Little is known about Isabel Santaló, an elderly, forgotten artist, but from time to time, she does receive visitors: it is through them and the voice of Antonio López (the protagonist of Víctor Erice’s Dream of Light) – the only painter of his generation who remembers her – that this cinematic portrait takes shape. It’s a film about memory and oblivion, about art and the creative process, and about what it means to be a woman and an artist. This is the synopsis of The Visit and a Secret Garden [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film], the feature-length directorial debut by producer Irene M Borrego, which will be premiered at the imminent Málaga Film Festival, in its Documentary Features section.

A graduate of the EICTV in Cuba, Irene M Borrego took further studies at the London Film School and was a student of Abbas Kiarostami’s. She co-founded production outfit 59 en Conserva (which she manages), which is dedicated to arthouse documentary films, and was selected for the Emerging Producers programme in 2020 (see the interview). As a director, her work so far includes nine short films. In parallel with her own projects, she produces movies by other directors, such as This Film Is About Me [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Alexis Delgado Búrdalo
scheda film] by Alexis Delgado and The Sea Stares at Us From Afar [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Manuel Muñoz Rivas
scheda film] by Manuel Muñoz Rivas, the co-screenwriter and co-editor of The Visit and a Secret Garden.

The Visit and a Secret Garden is a production by 59 en Conserva SL (Spain) and Cedro Plátano Lda (Portugal), which secured funding from Spain’s ICAA, Portugal’s Film and Audiovisual Institute, Madrid City Council, the SGAE Foundation and Crea SGR. Its Spanish distribution is handled by Begin Again Films and its international sales by Les Films de la Résistance.

Check out our exclusive trailer and poster for the film below: