11/07/2019 - After his impressive work helming B, la película, the filmmaker is shooting his new David Verdaguer-starring feature, a drama on education and values that has secured MEDIA backing

On 1 July, the shoot began in Barcelona for One for All [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Ilundain
film profile], a film being directed by David Ilundain, who made his debut with the controversial political flick B, la película [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which earned him a well-deserved nomination for the Goya Award in the Best New Director category in 2015. Now he is getting stuck into a drama about education and values starring the increasingly sought-after David Verdaguer, an actor who is currently still on the cinema listings thanks to his performance in I Can Quit Whenever I Want [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – the most successful comedy of the year at the box office – and one of the year’s most critically acclaimed movies, The Days to Come [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Marques-Marcet
film profile], directed by his good friend Carlos Marques-Marcet. The shoot for One for All is set to last six weeks and will also take place in other locations in Catalonia, such as Arenys de Munt, and in places in the neighbouring region of Aragon, such as Caspe.

According to the synopsis provided by the production companies, the movie recounts how a supply teacher takes on the task of serving as a year-seven tutor in a town he is totally unfamiliar with. When he finds out that he has to reintegrate a sick student back into the classroom, he runs up against a huge problem: none of his schoolmates wants him to return to class. This is a story of self-improvement and hope, which talks about the need to forgive – and to know how to ask for forgiveness – in an environment shot through with obvious cultural and generational differences. One for All poses the question: what’s the point of fighting and learning? Perhaps the viewer will find the answer while watching this film.

Cineuropa got in touch with the movie’s executive producers, Valérie Delpierre and Adrià Monés, who had this to say: “When we started working on this project, one of our motives, which we shared with David Ilundain, was that after having tackled the darker side of the human being via the theme of corruption, we were able to pay closer attention to the more luminous side of humanity with values such as solidarity, forgiveness and self-improvement. Before the screenplay, there was the idea, which came about as a result of reading an article in the press about a real-life case that was really inspirational for us, precisely because of the values we have just mentioned. We liked the idea of showing how, in one’s everyday life, a person – in this case, a school teacher – can change the lives of his pupils, through small gestures and his immense passion for his job. From that starting point, David worked on the first treatment, and later on, Coral Cruz and Valentina Viso wrote the script.”

The film has secured support from the Creative Europe MEDIA programme: “That helped us a great deal during the development phase, which is always the most risky stage, economically speaking, but is nevertheless crucial. In this case, besides the usual pre-production work and process, there was an element that required even more investment added to the mix: how we cast the boys and girls. Having MEDIA’s help allowed us to dedicate the necessary time to it in order to ensure we got the best results possible: it was all done by casting director Irene Roque, and David was also present. We are very happy with all of them – and, overall, with the whole cast and crew,” sum up Monés and Delpierre.

One for All is being produced by Inicia Films, Fasten Films, A Contracorriente Films, Bolo Audiovisual, Uno para todos AIE and Amalur AIE. It can boast the involvement of TVE, TVC, Movistar Plus+ and Aragón TV, and has received backing from the ICAA, ICEC, the Navarre Regional Government and Creative Europe MEDIA. It will be released next year, courtesy of A Contracorriente Films.

(Translated from Spanish)