Top arthouse and crossover Spanish distributor Elastica Films – buyer of Cannes winners “Sentimental Value,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sound of Falling,” and competition entries “Romería,” which it also produced, as well as “Nouvelle Vague” – has boarded the Spanish pic “Anekumen” by rising Basque talent Irati Gorostidi.
The historical drama shot in 16 mm will be pitched as a work in progress at next week’s ECAM Forum Co-Production Market in Madrid.
Leading Basque player Leire Appellaniz is producing for her outfits Apellaniz y de Sosa (The Sacred Spirit) and Sr. & Sra (“Samsara”) co-run with Ion de Sosa and Aritz Moreno respectively. “Anekumen is exactly the type of cinema I stand for: meaningful, with a high ethical, artistic standpoint, and a female gaze,” said Apellaniz who’s been following the project’s various stages of gestation for the last seven-eight years.
First came a short film-“Contadores”-selected at Cannes Critics’ Week 2023, which served as a calling card and pilot for the feature length, and reunited much the same creative team, including DoP Ion de Sosa and Apellaniz. The short about a workers’ movement in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa was then expanded as the first part of the feature length version.
Based on thorough research from Gorostidi about Spain’s socio-political context in the late 1970s, “Anekumen” is set in San Sebastian in 1978 and centres on factory workers, as they meet to discuss a strike that never comes to term. Disappointed, the most radical decide to leave the factory and join the hippie Anekumen commune in the mountains.
The director whose own parents were Basque militant workers who temporarily joined a commune in the late 1970s, said she was keen to explore that transformative period in Spanish society, to review its narrative, question it and give it a new perspective.
“After decades of dictatorship [under Franco], many people from my parents’ generation were hoping for drastic changes, but were disappointed. I wanted to connect the workers’ movement of the time with communes that started to emerge in the Basque region, where people thought they would transfer their utopian dreams and break away from the traditional structure of Spanish society.”
“The Basque Country from the 1970s-80s is unfortunately too often associated only with the ETA armed struggle, but there were other political movements such as the Gipuzkoan workers movement, with people who were trying to change society for the better. “This is what we wanted to portray,” said Apellaniz who believes the film will appeal to the 60+ audience, politically committed youngsters and audiences curious about that important slice of Spanish history.
“The people’s concerns at the time – sexual liberation, gender equality, the environment – are shared by many people from my generation. I hope the film will trigger discussions and make people reflect upon the notion of collectivity and alternative – perhaps more sensible – ways of life,” Gorostifi added.
For the cast, the director used mostly non-professionals who took part in the research process and showed a personal connection with the material.
Currently in post-production, the film has received support from ICAA, national public broadcaster RTVE and Basque pubcaster EITB. Delivery is set for early July.
At ECAM Forum in Madrid, Apellaniz will also pitch her own fiction directorial debut, the sci-fi drama in early development “Zuria,” to be co-produced by Sr & Sra and Sayaka. It’s set in Bilbao-Zuria, in 2077, when climate disaster has reached a point of no return. We follow Carmen and her teenage daughter Ira, part of the ecofeminist group La Orden. They ally with Las Niñas Torcidas, whose goal is to reverse the fate of the planet.
“I’ve always loved sci-fi, in literature and film. My own dad was a super fan. I have directed some docs, but then I felt the urge to do something about the future. It will be a dystopian eco-friendly and spiritual drama, from a feminist point of view,” said Apellaniz.
The busy producer will also rep at ECAM Forum with partner Ion de Sosa’ survival drama “Balearic” starring Luka Péros (“Money Heist,” “Marseille”), Christina Rosenvinge and Maria Llopis. The Spanish-French project is being produced by Umbracle Cine, Apellaniz y de Sosa, Jaibo Films and France’s La Fabrica Nocturna Cineìma. Distribution and sales are still to be confirmed.
“ECAM Forum is the perfect place to pitch projects: relaxed and medium-sized, which facilitates quality conversations. Alberto Valverde [ECAM Forum coordinator] and his team are very talented and doing a great job in bringing the key industry people – programmers, producers, sales agents – that we need to connect with. I’m looking forward to being there!” said Apellaniz.
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