A story from the heart of Andalusia

April 13, 2007

In February 1888, hundreds of inhabitants of Riotinto (Huelva, Andalusia), headed a protest against the miserable and dangerous working conditions in the local mines, which were run by a British company. What had started as a public demand of rights ended up in a massacre with local authorities erasing the trace of the dead bodies and leaving a village mourning in silence.

Later know as "the year of the shots", the bloody case became the core subject of Juan Cobos Wilkins' novel El Corazón de la Tierra, whose film epic adaptation by Antonio Cuadri is hitting today local theatres, distributed by On Pictures.

With a budget of €12,5m, The Heart of The Earth was co-produced by Andalucia-based outfit Manufacturas Audiovisuales and Heart of the Earth Productions (Spain), in collaboration with Future Films (UK) and Costa do Castelo Filmes (Portugal). The epic was also supported by the ICAA and by the regional broadcaster Canal Sur. In a time when efforts are being made in order to foster the regional industry (see news), the film is expected to attract the audiences' attention and to project regional crew talent beyond its frontiers. When it comes to the cast, the focus is however on international, rather than local talents. Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno is heading the bill, alongside with UK-born actress Sienna Guillory and Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida, who will soon be seen in local screens again as surrealist painter Óscar Domínguez.

Vitor Pinto
cieneuropa.org