25 sept 2019 MK2 FILMS boards Alcarràs, the follow-up feature by Summer 1993 breakthrough director

Carla Simón’s autobiographical debut feature Summer 1993 premiered at the Berlinale in 2017 where it won the Best First Film Award and the Generation Kplus Grand Prix. It was selected to represent Spain at the 2018 Oscars, was nominated for the EFA Discovery Award and won 3 Goyas including Best New Director. Carla Simón also received the Women in Motion Emerging Talent Award in Cannes in 2018.

Inspired by her own adoptive family, and co-written with Arnau Vilaró, Alcarràs chronicles the life of a family of farmers in a small village located deep in the “Catalan Far West”. When the owner of their large estate dies, his heir decides to sell the land, suddenly threatening their livelihood. The whole family gathers for one last harvest, with children and adults struggling to maintain their past harmony.

“We are so proud to be working for the first time with such a promising director and to see her deeply personal voice translated into a universal and very touching story exploring the complexity of family bonds”, says Juliette Schrameck, Managing Director of MK2 FILMS

« It is a story about belonging to a land, to a place, but it is also a drama about everlasting generational tension, overcoming old traditions and the importance of family unity in times of crisis », says director Carla Simón.

Alcarràs is currently in development, and took part in the Cannes Cinéfondation Residency, Nipkow Programm and Torino Film Lab, where it won the CNC Award. It also participated in the Berlinale Coproduction Market, where it received the Eurimages Development Award. Shooting will start in Summer 2020.

María Zamora and Stefan Schmitz are producing for Avalon P.C., with MK2 FILMS handling international sales.

© Photo: Paola de Grenet.