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Con el viento

Facing the Wind
Forum 2018
Mónica has been living in Buenos Aires for 20 years working as a dancer when the news reaches her that her father is on his deathbed back in Spain. By the time she arrives, he’s already gone. Resisting the impulse to return as quickly as possible to her faraway life, she stays to help her mother sell the family home. When it becomes clear that she’s not merely bidding farewell to the place of her childhood, the past pushes its way into Mónica’s existence with unexpected force; old conflicts and regret about missed chances bubble up, and she realises she has limited time left with her mother. As still no one ever says much in this family, Mónica works through her inner turmoil primarily via her body, finding an outlet in dance.
In this moving debut filmed with non-professional actors, Meritxell Colell Aparicio manages to tell a story of fundamental emotions with little more than few simple gestures. Mónica, who likes to cocoon herself in layers of wool jumpers to stave off the cold, finds increasing warmth in spending time with her mother, sister, and niece, playing cards or going for walks together in the rugged, stormy landscape, whose sheer expanse opens out her inner confinement.
by Meritxell Colell Aparicio
with Mónica García, Concha Canal, Ana Fernández, Elena Martín Spain / Argentina / France 2018 Spanish 108’ Colour

With

  • Mónica García (Mónica)
  • Concha Canal (Pilar)
  • Ana Fernández (Elena)
  • Elena Martín (Berta)

Crew

Written and Directed by Meritxell Colell Aparicio
Cinematography Aurélien Py, Julián Elizalde
Editing Ana Pfaff
Sound Design Verònica Font, Gaspar Scheuer
Sound Verònica Font, Gaspar Scheuer
Producers Carles Brugueras Polar Star Films, Nathalie Trafford Paraiso Production, Maxi Dubois Habitación 1520

Produced by

Polar Star Films

http://www.polarstarfilms.com http://www.polarstarfilms.com

Paraiso Production

http://paraisoproduction.fr http://paraisoproduction.fr

Habitación 1520

http://www.habitacion1520.com http://www.habitacion1520.com

Photos

Meritxell Colell Aparicio

Born in Barcelona, Spain in 1983. She studied Audiovisual Communication at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. Aside from being a filmmaker, she also works as an editor of feature films. Con el viento is her first feature film.

Filmography

2004 Barcelona-Paris-Barcelona 2006 Manuscrit a la ciutat (Manuscript of a City) 2008 Recordando Buenos Aires (Remembering Buenos Aires) 2014 Arquitecturas en silencio (Architectures in Silence) 2017 Autogestió · À toute épreuve. Más que un libro · Sumer y el paradigma modern 2018 Con el viento (Facing the Wind)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018