sq ft, with its buildings being independent, soundproofed and air-conditioned. Each group of 2 soundstages has an independent annexe building for services to support production. They have 3 production support buildings of 106.885 sq ft each one and also two backlots, which are outdoor filming areas of 10,62 acres and 16,61 acres respectively, with natural horizon, WWW.RUBIK-AUDIOVISUAL.COM

equipped with electricity supply, water and fibre optics. Its water tank is one of the most impressive ones in the world. Located in backlot 2, it measures 328,08 ft x 262,47 ft and is up to 17,06 ft deep, in addition to a blue screen on one of the sides. The future for the studios is bright. But also its present. Venom 3 is filming in Spain and some scenes of this Sony Pictures movie starred by Tom Hardy take place in the complex. Another big project they will host in the near future is The Captive by Alejandro Amenábar (The Others, Open Your Eyes). The film, whose sales are handled by Film Constellation, centers on the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the writer of Don Quixote. This $15 milion production is set in Algiers in 1575 when Cervantes, a 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs.