– Dora and Gerard Larrondo topline this love story tainted by social rivalry but peppered with songs, which is being shot on an iPhone 17 Pro Max
Director Achero Mañas and actress-singer Dora on the set of AMA (© Lucía Vigaray)
The shoot has just kicked off for AMA, a movie written and directed by Achero Mañas, the winner of two Goya Awards (Best New Director and Best Screenplay) for Pellet, who also helmed November (selected for the competition at San Sebastián and screened in the Discovery section at Toronto) and Anything You Want (in the Contemporary World Cinema strand at Toronto), and whose latest release prior to this was The Sea Beyond.
His new feature stars actress-singer Dora (seen in Rainbow) and Gerard Larrondo, who are flanked by Iván Lapadula, Javier Córdoba, Miguel Iriarte, Carlota Huguet, Elisabet Gelabert (the series Giants and Elite), Sergio Peris-Mencheta (glimpsed recently in the Prime Video series Boundless, among others) and the director himself, who began his artistic career as an actor.
AMA is inspired by La Historia de los Tarantos, a stage play written in 1962 by his own father, playwright Alfredo Mañas, which is a twist on the myth of Romeo and Juliet. In it, the conflict based on the confrontation between families shifts to a clash between social classes. His son is reprising this story from a contemporary perspective, setting it in today’s Madrid through the prism of love, music and the social rupture that defines the times we live in.
The storyline revolves around Estrella and Alejandro, two musicians living in the Spanish capital. She is a girl from the ‘hood; he is a young man from a well-to-do family. Music will bring their lives together, turning their differences into a passionate and honest romance, but a hatred rooted in family legacy and in the society around them will cut short the destiny of these young lovers.
“In AMA, I am trying to reflect on the legacy of past grudges by using music as the crux of the storyline and by setting the story in Madrid, my city, where I have always lived, and specifically in the neighbourhood of Carabanchel, where I previously filmed Pellet,” states Mañas. And what’s more, AMA is being shot on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, a decision that was born of the movie’s very nature. “My intention is to work with total freedom, with no restraints and without it being invasive for the actors, filming with various devices at the same time and recording the music on set, as the actors will play live during the shoot,” the helmer continues.
The composition of the film’s soundtrack is being coordinated by Diego Postigo (the father of Dora, the lead actress), and the songs have been created by Dora and Alice Wonder, with the involvement of Diego and Achero, and with special appearances by artists Funambulista and Rosalinda. “In musical creation, Estrella and Alejandro are seeking a way to escape from confrontations, class differences and social tension. In addition to performing, we needed the actors to have solid musical chops, which led us to do a casting process for 3,000 people over five months. What emerged from this process was the band in the film, who will play the songs live,” the director sums up.
AMA is a production by José María Morales for Wanda Visión and Wanda Films, and by Achero Mañas for Sunday Morning Productions and Las Islas de la Felicidad AIE, in co-production with Belgian outfit Saga Film. It boasts the involvement of RTVE and is being made in conjunction with the ICAA, the Community and City Council of Madrid, and the Creative Europe – MEDIA programme. The movie will be distributed in Spain by Wanda Visión.
(Translated from Spanish)
