FIVE COLORS NEWS FILMS ALEX QUIROGA

Alex Quiroga starts shooting Production – Spain Alex Quiroga starts shooting Emma Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla and Miami will host, for the next 10 weeks the shooting of Alex Quiroga's new feature Emma. For the leading roles, the Spanish filmmaker invited two actresses with whom he has worked previously: Maite Pastor was in the cast of the 2004 Quiroga's directorial debut Sucedió en España (It happened in Spain) and Laia Alemany was one of the actresses from Ilusiones Rotas 11-M (Broken Illusions), in 2005. Announced as an intimate thriller, the script, co-written by the director and Angel Marco, focuses on the life of a young woman who loses her memory after a car accident. When Emma finally wakes up, an elegant 28 year old woman named Julia claims to be a former school mate. But Emma will soon begin to find Julia's behaviour suspicious. iT HAPPENED IN SPAIN iT HAPPENED IN SPAIN international title: IT HAPPENED IN SPAIN original title: SUCEDIÓ EN ESPAÑA country: Spain year: 2003 genre: fiction directed by: Álex Quiroga film run: 90' release date: ES 19/11/2004 screenplay: Álex Quiroga cast: Maria Isasi, Manuel Andres, Maite Pastor, Eva Cobos, Julio Jordan cinematography by: Juan Manuel Segura, Ricard Cabonell film editing: Nacho Ruiz Capillas art director: Eduardo Naves costumes designer: Frank de Bonari music: Federico Jusid, Alejandro Martín, Band Mala Espina producer: Álex Quiroga, Arturo Pimentel production: Alex Media Grupo Filmes sales agent: Alex Media Grupo Filmes synopsis Four different stories which, in spite of having nothing in common, are linked through the casual meeting of their leading characters in the city. The plot, based on real events, has a structural line which manages to link up the different stories of comedy, horror suspense, love and drama in a very special way, just like life itself. A requiem of illusions A requiem of illusions Spanish cinema remembers for the first time the Madrid terrorist attacks of the 11th of March. Alex Quiroga's Ilusiones Rotas 11-M (Broken Illusions) reflects the hopes and the frustrations of four characters living very different lives in the months before the attacks, until the fatal day, when they are all touched by the same tragedy. The film opens today in seven Spanish cities, distributed by Pirámide Films. Flirting with a documentary style, Ilusiones Rotas 11-M was shot in high-definition digital video and combines the narration of the characters' experiences with real sequences from the attacks. According to the director, his work is not politically committed; he prefers "exploring territories of the reality which interest me. I do the kind of cinema I like to watch". Starring Lilian Caro, Fina Mayo, Jemi Paretas and Manuel Bocanegra, Ilusiones Rotas 11-M was co-produced by Álex Media Grupo and Laya Producciones. 50% of the sum collected in the box office will be given to the victims of the attack. However, when it comes to potential box office results, the film will have to face two very strong rivals, particularly Alberto Rodriguez's 7 Virgins, which is currently making a splash, ousting the hit Torrente 3 from first position. (The article continues below - Commercial information) Ilusiones Rotas 11-M is only one of the six European titles to open this week. Other European co-productions premieres include the Franziska Buch's German film Bibi Blocksberg and the Secret of the Blue Owls, the American-German co-production Hostage by Florento Emilio Siri, Eros by Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh and Wong Kar-Wai and Costa Gavras's Le Couperet [trailer], which opened last week at the 50th Week of International Film of Valladolid. Vitor Pinto