14/01/2016 - The post-production of the feature debut by this renowned man of the theatre is currently being finalised; the cast is toplined by Emma Suárez, Bárbara Lennie and José Sacristán

Miguel del Arco has been reaping top reviews in the Spanish theatre world over the last few seasons thanks to his work as the writer and director of smash hits such as La función por hacer, Veraneantes and the adaptation of The Misanthrope, starring Bárbara Lennie. As a matter of fact, it is this very actress who heads up the cast of Del Arco’s eagerly awaited cinematic debut: Las furias [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which was shot over the course of six weeks last summer, on location in Madrid and Cantabria. The cast is rounded off by top-drawer names such as José Sacristán, Emma Suárez, Mercedes Sampietro, Gonzalo de Castro, Carmen Machi, Pere Arquillué, Elisabet Gelabert and Macarena Sanz.

The comedy-drama is being produced by Aquí y Allí Films (Magical Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Vermut
film profile], Hablar [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joaquín Oristrell
film profile]) and Kamikaze Producciones (founded by Del Arco together with Aitor Tejada), with the involvement of TVE and Movistar Plus+, and it boasts a screenplay written by Miguel del Arco, who is also directing (and who has already shot three short films and a number of TV series, as well as acting in front of the camera), and editing by the great Teresa Font.

According to the writer-director, Las furias bears a certain resemblance to Magnolia by PT Anderson, as “the characters have emotional scars”. The story kicks off when a 70-year-old woman, the matriarch of the Ponte Alegre family, announces to her children that she wishes to sell the large family home on the coast where they used to spend their summers.

And so she summons them back there so that they can have the chance to choose which objects they might wish to keep. The eldest brother suggests they make the most of the get-together to celebrate his marriage to the woman he has been living with for more than 15 years, but who does not exactly get on well with his family. And over the course of one weekend, the situations that the characters find themselves in will revolve around tropes such as “what’s wrong with you, I can’t believe this is happening, that should never have happened, and what had to happen has indeed happened”. The film proves “that change is the only constant in nature”, and it will be released in the second half of 2016, after it has been screened on the festival circuit. 

(Translated from Spanish)