The closing feature film of the Zonazine section, 'Dies d'estiu i de pluja', directed by Col-lectiu Espurnes, Eva Picazo Antón and Carla Sánchez Vidal, was presented today at the Cine Albéniz. The press conference held on Friday 21st at the Festival de Málaga was attended by its directors, Mireia Labazuy, Álex Serra and Claudia Vila; the actress and director Eva Picazo; and the actor Hug Casals.
 
Berner Maynés, Eva Picazo and Hug Casals head the cast of this film that tells the story of Biel, a boy who invites his two best friends to spend a few days in his grandparents' village in the Pyrenees. Seeking to reconnect with the relationship they had before, the miscommunication and growing tension between them will test their friendship.
 
Labazuy explains that the film came out of a process of friendship they were going through at the time: "We made this film when we were going through the same process that the story portrays. The film took on a life of its own, we rehearsed with the actors for six months, and we rewrote the script as rehearsals progressed."
 
For his part, Picazo stresses the personal and generational inspiration of the story: "Everything was very much based on us, on our common experiences and concerns. We talked a lot about everything and we realised that all these issues could be generational." Vila adds that the direction of the project was horizontal: "Although during the filming we had to divide the roles, from the beginning everything was discussed a lot between the directors. It was a collective process with a dialogue that has been maintained throughout the project."
 
As for the essence of the film, Álex Serra stresses its authenticity: "Looking at it now, after more than four years of work, we notice that there is something very naïve and true about it. Maybe we didn't have a lot of things clear, but we knew what we wanted to tell."

The directors mention among their references filmmakers such as Jonás Trueba and films created by collectives such as 'Las amigas de Ágata'. Also 'Julis Ist', by Elena Martín Gimeno. In addition, the project was born at the university and was mentored by filmmakers such as Carla Simón and Celia Rico, who offered valuable advice on how to construct the story.
 
It should be noted that 'Dies d'estiu i de pluja' has not received any public funding and, for the moment, it has no distribution company. However, its tour will continue at the Barcelona Independent Film Festival.
 
Mireia Labazuy, Álex Serra, Clàudia Vila, Eva Picazo, Carla Sánchez and Miquel Roig are the group of emerging creators who have devised, written and directed 'Dies d'estiu i de pluja', selected in the D'A Film Lab and in the CEU Soon of the MIA Marketa. Before conceiving their first feature film, they had worked together on the short film 'Últim dia d'estiu' (2021, Álex Serra and Ariadna Ulldemolins), premiered at FEST-New Directors. The six members of the collective met at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. They teamed up to direct, write and produce their first film.