‘Lo que queda de ti’ reflects on loss and place of origin with the rural environment as the main setting
This first film by director Gala Gracia competes in the 28th Festival de Málaga’s Feature films Official Competition
‘Lo que queda de ti', directed by Gala Gracia, was shown this morning in the Cine Albéniz at the 28th Festival de Málaga to compete in the Feature films Official Competition.
After the screening of the film, the hall hosted a colloquium with the participation of the director Gala Gracia, who was accompanied by the leading actresses Laia Manzanares and Ángela Cervantes, and the producer Carlo D'Ursi.
"This film is a part of me, based on my personal experience of my father's death", said Gracia about what is her debut feature. Her history and past played an important role in the filming of the project, with the Aragonese Pyrenees as a backdrop.
The plot revolves around a 25-year-old jazz pianist who, after the sudden death of her father, abandons her promising career in New York and returns to her rural hometown. Together with her sister, she inherits a farm and a flock of sheep that her sister wants to sell to get away from the past. The main character feels the need to preserve her father's legacy.
"It is a film about return, wherein one has to return to a place and rediscover a feeling that arises from the guilt of absence", said the director at the presentation of this feature film, which premiered as part of the 28th Festival de Málaga. The film, which reflects on loss, becomes a call to the generational shift that is being lost in the countryside.
The rural environment plays a crucial role as the setting around which the entire plot revolves. The author of the film said, "We wanted to show the mixture of the harshness and beauty of the countryside” as a critique of this nostalgic and sensitive vision of it. To achieve this, she had to shoot in her own home and in an area she was completely familiar with, which included dealing with 'xisqueta' sheep, which is native to the area.
"The fact that Gala opened the doors of her house to us and of having a lot of preparation time were key to being able to get us into the role", said Ángela Cervantes about the facilities provided by the director during a shoot.
Laia Manzanares explained how she dealt this dual challenge, which meant her and her co-star were able to "open up to get to know two "meticulous" facets: "I felt I was so connected from the first moment we started filming that it allowed us to have a sheep-like pace," joked the actress about the "bubble effect" she felt during the days of filming.
Last, Carlo D'Ursi, producer of this project, explained how because of filming requirements, they had to opt for international co-production and add partners who provided them with a "technical-cultural contribution". He also wanted to stress the importance of talking about "a reality that is under-represented", also "because it speaks of the countryside from the point of view of the countryside, without sweetening it with an urban vision".
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