Alcarràs (film)

Alcarràs is a 2022 Spanish-Italian^[2] drama film directed by Carla Simón. It is set and shot in Alcarràs, Catalonia, featuring a non-professional cast of Catalan-speaking actors. The plot is a family drama about the disappearance of traditional peach-harvesting activities. It won the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlinale, becoming the first Catalan-language film to do so.^[3] The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards,^[4] but did not make the shortlist.

Alcarràs
Catalan poster
Directed by	Carla Simón
Written by	Carla Simón Arnau Vilaró
Produced by	María Zamora Stefan Schmitz Tono Folguera Sergi Moreno
Starring	Jordi Pujol Dolcet Anna Otin Xènia Roset Albert Bosch Ainet Jounou
Cinematography	Daniela Cajías
Edited by	Ana Pfaff
Music by	Andrea Koch
Production companies	Avalon PC Elastica Films Vilaüt Films Kino Produzioni TV3
Distributed by	Avalon DA/Elastica (Spain) I Wonder Pictures (Italy)
Release dates	15 February 2022 (2022-02-15) (Berlinale) 29 April 2022 (2022-04-29) (Spain) 26 May 2022 (2022-05-26) (Italy)
Running time	120 minutes
Countries	Spain Italy
Language	Catalan
Box office	$3.1 million[1]

Plot

Set in the Catalan town of Alcarràs, the plot is a rural family drama concerning the disappearance of agricultural activities, revolving around the intention to install solar panels in an agricultural plot hitherto occupied by a peach orchard, bringing the members of the Solé family to a stand-off.^[5][6][7]

Cast

• Jordi Pujol Dolcet as Quimet^[2]
• Anna Otin as Dolors^[2]
• Xènia Roset as Mariona^[2]
• Albert Bosch as Roger^[2]
• Ainet Jounou as Iris^[2]
• Josep Abad as Rogelio^[2]
• Montse Oró as Nati^[2]
• Carles Cabós as Cisco^[2]
• Berta Pipó as Glòria^[2]

Production

The screenplay was written by director Carla Simón and Arnau Vilaró.^[8] The film was produced by Avalon PC, Elastica Films, Vilaüt Films, Kino Produzioni, and TV3,^[9][7] with the participation of TVE and Movistar+ and the support of ICAA, ICEC [ca], Creative Europe's MEDIA, Eurimages, MIBACT, and Diputació de Lleida [es].^[10] Shooting began on 1 June 2021 in the area of Alcarràs, province of Lleida, with the shooting window constrained to summer due to the film's setting based on peach harvest cycles.^[8][11] The cast is formed of non-professional actors from the province of Lleida.^[6] Shot in Catalan, the entire cast used the local Western dialect (Lleidatà) of the Catalan language.^[12][13] Filming wrapped after 8 weeks of shooting.^[7] María Zamora, Stefan Schmitz, Tono Folguera, and Sergi Moreno are credited as producers.^[9]

Release

Cast members during the presentation of the film at the Berlinale

The film was screened in the official competition of the 72nd Berlinale on 15 February 2022.^[2][11] The film was also screened at the Málaga Festival on 19 March 2022.^[14][15] Initially announced to run as part of the festival's official competition,^[14] the festival and the film's producers agreed to screen the film out of competition instead.^[16]

Co-distributed by Avalon DA and Elastica Films in Spain, the film was theatrically released on 29 April 2022.^[14][17] Starting with a distribution to 169 theatres, the film was the most watched debut film in its opening weekend, and second film overall (first in Catalonia) after The Northman.^[18] Distributed by Wonder Pictures, it opened in Italian theatres on 26 May 2022.^[19] The film was selected for the 60th New York Film Festival's main slate.^[20] By August 2022, the film had grossed around €2.2 million at the Spanish box office.^[21] In December of that year, it was invited to the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival and was screened there on 17 December 2022.^[22]

Reception

Critical reception

Simón holding the Golden Bear statuette.

According to the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Alcarràs has a 93% approval rating based on 59 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The critical consensus on the website reads: "While it may lack a narrative punch, Alcarràs captures this rural world and its heritage with a gripping sense of nostalgia for things forever gone."^[23] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film holds a score of 85 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim.”^[24]

Reviewing the film for The Daily Telegraph, Tim Robey rated the film 5 out of 5 stars, saying that the film "manages a light, improvisatory mastery, an immaculate hold on tone, and a grave yet sunlit tableau of an ending, with each one of these faces turned in collective mourning, that I'll never forget".^[25] Fionnuala Halligan of ScreenDaily wrote that Alcarràs constitutes a "profoundly authentic and moving contemplation of the fragility of family, and, again, childhood" and has "all the hallmarks of a very specific film with emotionally wide appeal, a thoughtful essay which can also rattle and hum".^[9]

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote that Alcarràs confirmed "the strength and consistency of Simón's directorial voice" after Summer 1993, also writing that it "balances a bristling political conscience against its tenderly observed domestic drama".^[26] Writing for Little White Lies, Caitlin Quinlan said that the film "strikes a deft balance between idyllic reminiscence and melancholy for a cherished place", while also "delivering a poignant tale about the impact of industrial development on agriculture".^[27] Sergi Sánchez of Fotogramas wrote that Simón gets to "translate into images what many neorealist filmmakers pursued unceasingly," which is "truth, this time of a changing space and time, which appeals to the collective without losing the thread of the individual".^[28]

In August 2022, Alcarràs was announced as one of three films shortlisted by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain to be the Spanish submission to the 95th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film alongside Rodrigo Sorogoyen's The Beasts and Alauda Ruiz de Azúa's Lullaby.^[29] Alcarràs ultimately was then official submission for the category.^[4]

Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best European films of 2022:

• 1st — Cineuropa (Camillo De Marco)^[30]
• 1st — Cineuropa (Jesús Silva)^[30]
• 6th — Cineuropa (Mariana Hristova)^[30]
• 7th — Cineuropa (Júlia Olmo)^[30]
• 8th — Cineuropa (David González)^[30]
• 9th — Cineuropa (Birgit Heidsiek)^[30]

In addition, it also appeared on top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2022:

• 1st — El Periódico de Catalunya (critics)^[31]
• 1st — El Cultural (Carlos Heredero)^[32]
• 1st — El Cultural (Begoña Donat)^[32]
• 1st — El Cultural (Juan Sardá)^[32]
• 1st — El Español ('Series&más' critics)^[33]
• 1st — El Confidencial (Marta Medina)^[34]
• 1st — Cadena SER ('El cine en la SER' critics)^[35]
• 1st — Cadena SER (Pepa Blanes [es])^[35]
• 1st — Cadena SER (Jose M. Romero)^[35]
• 1st — El Mundo (Luis Martínez)^[36]
• 1st — Vanity Fair (Juan Sanguino & Paloma Rando)^[37]
• 2nd — El Cultural (Javier Yuste)^[32]
• 5th — El Cultural (Manu Yáñez)^[32]
• 5th — Cadena SER (Elio Castro)^[35]
• 6th — El Cultural (Mariona Burrull)^[32]
• 10th — ABC (Oti Rodríguez Marchante)^[38]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival	20 February 2022	Golden Bear	Carla Simón	Won	[39]
Sydney Film Festival	19 June 2022	Sydney Film Prize	Alcarràs	Nominated	[40]
San Sebastián International Film Festival	24 September 2022	Lurra Greenpeace Award		Won	[41]
European Film Awards	10 December 2022	Best Film		Nominated	[42]
		Best Screenwriter	Arnau Vilaró and Carla Simón	Nominated
		European University Film Award	Alcarràs	Nominated	[43]
Forqué Awards	17 December 2022	Best Film		Nominated	[44][45]
		Cinema and Education in Values		Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival	16 January 2023	Best International Feature Film		Nominated	[46]
		Best International Screenplay	Arnau Vilaró, Carla Simón	Won
Gaudí Awards	22 January 2023	Best Film		Won	[47]
		Best Director	Carla Simón	Won
		Best New Performance	Albert Bosch	Nominated
			Xènia Roset	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Berta Pipó	Nominated
			Montse Oró	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Josep Abad	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Carla Simón, Arnau Vilaró	Won
		Best Production Supervision	Elisa Sirvent	Won
		Best Editing	Ana Pfaff	Nominated
		Best Original Score	Andrea Koch	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Daniela Cajías	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Anna Aguilà	Nominated
		Best Sound	Eva Valiño, Thomas Giorgi, Alejandro Castillo	Nominated
Feroz Awards	28 January 2023	Best Drama Film	Alcarràs	Nominated	[48]
		Best Director	Carla Simón	Won
		Best Screenplay	Carla Simón, Arnau Vilaró	Nominated
Carmen Awards	4 February 2023	Best Non-Andalusian Film		Nominated	[49][50]
CEC Medals	6 February 2023	Best Film		Nominated	[51]
		Best Director	Carla Simón	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Berta Pipó	Nominated
		Best New Actor	Albert Bosch	Won
		Best New Actress	Anna Otín	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Arnau Vilaró, Carla Simón	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Daniela Cajías	Nominated
		Best Editing	Ana Pfaff	Nominated
Goya Awards	11 February 2023	Best Film		Nominated	[52]
		Best Director	Carla Simón	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Arnau Vilaró, Carla Simón	Nominated
		Best New Actress	Anna Otín	Nominated
		Best New Actor	Albert Bosch	Nominated
			Jordi Pujol Doncet	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Daniela Cajías	Nominated
		Best Editing	Ana Pfaff	Nominated
		Best Sound	Eva Valiño, Thomas Giorgi, Alejandro Castillo	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Mónica Bernuy	Nominated
		Best Production Supervision	Elisa Sirvent	Nominated
Platino Awards	22 April 2023	Best Ibero-American Film	Alcarràs	Nominated	[53]
		Best Director	Carla Simón	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Daniela Cajías	Nominated
Rolling Stone en Español Awards	26 October 2023	Fiction Feature Film of the Year	Alcarràs	Nominated	[54][55]
		Direction of the Year	Carla Simón	Nominated

See also

• List of submissions to the 95th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Spanish submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
• List of Spanish films of 2022
• List of Italian films of 2022

References

1. "Alcarràs". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
2. "Alcarràs". Berlinale. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
3. Serra, Xavi; Juanico Llumà, Núria (16 February 2022). "Historic triumph for Carla Simón: first Catalan Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival". Ara. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
4. Martínez, Beatriz (13 September 2022). "'Alcarràs', de Carla Simón, representará a España en los Oscar". El Periódico de Catalunya.
5. Silvestre, Juan (2 June 2021). "Carla Simón arranca el rodaje de 'Alcarràs'". Fotogramas (in Spanish).
6. "Dos películas participadas por RTVE competirán en la Sección Oficial de la Berlinale: 'Un año, una noche' y 'Alcarràs'". RTVE (in Spanish). 19 January 2022.
7. "Família i terra a "Alcarràs", segon llargmetratge de Carla Simón". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (in Spanish). 6 August 2021.
8. Boquerini (7 June 2021). "Tras un año de espera Carla Simón rueda ya 'Alcarràs'". El Correo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
9. Halligan, Fionnuala (15 February 2022). "'Alcarras': Berlin review". ScreenDaily.
10. "La coproducció de TV3 "Alcarràs" i "Un año, una noche", amb participació, competiran en la secció oficial de la Berlinale". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. 19 January 2022.
11. Belinchón, Gregorio (19 January 2022). "Isaki Lacuesta y Carla Simón concursarán en la Berlinale". El País.
12. López, María Paz (16 February 2022). "La malenconiosa oda a l'agricultura de la pel·lícula 'Alcarràs' captiva a Berlín". La Vanguardia. Tot això està expressat en un català amb rigorós accent de Ponent. La pronunciació és meravellosament genuïna, ja que tots els actors són de la comarca, escollits en un càsting entre 9.000 persones
13. Martínez, Beatriz (26 July 2021). "'Alcarràs', el desafío de Carla Simón entre melocotoneros". El Periódico de Catalunya.
14. "Carla Simón, Daniel Guzmán, Jota Linares, Juan Miguel del Castillo e Imanol Uribe competirán en el 25º Festival de Málaga". Audiovisual451. 17 February 2022.
15. Martínez, Beatriz (19 March 2022). "Ovación a Carla Simón y su milagrosa 'Alcarràs' en el Festival de Málaga". El Periódico de Catalunya.
16. "'Alcarràs' de Carla Simón participará fuera de concurso en el 25 Festival de Málaga". Festival de Málaga. 17 February 2022.
17. Martínez, Beatriz; Casas, Quim (29 April 2022). "Las críticas de cine de la semana: 'Alcarràs', 'Dónde está Anne Frank', 'X' y 'Amor de madre'". El Periódico de España.
18. Martínez, Beatriz (2 May 2022). "'Alcarràs' cosecha casi 60.000 espectadores en su primer fin de semana". El Periódico de Catalunya.
19. D'Antoni, Filippo (29 May 2022). "'Alcarrás', la recensione del film Orso d'oro a Berlino". taxidrivers.it.
20. Goldsmith, Jill (9 August 2022). "New York Film Festival Sets Main Slate For 60th Edition". Deadline Hollywood.
21. Belinchón, Gregorio (25 August 2022). "'Alcarràs', 'Cinco lobitos' y 'As bestas', preseleccionadas por España para el Oscar". El País.
22. "Cinema International: Alcarràs". Kolkata International Film Festival. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
23. "Alcarràs". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
24. "Alcarràs 2022". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
25. Robey, Tim (15 February 2022). "Alcarràs, review: this must surely win the top prize at Berlin". The Telegraph.
26. Lodge, Guy (15 February 2022). "'Alcarràs' Review: A Farming Family Faces Change in a Beautifully Observed, Richly Inhabited Ensemble Drama". Variety.
27. Quinlan, Caitlin (16 February 2022). "Alcarràs – first-look review". Little White Lies.
28. Sánchez, Sergi (15 February 2022). "Crítica de Alcarràs, de Carla Simón, ganadora del Oso de Oro en Berlín 2022". Fotogramas.
29. "'Alcarràs', 'Cinco Lobitos' y 'As bestas' son las tres películas preseleccionadas para representar a España en los premios Oscar". Público. 25 August 2022.
30. "Cineuropa's Best of 2022". Cineuropa. 21 December 2022.
31. "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de un 2022 para la historia". El Periódico de Catalunya. 19 December 2022.
32. "Cine: las votaciones de nuestros críticos 2022". El Cultural. 20 December 2022 – via El Español.
33. Mantilla, Daniel. "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2022". Series & Más – via El Español.
34. Medina, Marta (15 December 2022). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2022: el año más bestia del siglo XXI". El Confidencial.
35. Blanes, P; Romero, J.; Castro, E. (23 December 2022). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2022 en un año espectacular para nuestro cine". Cadena SER.
36. Martínez, Luis (18 December 2022). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2022". El Mundo.
37. Sanguino, Juan; Rando, Paloma (28 December 2022). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2022". Vanity Fair.
38. Rodríguez Marchante, Oti (27 December 2022). "Las diez mejores películas españolas de 2022, un año de cine sobresaliente". ABC.
39. Lodge, Guy (16 February 2022). "Spanish Drama 'Alcarràs' Wins Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival". Variety.
40. Jefferson, Dee (19 June 2022). "Belgian film Close, about teen male friendship, wins Sydney Film Festival's top prize". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
41. Lodge, Guy (24 September 2022). "Colombian Film 'Kings of the World' Tops San Sebastian Award Winners". Variety. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
42. Goodfellow, Melanie (8 November 2022). "'Close', 'Holy Spider' & 'Triangle Of Sadness' Lead European Film Awards Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
43. "Five Films Nominated for European University Film Award (EUFA)". European Film Academy. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
44. "Alcarràs', 'Cinco lobitos', 'As bestas' y 'Modelo 77', finalistas en los Premios Forqué". rtve.es. 7 November 2022.
45. "'As bestas' triunfa en los Forqué y pone al rojo vivo la lucha por los Goya". rtve.es. 17 December 2022.
46. Haring, Bruce (15 January 2023). "'Saint Omer' Takes Top Honors At 34th Palm Springs Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
47. "Totes les nominacions als Gaudí 2023: llista completa". El Periódico de Catalunya. 14 December 2022.
48. Gualda, Lucía (29 January 2023). "Premios Feroz, en directo: los premiados a mejor película, mejor serie y mejor actriz y actor protagonistas". Vanitatis – via El Confidencial.
49. Martínez, Evaristo (14 December 2022). "'Controverso' opta a dos Carmen, que anuncian sus candidatos desde Almería". La Voz de Almería.
50. "Modelo 77 triunfa en los Carmen: Así ha quedado el palmarés". Ideal. Grupo Vocento. 5 February 2023.
51. "'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos', las más nominadas a las Medallas CEC". Cine con Ñ. 15 December 2022.
52. "'As bestas' es la favorita de los Premios Goya del relevo generacional: listado de nominaciones". Cinemanía. 1 December 2022 – via 20minutos.es.
53. Rosado, Ricardo (9 March 2023). "PREMIOS PLATINO 2023: 'ARGENTINA, 1985' ENCABEZA LAS NOMINACIONES DE LA X EDICIÓN". Fotogramas (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 March 2023.
54. Raygoza, Isabella (11 August 2023). "Bad Bunny & Rosalía Lead Rolling Stone En Español Award Nominations: Complete List". Billboard. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
55. "Conoce la lista completa de ganadores de los premios RSEE". Rolling Stone. 30 October 2023.

External links

• Alcarràs at IMDb