Amazing Elisa [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], a fantasy-drama flick starring Asier Etxeandia (seen recently in Pain & Glory [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Antonio Banderas
Q&A : Pedro Almodóvar
fiche film]), Silvia Abascal (the miniseries Cathedral of the Sea), Iván Massagué (The Platform [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
fiche film]) and young actress Jana San Antonio, has been filming in Barcelona for the last four weeks. Helmed by Sadrac González-Perellón, and boasting a screenplay that he wrote himself, it tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who, following the accidental death of her mother, tries to convince her father that she has the same superpowers as her favourite comic-book heroine, and that they can use them to take revenge on whoever caused the fatal accident. In parallel, Héctor, a famous painter, is finalising the preparations for his new exhibition while taking care of his wife, Úrsula, who is confined to a wheelchair after a car accident. While Héctor is visiting the art gallery, Úrsula stays in the company of her new home help and a thief breaks into the house.

“The need to look for a second identity that will allow you to do things that you, as your normal self, would never dare to do has always struck me as one of the most interesting points that come up in superhero stories,” explains the filmmaker. “It’s a kind of female empowerment that, in the case of Amazing Elisa, I have linked to another theme that has always fascinated me: the power that can come out of a traumatic experience, of a feeling of guilt or denial, and the anger that all these feelings can end up triggering. Which psychological mechanisms can drive a father and daughter to join forces and kill someone?”

In 2009, Sadrac González-Perellón (Madrid, 1983) teamed up with Sonia Escolano to direct the experimental film Myna se va; in 2016, he shot the feature Black Hollow Cage [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], which took part in festivals specialising in fantastical film, such as Sitges and Neuchâtel, and in 2018, he staged his first film as a producer, House of Sweat and Tears [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], helmed by Escolano and selected for Fantastic Fest.

“The screen format we’ve chosen for Amazing Elisa is 1:33 because it’s similar to the angle of view possessed by the human eye, and allows a particular framing that brings the viewer closer to the characters and cuts him or her off from his or her most immediate surroundings, creating an almost personal connection with them,” asserts the director.

Ferran Tomàs, the producer, tells Cineuropa: “After Baby [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], I’m continuing to tread my path of producing original directors; in this case, a film with a very personal story and an even more original narrative. Nonetheless, I’ve secured two huge actors for it: Asier Etxeandia and Silvia Abascal. It’s an arty, low-budget film, but they loved the idea and have thrown themselves headfirst into it.”

Amazing Elisa is a production by La Charito Films, which boasts the involvement of Televisió de Catalunya. It will be distributed by Alfa Pictures.