(ACANTILADO)
Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018 2:30 P.M. Studio C!
Screening in conjunction with the East Lansing Film Festival Indie Series
For directions, please click HERE.
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Cults, Women
ABOUT THE FILM
Helena Taberna/ Spain/2016/99 min
In Spanish with English subtitles
Gabriel is a promising attorney whose life is turned upside down when he receives a phone call from the police. A sect has committed mass suicide in the Canary Islands and his sister Cordelia was one of the followers. Her cadaver is yet to be found. Gabriel hasn’t seen his younger sibling in years: something happened between them and their lives went in opposite directions.
Gabriel departs immediately for the islands to find out what’s happening and to help with the investigation. There he meets Cordelia’s feisty friend Helena, full of raw emotions. They both share their desire to find Cordelia, alive.
Gabriel quickly discovers that Heidi Meyer, a magnetic woman with dark origins, seduced his sister into “The Community.” Cordelia found refuge in the sect, where she was able to work through the wounds of the past, only to become a witness—and an accomplice—to strange events that preceded a tragic ending.
As Gabriel dives deeper into the mysteries of the sect, he begins to question the truth about his life. He quickly realizes that finding his sister is the only way to save himself.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Director in attendance
Helena Taberna’s films have received critical and audience acclaim and have landed numerous awards at national and international film festivals. Her first feature, “Yoyes”, was released in March 2000. The film narrates the life of the first woman to occupy positions of responsibility with the ETA terrorist group. It was a Spain-France-Italy co-production distributed by Columbia Tristar in Spain and obtained great box office takings. Italian Intra films managed international sales. “Yoyes” was one of the Spanish productions to win most international awards that year.
“Extranjeras” (“Foreign women”) was the second feature directed by Helena Taberna. The documentary premiered in 2003 in competition at the Valladolid International Film Festival and screened at cinemas in major cities throughout Spain, with Sherlock Films as a distributor. “Extranjeras” received very good reviews and participated in numerous international festivals and events, winning several awards.
In 2008, Helena Taberna directed “La Buena Nueva” (“The Good News”). The film, backed by broadcasters TVE and ETB, premiered at the Valladolid Seminci, at which Unax Ugalde carried off the Best Leading Actor Award. “The Good News” was distributed in Spain by Golem. This film confirmed Helena Taberna as a successful director committed to portraying subjects of social interest.
In 2010, Helena Taberna directed “Nagore”, a documentary feature that was released in commercial theaters in Spain. It has reaped public and critical acclaim and extraordinary media coverage. It obtained the Best Feature Film (Audience Award) at the Cinefórum de Islantilla Film Festival and the Premio Violeta al Compromiso Cultural.
Helena has recently finished post-production of her latest feature film, “The Cliff” (“Acantilado”), to be premiered in 2016. “The Cliff” is a dramatic thriller inspired on true facts about the disappearance of a young girl recruited into a cult in the Canary Islands. It is based on a novel written by the Spanish best-selling author Lucia Etxebarria. The film casts Goya Toledo (“Love’s a Bitch”, “Retribution”), Daniel Grao (“Julieta”, “Fin”), Juana Acosta (“Carlos”, “Sanctuaire”, “11.6”) and Jon Kortajarena (“Ma ma”, “A single man”).
Helena Taberna belongs to the executive committee of CIMA (Association of Women Filmmakers). She also was a founder of this Association in 2006 with six other Spanish Association of women directors.
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A 30 minute Q&A with the directors will follow the screening hosted by Joseba Gabilondo (Romance and Classical Studies).
MSU Latinx Film Festival 