Leyenda dorada

The Golden Legend | Die Goldene Legende
The swimming pool has played an important role throughout film history – most often as a romping ground for the sophisticated and hedonistic Dolce Vita. But it can be so much more, even sinister, as in Sunset Boulevard. In Leyenda dorada a rather unglamorous swimming pool of diminished charm forms the focal point of the story. A lazy summer’s day in the Spanish village of Montánchez, and people of all ages enjoy themselves at the outdoor pool. It is an almost utopian depiction of community, under the lofty, watchful gaze of Our Lady of Consolation. While conflicts, aggression, rivalries and animosities have a siesta, the villagers take a well-deserved break. Formally, the film draws on the tradition of New Objectivity. But unlike Robert Siodmak’s Menschen am Sonntag (1930) and its lido sequence, this is a wee summer fairy tale.
by Chema García Ibarra, Ion de Sosa
with Al Sarcoli, Cristina Canchal Solís, María Ángeles Rosco, Carlos Lebrón Lázaro, Laura Molano Chancal, Nuria Rey Burgos, Jara Valiente, Natalia Valiente, Javier Valiente
Spain 2019 Spanish 11’ Colour

With

  • Al Sarcoli
  • Cristina Canchal Solís
  • María Ángeles Rosco
  • Carlos Lebrón Lázaro
  • Laura Molano Chancal
  • Nuria Rey Burgos
  • Jara Valiente
  • Natalia Valiente
  • Javier Valiente

Crew

Director Chema García Ibarra, Ion de Sosa
Screenplay Chema García Ibarra
Cinematography Ion de Sosa
Editing Chema García Ibarra, Ion de Sosa
Sound Design Agnès Pe
Producers Leire Apellaniz, Ion de Sosa

Produced by

Apellaniz & De Sosa

Chema García Ibarra

The writer and director was born in Elche, Spain in 1980. He studied advertising and public relations at the Universidad de Alicante and, alongside music videos and commercials, also made short films. His ‘domestic science-fiction’ films have screened at festivals worldwide, including at the Berlinale, Sundance, San Sebastián, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs and Ann Arbor. He teaches ‘anti-filmmaking’ at the Escuela de Cinematografía y del Audiovisual de la Comunidad de Madrid.

Filmography (short films)

2008 El ataque de los robots de Nebulosa-5 (The attack of the robots from Nebula-5); short film 2010 Protopartículas (Protoparticles); short film 2013 Misterio; Berlinale Shorts, short film 2014 Uranes 2016 La disco resplandece (The Disco Shines); short film 2019 Leyenda dorada (The Golden Legend)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019

Ion de Sosa

Born in Donostia, Spain in 1981, he studied at the Escuela de Cinematografía y del Audiovisual de la Comunidad de Madrid and is a cinematographer, producer and director, primarily of 16mm films. He currently lives in Barcelona but spent the last ten years in Berlin. His films have screened at festivals including Locarno, Toronto and Hong Kong. His feature film Sueñan los androides (Androids Dream) screened in the 2015 Forum. He would love to direct a Batman sequel.

Filmography

2011 True Love 2014 Sueñan los androides (Androids Dream); Forum 2019 Leyenda dorada (The Golden Legend)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019