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PRODUCTION Spain

Javier Fesser blows the final whistle for Campeones

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- Starring Javier Gutiérrez, the new, sporty comedy by the director of The Miracle of P. Tinto has been filming over the past nine weeks on courts in Madrid and Huelva

Javier Fesser blows the final whistle for Campeones
Javier Gutiérrez (right) during the shoot for Campeones

Javier Fesser (who scooped four Goya Awards, two of which he won for the screenplay and direction of Camino [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, and who was nominated for an Oscar for his short film Binta and the Great Idea in 2006) has just been shooting his fifth feature film, Champions [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, in and around Madrid and the province of Huelva. It is a comedy with a healthy dose of tenderness, surrealism and sport, starring Javier Gutiérrez (seen recently in The Olive Tree [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Icíar Bollaín
film profile
]
), who plays Marco, a professional basketball coach who is going through hard times. He is in charge of training a team of people with intellectual disabilities, and what starts out as something akin to a nightmare will end up teaching him important life lessons.

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According to Fesser himself, who is returning to directing live-action titles after his foray into animation, Mortadelo y Filemón contra Jimmy el cachondo [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(which won the Goya Award for Best Film in its category in 2015), “Champions approaches the fascinating world of people with intellectual disabilities with the same degree of honesty and spontaneity with which they approach their lives. Their general lack of prejudice towards any particular subject and their enviable fondness for saying things exactly as they see them enable the protagonists to embark on a supremely enjoyable and delightful, human adventure. 

The film’s cast is rounded off by non-professional actors Sergio Olmo, Julio Fernández, Jesús Lago, Jesús Vidal, José de Luna, Fran Fuentes, Gloria Ramos, Alberto Nieto Fernández, Roberto Chinchilla and Stefan López, who will be flanked by Luisa Gavasa (who won the Goya Award for The Bride [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paula Ortiz
film profile
]
), Athenea Mata, Juan Margallo and Daniel Freire

Champions, written by Fesser and David Marqués (Dioses y perros [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), is a production by Películas Pendelton, Morena Films and Movistar Plus+, and it can boast the involvement of TVEUniversal Pictures International Spain will be in charge of distributing it in Spain.

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(Translated from Spanish)

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