News

Spanish writer/director Carlos Vermut has an unusual imagination. In his first feature film, Diamond Flash, a fantastical drama, five women circled each other with dangerous secrets and kidnappings; in his second, Magical Girl, neo-noir mixes with black comedy as a man in desperate need of money, tries to bribe a rich yet mentally unstable woman with ties to a strange Bdsm community. In his third feature, Quién Te Cantará (which translates as ‘who will sing to you’), Vermut combines Hitchcock-style mystery with Bergman-esque crisis of identity. Lila (Najwa Nimri), a famous pop star, is about to embark on her first tour in years. On the eve of it, however, Lila has an accident, and when she wakes up in hospital, she can't remember who she was,...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Carlos Vermut’s Spanish drama wins best film and best director; Dennis Lehane wins best screenplay for The Drop.Scroll down for other awards

Spanish drama Magical Girl has won the Golden Shell for best film at the 62nd San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 19-27).

Carlos Vermut also won the Silver Shell for best director for the film, produced by Madrid-based Aquí y Allí Films and is sold by Films Distribution.

Jury chairman Fernando Bovaira described Vermut as “a disturbing, delicate and unique voice”.

The film, which debuted at Toronto and is currently screening at Zurich before going on to Busan, centres on the wish of an ill child who wants the dress in Japanese series Magical Girl Yukiko. Her father sets out to obtain it but enters a world of blackmail and tragedy.

It marks Vermut’s second film after Diamond Flash.

The Special Jury Prize went to Wild Life (Vie Sauvage), the new film by...

Alberto Rodríguez, Carlos Vermut, Jon Garaó and Jm Goneada will premiere their new titles.

The 62nd San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 19-27) has revealed the three Spanish titles that will compete for the Golden Shell at this year’s event.

Filmmaker Alberto Rodríguez will screen Marshland (La isla mínima), a thriller set in post-Franco Spain about the disappearance of two teenage girls that combines dark thriller elements with the trauma of a country freshly out of a dictatorship. José Antonio Félez (Cousinhood, Family United) produces.

Carlos Vermut hit big with his self-produced debut, Diamond Flash, a personal film about a mysterious superhero.

His second feature, Magical Girl, is more mainstream and tells the story of an unemployed father who will do anything to buy his daughter her dream dress. Legendary actor José Sacristán is cast in the film, which deals with the current economic crisis impacting Spain.

A surprise came with the selection of Loreak - the Basque...

Second film from one of Spain’s hottest up and coming filmmakers.

Paris-based Films Distribution has picked up international rights to Spanish director Carlos Vermut’s Magical Girl, on the eve of the Cannes Marché.

The film follows a father’s attempt to acquire his sick daughter the dress of her dreams, as worn by her favourite Japanese cartoon character, Magical Girl Yukiko.

In his search, the man, called Luis, crosses paths with the beautiful but mentally disturbed Barbara and retired teacher Damian, who has a troubled past.

Luis, Barbara and Damian enter a vicious circle of blackmailing where sex, instinct and reason will struggle in a battle that will ultimately end in tragedy.

“Magical Girl is a drama that takes twists and turns that put you at the edge of your seat. The story is sexy and troubling,” said Films Distribution co-chief Nicolas Brigaud-Robert.

Magical Girl is highly anticipated after Vermut’s critically acclaimed debut, the kidnap...