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Director Carla Simón returns with her second feature film, Alcarràs, following her successful debut, 2017’s Summer 1993. Inspired by her own personal connection to peach cultivators in the village of Alcarràs, Simón created a fictionalized story about what changes over the course of generations and shifting production lines.
Now screening at the New York Film Festival, Alcarràs won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year and will represent Spain as the country’s official Oscar entry for Best International Feature.
I had the chance to speak with Simón about the experience of making her second film and working with a cast of mostly unprofessional actors. She also talked about what it has been like screening the film throughout Europe and her excitement about sharing it with American audiences.
You can watch the video above, and read below for an official summary and where to watch.
Film summary:
Winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlinale Festival, Carla Simón’s follow-up to her acclaimed childhood drama Summer 1993 is a ruminative, lived-in portrait of a rural family in present-day Catalonia whose way of life is rapidly changing. The Solé clan live in a small village, annually harvesting peaches for local business and export. However, their livelihood is put in jeopardy by the looming threat of the construction of solar panels, which would necessitate the destruction of their orchard. From this simple narrative, pitting agricultural tradition against the onrushing train of modern progress, Simón weaves a marvelously textured film that moves to the unpredictable rhythms and caprices of nature and family life.
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Alcarràs is screening this week in the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival.