Belén Funes’ ‘The Turtles’ Boarded by Movistar Plus+, RTVE, Canal Sur and TVC Ahead of ECAM Forum (EXCLUSIVE)
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Leading Barcelona-based production outfit Oberon Media (“Wild Flowers, “Holy Mother”) has confirmed co-financiers on “The Turtles” (“Los Tortuga”), the anticipated sophomore feature by the multi-prized Spanish filmmaker Belén Funes (“A Thief’s Daughter”).
Besides sales agent Film Factory Entertainment and Spanish distributor A Contracorriente Films who came on board at an early stage, the round of co-financiers includes public broadcasters RTVE for Spain, TVC (Televisió de Catalunya) for Catalonia and Andalusia’s Canal Sur, as well as Spanish pay TV/SVOD operator Movistar Plus+.
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In post-production, the Spanish drama is supported by Spain’s national film agency ICAA and the Catalan government’s ICEC, as well as the Junta de Andalucía, Diputación de Jaén and Ibermedia and Media. It is produced by Oberon Media’s Antonio Chavarrías with Olmo Figueredo Gonzàlez-Quevedo of Seville-based La Claqueta (“The Endless Trench”), in co-production with Chile’s Quijote Cine.
The pic will be pitched at the Last Push section of the first ECAM Forum co-production showcase, due to run June 10-14 in Madrid. A rough cut of 40 minutes will be screened for the first time to international buyers, sales agents, festival programmers and other professionals in attendance.
“ECAM Forum will be the ideal place to showcase the film to programmers and potential buyers,” said Oberon Media’s executive producer Alba Bosch, who served as a producer on “A Thief’s Daughter” for which Funes won a best new director Spanish Academy Goya, while lead and Greta Fernández walked off with best actress at 2019’s San Sebastian Festival.
Headlining Chilean star Antonia Zegers (“Los Perros,” “A Fantastic Woman”) and newcomer Elvira Lara, “The Turtles” is both a continuation of the themes explored in “A Thief’s Daughter” – family ties, generational clash, survival – and a step up in the complexity of its narrative.
In her second screenplay, co-penned with life partner Marçal Cebrian, Funes focuses on mother Delia and daughter Anabel as they grieve over the recent death of Julián, Anabel’s father.
“An eviction notice forces them out of their Barcelona home and back to the olive groves of Jaén which they once left, looking for a better future. Together, they will look for a way to rebuild their future by going back to their abandoned roots,” says the logline.
“My father is from a small town in Jaén, Catalonia, my mother from the northern region of Aragon and I was born in Barcelona where my parents moved in the 60s, looking for a better future” Funes told Variety. “I have no family in Catalonia, therefore the feeling of rootlessness is very strong in me. This is what I wanted to explore.”
As she explained, the title “Los Tortuga” – borrowed from Spanish oral tradition – refers to the name given to the thousands of people who moved from the poorer rural areas to the bigger Spanish cities in the 1970s, carrying all their possessions.
Character-Building Obsession
“This film is about the never-ending story of rootlessness, of people forced to move away from their home, in search for a better future,” said the writer/director who spent several years researching the topic with Cebrian, and attended various script labs.
“Character-building is our obsession with Marçal. We are obsessed with making the characters real, credible, but we’re also keen to create a credible social environment and community around them,” added the helmer.
Discussing the cast, Funes said: “Antonia Zegers is a star in Latin America and beyond. I wrote the part of Delia with her in mind, which put a lot of pressure, but I am so pleased that she accepted to be part of the project.”
“For the part of the young Anabel, newcomer Lara was found after six months of street casting. “I was looking for someone who could show grief in her facial expression and had a natural cinematic presence.”
Rounding out the cast are Pedro Romero, Lorena Aceituno, Pedro Castellano, Mamen Camacho and Mercedes Toledano.
Regarding her visual style, Funes said she stuck to the realism of “A Thief’s Daughter”, “although this film is darker in tone, as it focuses on the inner feelings of the characters and grief,” she underscored.
To lift her vision, Funes turned to other female voices for inspiration: “Mia Hanson Løve for her realistic way of depicting family life, Agnes Varda for her political stance expressed through intimacy, and Alice Rohrwacher for her portrayal of the countryside.”
“I was also inspired by Spanish author Carmen Martin Gaite for her unique portrayal of mother/daughter relationships,” she said.
On the production front, Bosch said she and Chavarrías were adamant from the film’s inception to anchor the pic both in Catalonia and Andalusia, and their partner La Claqueta was “ key to strengthen the project, both financially and artistically. Working with artists from both communities has created a sensitive amalgam that surely permeates the screen,” said Bosch.
Working closely with Film Factory Entertainment on the international strategy and festival launch, Bosch is a firm believer of the film’s potential to cross over from the arthouse circuit to the mainstream, thanks to its strong emotional cord and Funes’ unique voice.
“Belén’s knowledge of cinematic language is profound. I remember when I started working with her how I was impressed by her ability to turn the most complex emotion into a simple character gesture, a whispered word or to a few seconds longer look. In this second feature, she has managed to go a step further,” said the Spanish film executive.
At ECAM Forum, “The Turtles” will be vying for the first Comunidad de Madrid €15,000 ($16,350) post-production award, alongside six other projects in post-production.
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