Manuel Martín Cuenca takes Caníbal to Cannes’ Atelier

by Sergio Ríos Pérez

22/03/2012 - After a great reception in the international market for Half of Oscar [trailer] (2010), a drama presented in Toronto, the director from Almería Manuel Martín Cuenca (en la foto)’s new project, Caníbal, will take part in the Cannes Film Festival’ prestigious co-production forum, the Atelier de la Cinéfondation. The project, still in development stage, will be produced by the director’s company, La Loma Blanca, together with Mod Producciones.

Caníbal will be Martín Cuenca’s fourth fiction film after THe Weakness of the Bolchevik (2003), Hard Times (2005) and Halk of Oscar. It is Spain’s only project at at this year’s Atelier, and will arrive in Cannes after having participated in the Cinemart in Rotterdam last January, as well as in the Paris Project and Small is Beautiful markets in 2011.

The screenplay, on which Martín Cuenca and Alejandro Hernández are still working,is to explore the dialectic between evil and love, and questions the latter’s capacity for redemption. The main character is a taylor from Grenada called Carlos. He is the best, the most prestigious taylor in the whole city. He is a respectable man. His life is working and eating - but not any old thing, because Carlos is a cannibal. One day a woman from Eastern Europe called Nina turns up in his life. She is the twin sister of a woman that he has already eaten. From this moment, everything will change is Carlos’ life.

For Caníbal, Martín Cuenca will work with Mod Producciones, a company that has established itself as one of Spain most important producers since its opening in 2007 thanks to its international focus, its combination of acclaimed directors (Amenábar, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Sánchez Arévalo) with new talent (Oskar Santos, Ruiz Caldera), and its eclectic mixture of genres.

(Translated from Spanish)