This Sunday 16 March at the Albéniz cinema, the Malaga Festival hosted the premiere of 'Molt lluny' ('Very Far Away'), the first play by director Gerard Oms, which competes alongside the rest of the films in the Feature films Official Competition section.

The plot follows Sergio, played by Mario Casas, who travels with his family to Utrecht to attend a football match. Before taking the flight back to Barcelona, he suffers a panic attack and decides to stay in the Netherlands. Unable to explain his decision to his loved ones, he cuts off all contact with his past and faces survival in a foreign country with no money, no home and no knowledge of the language.

The main cast is completed by David Verdaguer, Ilyass El Ouahdani and Nausicaa Bonnín. The director of photography is Edu Canet Ciscar, while the renowned singer Sílvia Pérez Cruz provides the soundtrack. The edition has been carried out by Neus Ballús.

The press conference was attended by the film's director Gerard Oms, the leading actor Mario Casas, the actress Jetty Mathurin, the actor Ilyass El Ouahdani and the producer Carles Torras.

The director of the film, Gerad Oms, began by sharing that he "really likes realistic cinema" and that this "realism had to be impregnated in the film's narrative".

For him, making this film "has been an immersive journey". He confessed that it rained a lot during the filming and although it was hard for the crew, "it was a gift for the film".

The film had a small crew, but as the director described it, "with a huge punky unit spirit" that is very much present in the project. During the film, one can appreciate the director's view of himself as an actor, Oms maintained that he understands "cinema as emotion" and "play".

For his part, actor Mario Casas shared that "there is an impact on what happens to the character" that the team also experienced while in Utrecht. The actor called the city "a very special place" that they "survived".

He went on to say that "the film starts with a guy doing what that kid has seen", a path that he will then have to unlearn. In relation to this, the director, Gerad Oms, commented that he is simply someone "who does not want to let his own people down because he wants to belong, to be part of the group".

On the other hand, actress Jetty Mathurin showed her gratitude to the team by sharing that "working with Spanish actors is very warm, because they listen" to what she had to say. She described the experience as "authentic" and revealed that she felt "very supported and valued" in a country that was not her own.

In addition, the producer of the film Carles Torras shared that "the film was shot in real places" and that "the production tried to make what Oms had shared come true",as the director's vision had been key in "giving the places a cinematographic look".

Finally, actor Ilyass El Ouahdani said that it had been "a very enriching experience" and that he liked the message of the film of an immigrant character who also needs to belong to a group.

Molt lluny' is a co-production between Spain and the Netherlands, produced by Zabriskie Films and Revolver Amsterdam. Distribution in Spain will be handled by BTEAM Pictures.