09/11/2005

The FestCEAL presents the latests works of Patricia Ferreira and Gerardo Herrero. Cineuropa spoke to Carmen de Miguel (Continental Producciones), who produced So You Don't Forget Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Heroína, two films produced and shot in Galicia.

Presented to the Berlinale 2005, So You Don't Forget Me marcs Patricia Ferreira’s first step into the mastery of melodrama, after her thrillers I know who you are and El Alquimista. Starred by veteran Fernando Fernán Gómez, the film is, according to the producer, "a story about the loss of a loved one”. Patricia relates de death of a grandchild with the loss of an entire generation of youths during the Spanish civil war". The nation’s mourning is reflected on one’s personal grievance, like if they were on the same side of the mirror, looking at them in order to continue moving forward.

Heroína, is based on the real story of a Galician mother of two drug addicts, who starts an association with other mothers in the same situation as her, and never doubts once to report the drug dealers to the authorities. Carmen enjoys social and historic themes: "I try to favor these type of films. You show reality and prevent people from falling in certain dangers". After Heroína, Carmen has already participated in the production of Herrero’s new project, Los Aires difíciles (Seemingly Difficult). Herrero is already finished with the shooting.

The current challenge is finding French and English producers for a project being developed by Manuel Gutierrez de Aragón (Spain’s national prize of Cinema/ Premio Nacional de Cinematografía 2005). "It’s titled Los niños del rey (The King's Children) and is a story based on Dr Balmis, who tried to take a vaccine for smallpox to Latin America. It was a famous expedition; they stopped the disease in Latin America”. With close to 5 million euros budget wise, co-production seems a good inversion: "I believe it’s an important source to make films from different places known. The technicians give each other feedback, the actors become internationally known, and each country has the opportunity to see what life is like in other parts of the world".