PRODUCTION / FUNDING Spain / Romania
Lino Escalera wraps the shoot for his second film, Hamburg
- Jaime Lorente toplines this thriller that broaches the thorny issue of mafia-run female prostitution, which will be sold internationally by Film Factory
After making his feature-length directorial debut with Can’t Say Goodbye [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lino Escalera
film profile], with which he scooped four awards at the Málaga Film Festival, Lino Escalera has now wrapped the shoot for his second feature, Hamburg, a thriller that delves into the murky world of the criminal organisations that make millions of euros by prostituting girls who are tricked and abducted in their home countries, to then come and work as slaves. Jaime Lorente (seen in series such as Money Heist, Elite and Untameable) toplines the cast, flanked by Roger Casamajor (nominated for a Feroz Award for his fantastic turn in La Mesías [+see also:
series review
trailer
series profile]) and Ioana Bugarin (a two-time nominee for Romania’s Gopo Awards, and best known for her work in Miracle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan George Apetri
film profile] and the series Ruxx).
The cast of the movie, which was filmed in Málaga and Madrid, is rounded off by Asia Ortega (the series The Boarding School: Las cumbres), Mona Martínez (nominated for a Goya for Adiós [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Cabezas
film profile]), Tamara Casellas (Silver Biznaga for her performance in Ama [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and also nominated for a Feroz Award for the series El hijo zurdo), Manolo Caro (who is currently appearing in the series Wrong Side of the Tracks) and Antonio Buil (One Year, One Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isaki Lacuesta
film profile]).
The screenplay, penned by the director himself together with Daniel Remón (winner of a Goya Award for Out in the Open [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benito Zambrano
film profile]) and Roberto Martín Maiztegui (the creator of series such as La Ruta and The Barrier), introduces us to Germán (played by Jaime Lorente), the man in charge of ferrying around women who work as slaves in gentlemen’s venues on the Costa del Sol. Penniless and completely adrift, he tries to make a living by working for Cacho (played by Roger Casamajor), an old friend of his who manages several of these venues for the local mafia, until one night, an opportunity presents itself: he leaves it all behind and decides to steal the club’s takings. What seems like a chance to completely turn his life around will put him in more danger than ever before. He will only have one option left – the same as the one being contemplated by the girls he takes from one place to another each night, like Alina (Iona Bugarin): to pull off a successful escape.
“Just like Germán, when it comes to the tragedy of these women, we turn a blind eye. I have always been interested in our capacity to avoid suffering, both our own and that of others, and our ability not to want to see a reality that makes us feel uncomfortable or that’s painful. This is one of Hamburg’s main themes,” sums up Escalera.
Hamburg is a production by Spanish outfits Zeta Cinema, Icónica Producciones, Tandem Films and Pecado Films, and Romania’s Cinelab. The film has secured funding from the ICAA, the Andalusian Regional Government and the Community of Madrid, and boasts the involvement of Netflix and Canal Sur. It will be released in Spanish theatres courtesy of Filmax, and Film Factory Entertainment will be in charge of its international sales.
(Translated from Spanish)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
