Polvo Serán (They Will Be Dust), written and directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet (Barcelona, 1983), won Platform, the only competitive section dedicated to auteur cinema at TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival, which has just ended.
The award was unanimously assigned by the jury composed of directors Atom Egoyan and Hur Jin-ho and American director and essayist Jane Schoenbrun with the following motivation: “Carlos Marques-Marcet has assembled an exceptional cast, with touching performances from Ángela Molina and Alfredo Castro. From the first shot, the jury realized they were in the presence of a master. The film's ability to mix moments of extreme pathos and humor was unique and absolutely convincing. This emotionally charged story has been told with great formal audacity, a thrilling sense of visual elegance and a deep sense of humanity”.
At the heart of the film is the relationship between Claudia, a former dancer, and her life partner, Flavio. Bound by an unbreakable love, together they face Claudia's serious illness, balancing affections, family conflicts and an extreme choice.
Written by Marques-Marcet himself with Clara Roquet (director of Libertad and co-writer of Creatura and Que nadie duerma) and Coral Cruz (Uno para todos), Polvo Serán involved the Catalan composer and singer Maria Arnal and award-winning choreographer Marcos Morau, director of the dance company La Veronal.
The film stars Ángela Molina (That Obscure Object of Desire, Broken Embraces, Baarìa), Alfredo Castro (El Club, Post Mortem, El Conde) and Mònica Almirall, a leading figure in the Atresbandes theatre group. The director of photography is Gabriel Sandru (Azor), the set design is by Laia Ateca (Alcarrás) and the editing is by Chiara Dainese (Piccolo Corpo).
Giovanni Pompili for Kino Produzioni said: “We are extremely satisfied with this result that rewards Carlos’ visionary talent and the incredible work done with an exceptional cast that gave so much to the film. Like Almodovar’s Golden Lion, albeit with a very different form and tone, he has brought a story to the screen that has the protagonists’ choice of end of life as its dramatic core. If politics, both European and national, do not have the sensitivity to welcome the requests of civil society, it is no coincidence that Cinema continues to ask the same questions, with different languages and forms".
Italy’s Kino Produzioni once again co-produces with Spain on Polvo Serán, which follows the success of Alcarrás by Carla Simon, Golden Bear at the Berlinale 2022.
Polvo Serán is a production from Lastor Media (Spain), Kino Produzioni (Italy) and Alina Films (Switzerland) with the support of MiC - Directorate General Cinema and Audiovisual, IDM Film Commission Südtirol, Eurimages, ICAA, ICEC, CCMA, Creative Europe, in collaboration with RTVE Radio Television Española, Radio Televisione Svizzera, TV3 Catalunya and Movistar.
Specifically, the DGCA provided a total of €250K in financing through the 2022 minority co-productions call. The film was shot in Barcelona and Castelrotto and Fiè allo Sciliar in Alto Adige with the support of IDM Film Commission Südtirol from which it received a contribution of € 200K.