The director and screenwriter Julio Medem returns to cinema with '8', his most recent feature film, which has been presented in the Official Selection Out of Competition at the 28th Festival de Málaga. '8' tells the love story between Octavio and Adela, whose destinies intertwine over nine decades. The film explores their encounters and misunderstandings in an eternal cycle, which is visually represented by the shape of the number eight. Through eight sequence shots, the film traces eight key moments in Spain's recent history, in which the protagonists begin as victims of siblicide but, as time goes by, the silhouette of the 8 keeps them as separate as they are united by chance, desire, forgiveness and love.
The film, with a cast headed by Ana Rujas and Javier Rey in the main roles, is completed with performances by Álvaro Morte, Tamar Novas, Loreto Mauleón, Carla Díaz, María Isasi, Mateo Medina, Oriol Riera, Asier Burguete, Patxi Barco, Kandido Uranga, Javier Morgade and Andoni Agirregomezkorta.

With '8', Medem once again explores familiar themes from his cinematic past, such as love, destiny and time. With a narrative structure based on symbolism and a montage structured in eight sequence shots, the director tells the story of Octavio and Adela through eight chapters over the course of 90 years, and accompanies in parallel the evolution of the history of Spain.

In the colloquium following the official screening of the film, Medem acknowledged that it was not easy to tell the story of a 90-year life in eight chapters, and he thought it would be interesting to show them in a sequence shot. To help the montage flow, it was accompanied by the art of the dancer Sara Baras to move between the chapters: "As if there were an opinion in artistic form, which is Sara Baras' heels."

On the use of forgiveness in the narrative line of the story, Medem has stated that during the writing process he preferred not to anticipate the direction the script was going to take, but based on his characters' childhood experiences, he develops forgiveness as another plot and an emotional reflection that accompanies the whole film.

As for the challenges posed during the production, the actor Javier Rey has pointed out that it was a major challenge because, unlike other projects, his character does not appear from the beginning but is born in the middle of the film and evolves until he is 90 years old. For Rey, the rehearsals and the respect with which he has approached the construction of his character have been fundamental, which he considers a turning point in his acting career.

The actress Ana Rujas also echoed her colleague's opinion by expressing the profound responsibility she felt when she received the role, both because of the magnitude of the story and the respect of narrating a chapter of Spain, with the added challenge of playing a character that did not correspond to her age. Rujas emotionally recalled the magic that surrounded the filming and how the entire cast "assumed the responsibility of bringing this story to life with respect and commitment." Tamar Novas added that "Medem's films invite you to enter into a poetic mystery."

The producers present, Álvaro Longoria and Rodrigo Espinel, agreed that "working with Medem makes us better people." Medem himself joins in the production of '8', in co-production with Barbazul La Película AIE, Eidan Produce, Morena Films and Quexito Films. It also has the backing of RTVE and will have its commercial première on 21 March in cinemas.