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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Spain / France

Rodrigo Sorogoyen filming The Beasts

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- The Spanish helmer is now shooting his new film in the north-west part of the country; the tense thriller is toplined by Denis Menochet, Marina Foïs and Luis Zahera

Rodrigo Sorogoyen filming The Beasts
Director Rodrigo Sorogoyen during the shoot for As bestas (© Lucía Faraig)

Rodrigo Sorogoyen is currently filming The Beasts [+see also:
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interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabe…
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]
, a thriller that unfolds in natural surroundings in inland, rural Galicia and El Bierzo. The way the storyline is structured necessitates a nine-week shoot, divided into two tranches: the first, which got under way on 16 September, will last one whole month and will portray the end of the summer in a beautiful, welcoming place, full of green areas and lush forests – perfect for those seeking rest and tranquillity. For the second tranche, the team will be forced to wait for the winter in order to depict how a stunning location such as this can turn dark, cold and even hostile.

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The cast of the film – which is being shot in French, Spanish and Galician – is made up of Denis Menochet (highly acclaimed for his role in Custody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Legrand
film profile
]
, and seen more recently in By the Grace of God [+see also:
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Q&A: François Ozon
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]
and Only the Animals [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
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]
), Marina Foïs (who starred in the recent flicks The Workshop [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Laurent Cantet
film profile
]
, Enormous [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and The Divide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Catherine Corsini
film profile
]
), Luis Zahera (The Realm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Isabel P…
film profile
]
, for which his performance earned him the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor) and Diego Anido (Trot [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xacio Baño
film profile
]
). Non-professional actors also appear in the movie. In the words of the filmmaker: “The Beasts will be my most ambitious film so far, in every sense of the word – both formally and thematically, and in terms of the production design.”

Isabel Peña, Sorogoyen’s regular co-writer, has once again teamed up with the director to pen the screenplay for this thriller set in an area where violence and fear continually hover over the story, and where the landscapes function as both a majestic setting and a hostile element, as well as a reflection of the untamed versus the civilised. Its plot introduces us to Antoine and Olga, a French couple who settled in a small village in inland Galicia some time ago. There, they lead a quiet life, although their coexistence with the locals is not as idyllic as they would like it to be. A conflict with their neighbours, the Anta brothers, will ratchet up the tension in the village until it reaches the point of no return.

“Thinking about what stands out the most from this shoot, I’d say it’s the immersion in the surroundings,” declared the director of May God Save Us [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile
]
. “It’s turning out to be a beautiful experience, but at the same time one that’s brutal and extreme, much as you’d expect from a shoot in the middle of nature. We are living as people live here, in El Bierzo, because this is where we live: the cold, the sudden changes in the weather... A storm with torrential rain can ease off, and then you’re left with a gorgeous day. Nature can be devastating and stunningly beautiful at the same time. While living together for a few months, the team has been experiencing a special kind of communion, and I believe that’s going to shine through in the film. Harsh conditions and living together in extraordinary surroundings really bring people together. I’ve always been convinced that having a close-knit team means that you can tell a story that people want to tell, and which needs to be told, better somehow. I’m sure all of this will end up having a decisive effect on the movie. Because just like Mother Nature, these are living, ever-changing forces, and it’s better to go with the flow and try to listen to them, instead of placing limits on them.”

The Beasts is a production by Arcadia Motion Pictures, Caballo Films and Cronos Entertainment, in co-production with Le Pacte. It boasts the involvement of RTVE, Movistar Plus+Canal+ and Ciné+, backing from Eurimages, and funding from the ICAA. It will be released in Spain by A Contracorriente Films, and its international sales will be overseen by Latido.

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(Translated from Spanish)

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