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| l to r (clockwise): Maribel Verdú , Tito Valverde, Susi Sánchez and Aaron Piper in 15 Years and One Day |
Short-listed earlier this month, Gracia Querejeta’s drama 15 Years and One Day, starring Maribel Verdú (All About My Mother), produced by Gerardo Herrero and Mariela Besuievsky at Tornasol Films, was chosen to represent Spain in the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year’s 86th Edition of the Academy Awards.
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| The Secret in Their Eyes poster; Soledad Villamil and Ricardo Darín in The Secret in Their Eyes |
Tornasol Films and MIFF share a glowing history, with 17 Tornasol titles having screened at MIFF, including Juan Jose Campanella’s Argentine entry The Secret in Their Eyes, starring Ricardo Darín (MIFF 2010), which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2010.
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| The Chambermaid on the Titanic (MIFF 1998), Our Lady of the Assassins (MIFF 2001, The Last Circus (MIF 2011) |
Other Tornasol/MIFF highlights include Bigas Luna’s The Chambermaid on the Titanic (MIFF 1998), Barbet Schroeder’s Our Lady of the Assassins (MIFF 2001), Álex de la Iglesia’s The Last Circus (MIF 2011), Sebastián Borensztein’s Chinese Take-Away, starring Ricardo Darín (MIFF 2012), Ana Piterbarg’s Everybody Has a Plan, starring Viggo Mortensen (MIFF 2013) and Hernán Godfrid’s, Thesis on a Homicide, starring Ricardo Darín (MIFF 2013).
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| Chinese Take-Away (MIFF 2012), Everybody Has a Plan (MIFF 2013), Thesis on a Homicide, (MIFF 2013) |
Tornasol’s latest gem, 15 Years and One Day, chronicles the complex relationship between a mother/unemployed actress (Maribel Verdú), her rebellious teenage son, (Aaron Piper), and a strict grandfather (Tito Valverde). After being expelled from school, the teen is sent by his mother to live with his grandfather, a former career soldier in the Alicante coast. The film also tackles the issue of homophobia via a macho trio of South American youth, resulting in the teen’s road to maturity taking on a rather brutal turn.
’15 Days’ director Querejeta, 51, is daughter of late Spanish film producer Elias Querejeta, who died two days after the film’s release. The U.S. Film Academy will select Oscar finalists next January with the awards announced one month later. “15 Days” will also represent Spain in Mexico’s Ariel prizes. Spain has won four Oscars for best foreign language film. —Tatyana Chiocchetti
