The Barcelona Vampiress

The Barcelona Vampiress (Catalan: La vampira de Barcelona) is a 2020 Spanish historical thriller film directed by Lluís Danés [ca] which stars Nora Navas as the title character and Roger Casamajor alongside Bruna Cusí, Francesc Orella, Sergi López, Mario Gas, and Núria Prims. It is shot in Catalan.

The Barcelona Vampiress
Theatrical release poster
Catalan	La vampira de Barcelona
Directed by	Lluís Danés
Screenplay by	Maria Jaén Lluís A. Martínez
Produced by	Raimon Masllorens
Starring	Roger Casamajor Nora Navas Bruna Cusí Francesc Orella Sergi López Mario Gas Núria Prims
Cinematography	Josep Maria Civit
Music by	Alfred Tapscott
Production companies	Brutal Media Filmax
Distributed by	Filmax
Release dates	October 2020 (2020-10) (Sitges) 4 December 2020 (2020-12-04) (Spain)
Country	Spain
Language	Catalan

Plot

Set in 1912 Barcelona, the plot concerns about the endeavours of morphine-addicted journalist Sebastià Comas to unravel the truth about the kidnappings and killings of children scapegoated by the police to Enriqueta Martí, nicknamed as the "Vampire of the Raval".^[1]

Cast

• Roger Casamajor as Sebastià Comas^[1]
• Nora Navas as Enriqueta Martí^[1]
• Bruna Cusí as Amèlia^[2]
• Francesc Orella as Salvat^[1]
• Sergi López as policia Amorós^[2]
• Mario Gas as Sr. Méndez^[2]
• Núria Prims as Madame^[2]
• Pablo Derqui as Fuster^[2]
• Francesca Piñón [ca] as Sor Engracia^[2]

Production

The screenplay was penned by Maria Jaén and Lluís A. Martínez.^[3] The film is a Brutal Media and Filmax production, with the participation of TVC.^[4]

Release

The film was presented at the 53rd Sitges Film Festival in October 2020.^[5] Distributed by Filmax,^[6] the film was theatrically released in Spain on 4 December 2020.

Reception

Javier Ocaña of El País deemed the film to be "an ambitious, sometimes grandiloquent work, which always comes to fruition with courage and singularity" when retelling the events of 1912, managing to portray a country's moral mysery.^[7]

Toni Vall of Cinemanía rated the film 2½ out of 5 stars, pointing out that the cast was "uneven", featuring "a solvent but not brilliant [male] lead", with Danés otherwise rather pulling his best in the representation of the setting (El Raval).^[8]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2021	13th Gaudí Awards	Best Film		Won	[9]
		Best Director	Lluís Danés	Nominated
		Best Actress	Nora Navas	Nominated
		Best Production Supervision	David Masllorens i Silva	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Lluís Danés	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Bruna Cusí	Nominated
			Núria Prims	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Francesc Orella	Nominated
		Best Original Music	Alfred Tapscott	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Josep M. Civit	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Mercè Paloma	Won
		Best Sound	Daniela Fermín, Quique López, Carlos Jiménez	Nominated
		Best Visual Effects	Lluís Rivera, Aleix Torrecillas, Anna Aragonès	Won
		Best Makeup and Hairstyles	Laura Pérez, Xavi Valverde	Won

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2020

References

1. Úbeda-Portugués, Alberto (1 December 2020). "Los estrenos del 4 de diciembre. 'La vampira de Barcelona'. Submundos de perversión". Aisge.
2. "S'estrena el thriller d'època i coproducció de TV3 "La vampira de Barcelona"". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. 22 December 2021.
3. ""La vampira de Barcelona" gana el premio Gaudí a la Mejor Película". EFE. 21 March 2021.
4. Silvestre, Juan (22 March 2021). "Premios Gaudí 2021: todos los ganadores". Fotogramas.
5. García, Julián (9 October 2020). "'La vampira de Barcelona': la verdad sobre la asesina de niños Enriqueta Martí". El Periódico de Catalunya.
6. "'La Vampira de Barcelona' – estreno en cines 4 de diciembre". Audiovisual451. 4 December 2020.
7. Ocaña, Javier (4 December 2020). "La miseria moral". El País.
8. Vall, Toni (4 December 2020). "La vampira de Barcelona". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
9. "Consulteu tots els guanyadors de la tretzena edició dels premis Gaudí". VilaWeb. 21 March 2021.