17/02/2021 - The filmmaker is directing Anna Castillo and Oriol Pla in an optimistic, passionate and intense story that unfolds in various settings in Catalonia and the city of Melilla

Jaime Rosales (left) and Anna Castillo (centre) during the shoot for Wild Flowers

The shoot for the new film by Jaime Rosales, Wild Flowers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaime Rosales
film profile], kicked off a few days ago in his home town of Barcelona. The movie stars Anna Castillo (whom we saw last year in Adú [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), who breathes life into a mother in search of true love, but who, above all else, battles to protect her children, and Oriol Pla (who previously teamed up with the director on his latest film, Petra [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaime Rosales
film profile], which was released in 2018), playing a boy who embarks on a relationship with her. The cast is topped off by Quim Àvila (glimpsed in the series The Red Band Society), Lluís Marquès (Isla bonita [+see also:
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film profile]), Manolo Solo (The Fury of a Patient Man [+see also:
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interview: Raúl Arévalo
film profile]) and the much sought-after Carolina Yuste (Sky High [+see also:
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interview: Daniel Calparsoro
film profile]).

According to the screenplay, penned by the director together with his regular writing partner, Bárbara Díez, 22-year-old Julia – the mother of two children – falls in love with Óscar, and they begin an intense, convoluted relationship. However, she starts to have doubts about the suitability of the boy as a male role model for her little ones… And an unexpected incident will cause her to make a break for it in search of a brighter future.

“I want to construct a film that’s bright despite the moments of drama. I want to leave the viewer with a feeling of hope and happiness through the story of a strong woman who is managing to survive in difficult surroundings,” states Rosales. “It’s a story of love and self-improvement: Julia is young, inexperienced and impulsive; she loves life and loves her kids. She’s a vivacious woman, her children are the thing she loves most in the whole world, and she will fight with all her might to protect them,” he adds.

This is the seventh feature by the Catalan director, who helmed The Hours of the Day (2003), which scooped the FIPRESCI Award in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight; Solitary Fragments [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which took part in Un Certain Regard at Cannes four years later as well as winning the Goya Awards for Best Film and Best Director; Bullet in the Head [+see also:
film review
film profile], winner of the FIPRESCI Award at San Sebastián in 2008; Dream and Silence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaime Rosales
film profile] (2012); Beautiful Youth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaime Rosales
film profile] (2014); and Petra (2018), all of which were presented in various sections of Cannes.

Rosales is now filming on 35 mm and will once again be counting on France’s Hélène Louvart (Happy as Lazzaro [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Alice Rohrwacher
film profile]) to serve as his DoP, after they also teamed up on his latest work. The shoot will take place over the space of eight weeks on location in Barcelona, Melilla, Mataró and Banyoles.

Wild Flowers is being produced by Spanish companies Fresdeval Films, A Contracorriente Films and Oberon Cinematográfica, and France’s Luxbox. It boasts the involvement of RTVE, TV3 and Movistar Plus+, and was funded by the ICAA, ICEC and the MEDIA programme. Its Spanish distribution will be taken care of by A Contracorriente Films, and it is slated for release in autumn this year. Barcelona-based sales agent Film Factory Entertainment will oversee its international sales.

(Translated from Spanish)