– Maria Martínez Bayona is set to unveil her debut feature, a futuristic drama led by Rebecca Hall and featuring Noomi Rapace and Gael García Bernal, which explores mortality and authorship
Rebecca Hall in The End of It
The non-competitive Cannes Première section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, set to run from 13-23 May, has recently expanded its line-up (see the news), welcoming, among other titles, The End of It, the debut science-fiction feature by Catalonian writer-director Maria Martínez Bayona.
In a near-future world where ageing can be cured and death is now optional, Claire, a former provocative artist approaching her 250th birthday, decides she’s had enough – she wants to die. Her decision stirs conflicts with her husband, daughter and AI assistant, revealing the humorous complexity of their relationships. As Claire uses her impending death to reclaim her role as an artist, she is forced to face what it really means to die and to live, and the messy absurdity of it all.
The cast is led by BAFTA- and Golden Globe-nominated British actress Rebecca Hall (Peter Hujar’s Day, Closed Circuit) as Claire, alongside BAFTA-nominated Swedish thesp Noomi Rapace (Lamb, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as her daughter, plus Golden Globe-winning Mexican actor Gael García Bernal (Neruda, Bad Education) as her husband. They are joined by Golden Globe-nominated US actress Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart, How to Build a Girl) as her AI assistant, with supporting roles by Spanish two-time Goya Award winner David Verdaguer (Summer 1993, Jokes & Cigarettes), British actress Susan Wokoma, and Norwegian actors Pål Sverre Hagen and Kristine Kujath Thorp.
Martínez Bayona directs from her own screenplay, marking her feature debut following a string of acclaimed short films. Born in Reus and based in London, she studied directing at the National Film and Television School. Her graduation short, MIA, premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and was long-listed for the BIFA for Best British Short. She went on to direct WAKE, commissioned by Film4 and aired on Channel 4, and Such Small Hands, an adaptation of Andrés Barba’s novella, which picked up multiple accolades, including Best Short and the Audience Award at the Strasbourg Fantastic Film Festival, as well as awards at Fantastic Fest and Aesthetica.
Principal photography took place on the Canary Islands in spring 2025. The cinematography is by Andrés Arochi (Longlegs), with editing by Tania Reddin. The production design is by Lili Lea Abrahams, while the costumes are courtesy of Pau Aulí. The film was completed shortly before its selection at Cannes was announced.
The End of It is a UK-Spanish-Norwegian co-production staged by Emilie Jouffroy and Kamilla Kristiane Hodøl for Elation Pictures, alongside Adrià Monés Murlans for Barcelona-based Fasten Films, and co-produced by Dyveke Bjørkly Graver and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Oslo-based Eye Eye Pictures as well as Laura Fernández Espeso. Executive producers include JC Acosta and Erika Kennair for The Mediapro Studio, Claudia Yusef and Alice Ojha for BBC Film, Ford Corbet, Nathan Klingher and Apur Parikh for Barreling Wave Pictures, Claudia Romero, Rebecca Hall, Gabriel Kaplan, Geir Henning Eikeland and Orion Lee. The project received backing from BBC Film, the BFI and Creative England through the iFeatures scheme, as well as the UK Global Screen Fund. International sales are handled by London-based Bankside Films, with Latin America managed directly by The Mediapro Studio, while WME Independent represents North America.
