A DIFFUSE FEELING ABOUT LIFE

It all started with a diffuse feeling about life; about the world around us; about how we relate to each other. That feeling turned into the need to make a fi lm. A need to share with an audience certain concerns and some anguish as well. Death is somehow at the heart of that anguish. We are designed both to suffer and to overcome suffering. We are beings both sensitive and tough, although in the end, our toughness is greater than our sensitivity. The film portrays vulnerable moments in the lives of the characters. In the end, life continues its course over time.

THE STRANGE WAY WE TREAT EACH OTHER

I am interested in human relations. The strange way we treat each other fascinates me. We joke about serious matters. We hide our intentions in order to deceive others and in doing so, we end up more confused than we were already. We can come to hate the people who love us the most. We give a great deal of importance to money. Money is at the heart of most our actions and conversations. In general, I believe we are driven by good intentions towards ones and others. Unfortunately, we are not always willing to show what we truly think or feel.

THE STORY OF TWO WOMEN

We are used to fi lms telling a story. This fi lm tells the story of two women: Antonia and Adela. The plot unfolds as things happen to each of them. The emotions arising from what they do and how they relate to the characters around them form the heart of the film. But, from my point of view, making a film is not only weaving a story by using audiovisual technology. While holding onto the pleasure gained from the story, a film director has a duty to add other dimensions to his work. Creating cinema involves new ways of perceiving things. Finding new ways of showing images or linking images. That is where polyvision comes in.

POLYVISION

Polyvision means dividing the screen (in CinemaScope format) into two equal halves. Each half of the screen shows a different perspective on the same scene. The same space may be seen from two different angles (such as a conversation in a kitchen seen from two different positions). Or two fragments of a wider scene can be seen from two different positions (such as the dining room and living room in an apartment, with people coming and going from one to another). The point of using polyvision is to create a homogenous code made up of a set of rules in order to offer a perception system different from a natural format. The challenge has been to achieve a certain break with natural reading, and at the same time, not interfere with the emotions displayed by the story and the characters of the fi lm. About 30% of the total footage were shot in polyvision.

CASTING

To bring the fragments making up Adela and Antonia's stories to life, actors were chosen during a long lasting casting process in which, while not widely known, they proved to be excellent performers. The aim was to form a highly transparent cast with the type of actor comfortable improvising within the scenes described in the script.

SHOOTING

Shooting took place over seven weeks in the summer of 2006, in natural exteriors and interiors in the towns of Sabero and Cistierna in the province of León, and in the city of Madrid. The film was shot in 35mm, to be scanned digitally for postproduction. From its development stage, the project has received support from numerous national and international partners and institutions.

Jaime Rosales, director and scriptwriter.

Writer-director Jaime Rosales made his debut feature in 2003 with LAS HORAS DEL DÍA (The Hours Of The Day), presented at the Director's Fortnight in Cannes, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. After beginning his career as a screenwriter for film and television, Rosales received a grant to attend the International Film and Television School (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. From there, he went on to study at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney. Rosales, born in Barcelona in 1970, founded the production company Fresdeval Films in 2001.