For the next six weeks, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will play host to the cast and crew of La casa entre los cactus [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film], the first full-length feature from Carlota González-Adrio. The film stars Ariadna Gil (recently seen in Parking [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Tudor Giurgiu
scheda film] and Rescue Under Fire [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]), Daniel Grao (who appeared in last year’s TV series Stolen Away and HIT and will feature in The Year of Fury [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Rafa Russo
scheda film], an upcoming coproduction between Spain, Argentina and Uruguay and scheduled for release in Spain towards the end of May), Ricardo Gómez (star of Mia & Moi [+leggi anche:
trailer
intervista: Borja de la Vega
scheda film], recently unveiled at the D’A festival in Barcelona) and fresh-faced newcomers Zoe Arnao, Aina Picarolo, Judith Fernández and sisters Anna and Carla Ruiz Solera. Featuring photography by Kiko de la Rica and promising intense emotions and plenty of suspense, it’s the story of a family whose idyllic life is blown apart by the arrival of a mysterious stranger.

The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by Paul Pen (whose work also inspired Daniel Calparsoro’s The Warning [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Daniel Calparsoro
scheda film]), who adapted it for the big screen. The plot takes us back to the late 1970s, when Emilio (Daniel Grao) and Rosa (Gil) are happily building a peaceful family life in a remote desert landscape punctuated by looming cacti, their own little bubble protecting them from the world and filled with love for their daughters, all named after flowers. But the sudden appearance of Rafa (Gómez), an adventurer seeking a place of refuge, will plunge the five girls into turmoil. When the adults discover that young Rafa is not who he claims to be, the stage is set for a conflict that will unearth terrible secrets, changing all of their lives forever.

González-Adrio (Barcelona 1995) is a graduate of the Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia (ESCAC), alma mater of such illustrious names as Juan Antonio Bayona, Kike Maíllo and Mar Coll. Her short film Summer Solstice (2019), featuring Aida Folch and Jan Cornet, won the award for Best Spanish Short at the 64th Seminci festival in Valladolid. In the director’s own words, La casa entre los cactus is “a story concealing truth and lies, secrets and things kept hidden, violence, affection and sanctuary... Always from the perspective of this one family. It departs from the idea that appearances and hidden truths can coexist in a single space, a single person. This house, built as a refuge in a natural wilderness, gradually becomes a cocoon that keeps danger out, but darkness in. Here, the serenity and silence of nature take on a new significance.”

La casa entre los cactus is being produced by Cine365 Films, DZ Largometrajes y Audiovisuales AIE, Ikiru Films, La Terraza Films and Virtual Contenidos, in association with RTVE, TV3, Orange TV and ICAA–Ministry of Culture. Filmax will be distributing the film in Spain.