First grading grades are available at the Admissions Office. You can
either call via landline (2212411 local 8302) or email me at jseliab@gmail.com. I can send your grades via email.
Bong Eliab
Office of Faculty Development and Scholarship Programs
Ateneo de Davao University
E. Jacinto St., 8016 Davao City
Tel. No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 8303/ 8302
Fax +63 (82) 226.4116
facdev@addu.edu.ph
www.addu.edu.ph
Monday, January 31, 2005
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Raunchy, oui, oui
Friday, Jan 28, 2005
YO! Features
Raunchy, oui, oui
Older woman pitted against young girl in erotic French tale
By GARY THOMPSON
thompsg@phillynews.com
Though Hollywood movies are reputed to be depraved and lurid, they're generally pretty square.
Reformers have taken over, and lately it's been a very PG kind of town. Where sex is concerned, it's almost prim. Hollywood's current idea of a "sexy" movie is "Charlie's Angels 2," where the most risque scenes are of swimsuit modeling.
If you want the harder stuff, you have to go behind the counter, to France and French movies, which are often completely lurid (several have featured porn stars in key roles) or, in the case of "Swimming Pool," genuinely erotic.
The movie is technically an English-language picture, but it's written and directed by Frenchman Francois Ozon ("Under the Sand"), and it has a Frenchman's laissez-faire attitude toward actresses keeping their clothes on.
The suspenseful "Swimming Pool" is basically a titanic catfight between an uptight Englishwoman (Charlotte Rampling) who senses she's losing her sex appeal and a randy French girl (Ludivine Sagnier) who's freely exercising hers.
They square off at a French country home where the Englishwoman, a mystery writer, has gone to work on her next book. The home is the property of her publisher (Charles Dance), with whom she's involved, though lately he's shown signs of being bored.
She goes to his home in France hoping he'll show up, but he doesn't. Instead, the man's estranged daughter arrives, and she's a terror. She drinks, smokes, trashes the house and brings home a different guy every night for noisy ravishing.
She is constantly topless, often bottomless, and looks like Anna Kournikova, which I observed because I'm a trained observer.
Because these are women in a Frenchman's movie, they do not become fast friends, as they would in an American movie. They become enemies, competitors, rivals. Their talons extend, their eyes narrow, and they curse each other.
Slut! Prude! Fur flies, and the women decide to test themselves by competing for the attention of a handsome waiter, a sort of Gallic Marlboro Man. For Rampling's character, the issue isn't the man, it's her self-image: She's jealous of the younger woman's sexual power and wants to gauge her own.
The stakes are high, and it's not long before there is a murder and a cover-up.
"Swimming Pool" comes by its "erotic thriller" label honestly, not merely because the women are naked, but because they deploy their sexuality in a way that's crucial to the narrative - the catalyst for it, the point of it, in a way.
Given all of that, I wish the ending of "Swimming Pool" didn't suck so much, and suck in a way that defies description, since to do so would give too much away.
In general, we can say the ending is ironic, since the movie turns out to be at its best before all is laid bare.
YO! Features
Raunchy, oui, oui
Older woman pitted against young girl in erotic French tale
By GARY THOMPSON
thompsg@phillynews.com
Though Hollywood movies are reputed to be depraved and lurid, they're generally pretty square.
Reformers have taken over, and lately it's been a very PG kind of town. Where sex is concerned, it's almost prim. Hollywood's current idea of a "sexy" movie is "Charlie's Angels 2," where the most risque scenes are of swimsuit modeling.
If you want the harder stuff, you have to go behind the counter, to France and French movies, which are often completely lurid (several have featured porn stars in key roles) or, in the case of "Swimming Pool," genuinely erotic.
The movie is technically an English-language picture, but it's written and directed by Frenchman Francois Ozon ("Under the Sand"), and it has a Frenchman's laissez-faire attitude toward actresses keeping their clothes on.
The suspenseful "Swimming Pool" is basically a titanic catfight between an uptight Englishwoman (Charlotte Rampling) who senses she's losing her sex appeal and a randy French girl (Ludivine Sagnier) who's freely exercising hers.
They square off at a French country home where the Englishwoman, a mystery writer, has gone to work on her next book. The home is the property of her publisher (Charles Dance), with whom she's involved, though lately he's shown signs of being bored.
She goes to his home in France hoping he'll show up, but he doesn't. Instead, the man's estranged daughter arrives, and she's a terror. She drinks, smokes, trashes the house and brings home a different guy every night for noisy ravishing.
She is constantly topless, often bottomless, and looks like Anna Kournikova, which I observed because I'm a trained observer.
Because these are women in a Frenchman's movie, they do not become fast friends, as they would in an American movie. They become enemies, competitors, rivals. Their talons extend, their eyes narrow, and they curse each other.
Slut! Prude! Fur flies, and the women decide to test themselves by competing for the attention of a handsome waiter, a sort of Gallic Marlboro Man. For Rampling's character, the issue isn't the man, it's her self-image: She's jealous of the younger woman's sexual power and wants to gauge her own.
The stakes are high, and it's not long before there is a murder and a cover-up.
"Swimming Pool" comes by its "erotic thriller" label honestly, not merely because the women are naked, but because they deploy their sexuality in a way that's crucial to the narrative - the catalyst for it, the point of it, in a way.
Given all of that, I wish the ending of "Swimming Pool" didn't suck so much, and suck in a way that defies description, since to do so would give too much away.
In general, we can say the ending is ironic, since the movie turns out to be at its best before all is laid bare.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
La Vita E Bella
Roberto Benigni’s LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (La Vita E Bella) is a daring departure for one of the world’s most acclaimed comic filmmakers. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, the Best Jewish Experience Award at this year’s Jerusalem International Film Festival and the Audience Award at both the Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Montreal World Film Festival. In addition, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is the recipient of 8 David di Donatello Awards (the Italian Oscars) including Best Picture. Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay along with Vincenzo Cerami, the film is a Chaplinesque fable about the power of imagination set against the stark reality of World War II Europe. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (La Vita Bella) combines satire, physical comedy, social commentary and a touch of the surreal into a uniquely moving story of love.
At the center of the fable is Guido (Roberto Benigni) — an enchanting individual with childlike innocence and grand dreams of owning his own bookshop. It’s 1939 and he has come to the Tuscan town of Arezzo with his poet friend Ferruccio (Sergio Bustric). With unabashed humor and joy, the two seek fortune and romance, ignoring the growing anti-Semitism and Fascist government that surrounds them.
Guido falls in love with Dora, a beautiful young school teacher (Nicoletta Braschi, the Italian actress who has starred in most of Benigni’s films). Unfortunately, the woman he calls his “Princess” is already engaged. Worse, she is engaged to the local Fascist official with whom he has had a run-in. Guido, however, is not deterred and a fairy tale romance ensues.
Several years later — Guido and Dora are married and have a son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini), and Guido has finally opened the bookshop of his dreams. But now, the occasional bigotries Guido once ignored have become Racial Laws with which he must come to terms. Throughout it all, Guido determines to shield his son from the brutal reality governing their lives. This determination becomes a matter of life and death when Guido and his son are sent to a concentration came three months before the war’s end. Of her own accord, and out of her love for them, Dora deports herself on the same train.
Now, in this unimaginable world, Guido must use his bold imagination and every ounce of his indefatigable spirit to save those he loves.
Read more....
At the center of the fable is Guido (Roberto Benigni) — an enchanting individual with childlike innocence and grand dreams of owning his own bookshop. It’s 1939 and he has come to the Tuscan town of Arezzo with his poet friend Ferruccio (Sergio Bustric). With unabashed humor and joy, the two seek fortune and romance, ignoring the growing anti-Semitism and Fascist government that surrounds them.
Guido falls in love with Dora, a beautiful young school teacher (Nicoletta Braschi, the Italian actress who has starred in most of Benigni’s films). Unfortunately, the woman he calls his “Princess” is already engaged. Worse, she is engaged to the local Fascist official with whom he has had a run-in. Guido, however, is not deterred and a fairy tale romance ensues.
Several years later — Guido and Dora are married and have a son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini), and Guido has finally opened the bookshop of his dreams. But now, the occasional bigotries Guido once ignored have become Racial Laws with which he must come to terms. Throughout it all, Guido determines to shield his son from the brutal reality governing their lives. This determination becomes a matter of life and death when Guido and his son are sent to a concentration came three months before the war’s end. Of her own accord, and out of her love for them, Dora deports herself on the same train.
Now, in this unimaginable world, Guido must use his bold imagination and every ounce of his indefatigable spirit to save those he loves.
Read more....
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Sex and Lucia: An Introduction
Alluring love story is battlefield; senses are pitted against intellect
Marta Barber
Miami Herald
Published: Friday, August 9, 2002
Julio Medem's Lucía y el sexo (Sex and Lucia) is a battle between the senses and the intellect, with the soul clearly the winner. The film involves a romantic set of encounters, sometimes tender, sometimes overtly raw, in which the only thing left to the imagination is what happens above the neck. The film is a love story that begins well, takes a tortuous detour and ends, as the king in The King and I would say, a puzzlement.
There are two stories: One is about Lucía, a thoroughly modern woman unafraid to go after what she wants. But when things go wrong, she feels the need to escape. The other is about sex: explicit, sometimes gratuitous, though nothing to alarm an adult audience. (Medem refused to tone down the sex scenes for distribution in the United States.)
Unlike Y Tu Mamá También and Intimacy , two recent films in which sex was an integral part, Sex and Lucía is not about unleashing repressed desires. Sexuality doesn't inhibit these characters. The sensual scenes may jolt your libido, but in the end it's the story that kindles reaction even as it defies easy explanation.
Lucía (Paz Vega) is a waitress who is having no success in lifting her live-in writer boyfriend, Lorenzo (Tristán Ulloa), from a deep depression. When she gets home one night after work and realizes that Lorenzo is not home, Lucía fears the worst. A telephone call from a policeman with ''bad news'' makes Lucía assume he is dead.
Flashback six years, when Lucía approaches Lorenzo at a bar and tells him she's secretly in love with him but not that she's been stalking him. They begin living together. She works at the restaurant and he struggles to finish a novel. Everything seems fine, until one day Lorenzo's friend Carlos tells him about a woman named Elena who has a child. The girl was conceived during a one-night fling Elena had with a stranger in a secluded beach in an unnamed Mediterranean island. The details match the seductive opening scenes of the film, and Lorenzo realizes he is the father.
It is here that the focus turns from Lucía to Lorenzo, who becomes so central to the plot that the film could easily have been titled Sex and Lorenzo . As he watches the girl play at her day-care center, Lorenzo is smitten by Belén, the baby sitter. They arrange for an encounter at Elena's home.
But something terrible happens that sends Lorenzo into an emotional hole. This ties in snugly with the beginning of the film, but by then the story has shifted and is ready to take on a new dimension with Medem shuffling between reality and fiction.
Are all the events really happening or are they part of Lorenzo's novel? Is the book a product of his imagination or is Lorenzo fictionalizing reality? Even when you think you're ahead of Medem's game, something throws you back.
As the film begins its final stretch, Lucía escapes to that Mediterranean island on which she hopes to uncover the mystery of what drove Lorenzo away. Unknown to her, Elena lives on the island.
Some of the island scenes are shot in overexposed, high-definition digital video, giving the beach shots a luminous and surreal background. The island is so important to this part of the story that the film could also have been called Sex and the Island. Sex and Lucía was well-received at the Toronto and Sundance film festivals and won two Goyas, Spain's equivalent of the Oscars, including the best actress award for Vega as Lucía.
As he did in his 1998 Lovers in the Arctic Circle , Medem plays with beginnings and ends, intending to play with the minds of the audience. Yet you cannot avoid being swept in his game. Medem may have disrobed most of the cast, leaving their bodies exposed, but the plot remains as guarded as a virgin with a chastity belt. That's why Sex and Lucía is so alluring.
Movie review, 'Sex and Lucia'
By Michael Wilmington
"Sex and Lucia" is one of the sexiest movies out this year to date. It's a hallucinatory tale about a seemingly tragic love affair that detours through the world of imagination and memory. The result: a blissful island idyll, seething with eroticism and gorgeous visions of sun and sea.
"Sex" is set in modern Madrid and on the Mediterranean isle of Formentera, but it also takes place in the present and the past, in real life and within the imaginary confines of a novel. And Spanish writer-director Julio Medem packs it with so much stunning, wildly colorful imagery -- and so much sex -- that it transfixes you even when you're not quite sure what's going on. (For some audiences, that may be often.)
Instead, Medem, the vibrant young director of "Terra" and "Cows," whirls you from one time and place to another with swiftness and ease while his uninhibited cast members (including star Paz Vega, whose performance here earned her the Goya -- the Spanish Oscar -- for Best Actress) keep stripping themselves bare, emotionally and sexually. Vega plays Lucia, first shown intertwined, underwater, with her lover, Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa), and then in the blackness of the Madrid night as she receives a last desperate phone call from Lorenzo. Later, she's informed by the police of his death by accident.
Distraught, she travels to Formentera and almost immediately tumbles down a huge hole that opens into another world. In this world of reverie, we see -- mixed together, with little regard for chronology or classical narration -- Lucia's meeting with Lorenzo, the raffishly appealing writer she's adored from afar; Lorenzo's liaison with another woman, Elena (Najwa Nimri of Medem's "Lovers of the Arctic Circle"); and the birth of Lorenzo's and Elena's daughter, Luna (Silvia Llanos). Then we plunge into a visualization of the novel Lorenzo is writing while he's with Lucia, a tale that may or may not be a true record of his high jinks with the adolescent Belen (Elena Anaya). Belen lives in a sexually complicated household, and she also baby-sits for Luna, Lorenzo's daughter.
A tragedy erupts in this story as well, a darkness that alternates with the blazing sunlight and sensuality of Formentera's beaches, where Lucia meets Elena, as well as a man, Carlos (Daniel Freire), who seems to be the double of the mother's lover in Lorenzo's novel.
Does it all sound confusing? It is. But what's important in "Sex" is less verisimilitude -- the story is full of outrageous coincidences -- than the scintillating visuals and conflicts and the sultry mood. Like "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and the recent flood of French eroticism ("The Piano Teacher," "Fat Girl," "Pola X"), "Sex and Lucia" uses the screen's current sexual openness with intimacy and abandon. The sex is frequent, but it's completely integrated into the story, which is, after all, about sexual obsession and betrayals.
Spanish cinema has often revealed a flair for bizarre melodrama; the country's greatest director (even though he was an exile who mostly worked in Mexico and France) was Luis Bunuel. Medem's film is in the Bunuel tradition; he's defiantly sexy and radical. But Medem also goes in for the flashy, ravishing visuals Bunuel usually eschewed. (Here, they're shot by the splendid cinematographer Kiko de la Rica.) The movie is a journey into a land of wonders beneath the surface of consciousness,-- but it's also a sexual ride of unabated heat. You may be confused by "Sex and Lucia," but you won't be unmoved.
3 stars (out of 4)
"Sex and Lucia"
Directed and written by Julio Medem; photographed by Kiko de la Rica; edited by Ivan Aledo; art direction by Montserrat Sanz; music by Alberto Iglesias; produced by Fernando Bovaira. A Palm Pictures release; opens Friday at the Century Center Cinema. In Spanish; English subtitled. Running time: 2:09. No MPAA rating (adult: sensuality, nudity, language, violence).
Lucia -- Paz Vega
Lorenzo -- Tristan Ulloa
Elena -- Najwa Nimri
Carlow/Antonio -- Daniel Friere
Belen -- Elena Anaya Luna -- Silvia Llanos
Michael Wilmington is the Chicago Tribune Movie Critic.
Marta Barber
Miami Herald
Published: Friday, August 9, 2002
Julio Medem's Lucía y el sexo (Sex and Lucia) is a battle between the senses and the intellect, with the soul clearly the winner. The film involves a romantic set of encounters, sometimes tender, sometimes overtly raw, in which the only thing left to the imagination is what happens above the neck. The film is a love story that begins well, takes a tortuous detour and ends, as the king in The King and I would say, a puzzlement.
There are two stories: One is about Lucía, a thoroughly modern woman unafraid to go after what she wants. But when things go wrong, she feels the need to escape. The other is about sex: explicit, sometimes gratuitous, though nothing to alarm an adult audience. (Medem refused to tone down the sex scenes for distribution in the United States.)
Unlike Y Tu Mamá También and Intimacy , two recent films in which sex was an integral part, Sex and Lucía is not about unleashing repressed desires. Sexuality doesn't inhibit these characters. The sensual scenes may jolt your libido, but in the end it's the story that kindles reaction even as it defies easy explanation.
Lucía (Paz Vega) is a waitress who is having no success in lifting her live-in writer boyfriend, Lorenzo (Tristán Ulloa), from a deep depression. When she gets home one night after work and realizes that Lorenzo is not home, Lucía fears the worst. A telephone call from a policeman with ''bad news'' makes Lucía assume he is dead.
Flashback six years, when Lucía approaches Lorenzo at a bar and tells him she's secretly in love with him but not that she's been stalking him. They begin living together. She works at the restaurant and he struggles to finish a novel. Everything seems fine, until one day Lorenzo's friend Carlos tells him about a woman named Elena who has a child. The girl was conceived during a one-night fling Elena had with a stranger in a secluded beach in an unnamed Mediterranean island. The details match the seductive opening scenes of the film, and Lorenzo realizes he is the father.
It is here that the focus turns from Lucía to Lorenzo, who becomes so central to the plot that the film could easily have been titled Sex and Lorenzo . As he watches the girl play at her day-care center, Lorenzo is smitten by Belén, the baby sitter. They arrange for an encounter at Elena's home.
But something terrible happens that sends Lorenzo into an emotional hole. This ties in snugly with the beginning of the film, but by then the story has shifted and is ready to take on a new dimension with Medem shuffling between reality and fiction.
Are all the events really happening or are they part of Lorenzo's novel? Is the book a product of his imagination or is Lorenzo fictionalizing reality? Even when you think you're ahead of Medem's game, something throws you back.
As the film begins its final stretch, Lucía escapes to that Mediterranean island on which she hopes to uncover the mystery of what drove Lorenzo away. Unknown to her, Elena lives on the island.
Some of the island scenes are shot in overexposed, high-definition digital video, giving the beach shots a luminous and surreal background. The island is so important to this part of the story that the film could also have been called Sex and the Island. Sex and Lucía was well-received at the Toronto and Sundance film festivals and won two Goyas, Spain's equivalent of the Oscars, including the best actress award for Vega as Lucía.
As he did in his 1998 Lovers in the Arctic Circle , Medem plays with beginnings and ends, intending to play with the minds of the audience. Yet you cannot avoid being swept in his game. Medem may have disrobed most of the cast, leaving their bodies exposed, but the plot remains as guarded as a virgin with a chastity belt. That's why Sex and Lucía is so alluring.
Movie review, 'Sex and Lucia'
By Michael Wilmington
"Sex and Lucia" is one of the sexiest movies out this year to date. It's a hallucinatory tale about a seemingly tragic love affair that detours through the world of imagination and memory. The result: a blissful island idyll, seething with eroticism and gorgeous visions of sun and sea.
"Sex" is set in modern Madrid and on the Mediterranean isle of Formentera, but it also takes place in the present and the past, in real life and within the imaginary confines of a novel. And Spanish writer-director Julio Medem packs it with so much stunning, wildly colorful imagery -- and so much sex -- that it transfixes you even when you're not quite sure what's going on. (For some audiences, that may be often.)
Instead, Medem, the vibrant young director of "Terra" and "Cows," whirls you from one time and place to another with swiftness and ease while his uninhibited cast members (including star Paz Vega, whose performance here earned her the Goya -- the Spanish Oscar -- for Best Actress) keep stripping themselves bare, emotionally and sexually. Vega plays Lucia, first shown intertwined, underwater, with her lover, Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa), and then in the blackness of the Madrid night as she receives a last desperate phone call from Lorenzo. Later, she's informed by the police of his death by accident.
Distraught, she travels to Formentera and almost immediately tumbles down a huge hole that opens into another world. In this world of reverie, we see -- mixed together, with little regard for chronology or classical narration -- Lucia's meeting with Lorenzo, the raffishly appealing writer she's adored from afar; Lorenzo's liaison with another woman, Elena (Najwa Nimri of Medem's "Lovers of the Arctic Circle"); and the birth of Lorenzo's and Elena's daughter, Luna (Silvia Llanos). Then we plunge into a visualization of the novel Lorenzo is writing while he's with Lucia, a tale that may or may not be a true record of his high jinks with the adolescent Belen (Elena Anaya). Belen lives in a sexually complicated household, and she also baby-sits for Luna, Lorenzo's daughter.
A tragedy erupts in this story as well, a darkness that alternates with the blazing sunlight and sensuality of Formentera's beaches, where Lucia meets Elena, as well as a man, Carlos (Daniel Freire), who seems to be the double of the mother's lover in Lorenzo's novel.
Does it all sound confusing? It is. But what's important in "Sex" is less verisimilitude -- the story is full of outrageous coincidences -- than the scintillating visuals and conflicts and the sultry mood. Like "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and the recent flood of French eroticism ("The Piano Teacher," "Fat Girl," "Pola X"), "Sex and Lucia" uses the screen's current sexual openness with intimacy and abandon. The sex is frequent, but it's completely integrated into the story, which is, after all, about sexual obsession and betrayals.
Spanish cinema has often revealed a flair for bizarre melodrama; the country's greatest director (even though he was an exile who mostly worked in Mexico and France) was Luis Bunuel. Medem's film is in the Bunuel tradition; he's defiantly sexy and radical. But Medem also goes in for the flashy, ravishing visuals Bunuel usually eschewed. (Here, they're shot by the splendid cinematographer Kiko de la Rica.) The movie is a journey into a land of wonders beneath the surface of consciousness,-- but it's also a sexual ride of unabated heat. You may be confused by "Sex and Lucia," but you won't be unmoved.
3 stars (out of 4)
"Sex and Lucia"
Directed and written by Julio Medem; photographed by Kiko de la Rica; edited by Ivan Aledo; art direction by Montserrat Sanz; music by Alberto Iglesias; produced by Fernando Bovaira. A Palm Pictures release; opens Friday at the Century Center Cinema. In Spanish; English subtitled. Running time: 2:09. No MPAA rating (adult: sensuality, nudity, language, violence).
Lucia -- Paz Vega
Lorenzo -- Tristan Ulloa
Elena -- Najwa Nimri
Carlow/Antonio -- Daniel Friere
Belen -- Elena Anaya Luna -- Silvia Llanos
Michael Wilmington is the Chicago Tribune Movie Critic.
Synopsis: Lucia y Sexo
SYNOPSIS: SEX AND LUCIA
Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid. After the loss of her long-time boyfriend, a writer, she seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island. There, bathed in an atmosphere of fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to discover the dark corners of her past relationship. It is as if she is reading forbidden passages of a novel, which the author only now, from afar, allows her to read.
From acclaimed writer/director Julio Medem (LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE), SEX AND LUCÍA is a visually stunning and thematically adventurous look at passion, elusive relationships and deep bonds between people who thought they were strangers. SEX AND LUCÍA stars Paz Vega (TALK TO HER), in her Goya Award winning performance as Lucía, Tristán Ulloa (OPEN YOUR EYES) as Lorenzo, Najwa Nimri (LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE) as Elena, Daniel Freire (ADVENTURES OF GOD) as Carlos, and Elena Anaya (WHERE THE WORLD ENDS) as Belén. The film's haunting score by Alberto Iglesias (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) also garnered a Goya Award.
SEX AND LUCÍA played to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and Rotterdam Film Festival, following up a successful run in its native Spain where it was a huge hit. Produced by Sogecine, it is being distributed in the United States by Palm Pictures.
BACKGROUND
After directing LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, Julio Medem wanted to present a less downbeat approach to human relationships. He set out to write SEX AND LUCÍA for Najwa Nimri, who plays Elena in the film. Nimri starred as Ana in LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, and Medem wanted to give her a less tragic end than the one she had in that acclaimed film. He also wanted to work with his girlfriend, Montse Sanz, who is the art director on SEX AND LUCÍA and is responsible for the film's evocative and luminous look. Medem would later go on to dedicate the film to Sanz.
Medem began writing the story after inspiration hit during a vacation on the tiny island of Formentera, a trip he made prior to directing LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. When he arrived to the little-known island off the coast of Spain, he immediately knew he found the setting for his next film. The story began with the development of the character Lucía and the beautiful island she escapes to. Simultaneously he began developing a novel entitled EL SEXO, which he later turned into a separate script. Medem then set about joining the two scripts. One year and eight drafts later, SEX AND LUCÍA was born.
The character of Lucía demanded Medem find an actress that could convey vulnerability and combine it with sex appeal, a difficult combination to portray. When asked about the character of Lucía, and finding the actress that had the ability to play her, Medem said, "You could maybe say she is a 'healthy' girl, someone with a clear line, and that's when I found Paz Vega, who I think is wonderful."
A trademark of Medem as a filmmaker is the long rehearsal period that he insists on before filming begins. All of his films start with his original stories that grow out of his experience and his imagination. To better convey the feel of each script he believes the intense rehearsal period brings the actors closer to his words, and helps him transfer the character from the page to the actor. Says Medem of this exhaustive but integral part of the process, "During the rehearsals, I try to get to the center of the character with the actor, and once I feel we have captured the character, i get out and look at it from the outside. It's a very intense process during which things start to change."
This almost organic approach to the script shows in the depth of the characters, the daring, sexy, and evocative unfolding of relationships, and in the love story whose past and future enhances the present. SEX AND LUCÍA is a luminous film, a haunting journey, and an extremely involving love story.
The Director: Julio Medem
Born in Donosti, San Sebastian, Julio Medem is one of Spain's most recognized and honored directors. Medem has received critical acclaim and many awards, with his films having competed in festivals around the world, including Cannes, Venice, Tokyo, and Sundance.
SEX AND LUCIA, in addition to being an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival, was honored with 12 Goya nominations and went on to win 2 Goyas: Best New Actress for Paz Vega and Best Music for Alberto Iglesias.
Medem's last film, LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE garnered tremendous international attention at festivals from Venice to Karlovy Vary to Valladolid to Sundance, and won 2 Goya Awards, for Best Editing and Best Music. His 1996 film, TIERRA (EARTH) was an official selection at Cannes and in addition to 2 Goya Awards, also won the Best Spanish Film of the Year at the Valladolid Film Festival.
This award-winning career was foreseen with Medem's first film, VACAS (COWS), which garnered the Goya for Best New Director; won the BFI's Sutherland Trophy for "The Most Original and Imaginative First Film Shown in Great Britain;" the Best Film at the Turin Film Festival; and the Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival. LA ARDILLA ROJA (THE RED SQUIRREL) continued this pattern with the Audience Award for Best Foreign Film at the Cannes Film Festival; the Special Jury Award and Critics Award at the Gerander Fantastic Film Festival; the Golden Palm Award for Outstanding Independent Film at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival; Film Creation of the Year at the Luis Bunuel Awards; and Film Revelation of the Year by Positif Magazine in France. The film also garnered Medem a Special Award for Direction at the Denver International Film Festival.
Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid. After the loss of her long-time boyfriend, a writer, she seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island. There, bathed in an atmosphere of fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to discover the dark corners of her past relationship. It is as if she is reading forbidden passages of a novel, which the author only now, from afar, allows her to read.
From acclaimed writer/director Julio Medem (LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE), SEX AND LUCÍA is a visually stunning and thematically adventurous look at passion, elusive relationships and deep bonds between people who thought they were strangers. SEX AND LUCÍA stars Paz Vega (TALK TO HER), in her Goya Award winning performance as Lucía, Tristán Ulloa (OPEN YOUR EYES) as Lorenzo, Najwa Nimri (LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE) as Elena, Daniel Freire (ADVENTURES OF GOD) as Carlos, and Elena Anaya (WHERE THE WORLD ENDS) as Belén. The film's haunting score by Alberto Iglesias (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) also garnered a Goya Award.
SEX AND LUCÍA played to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and Rotterdam Film Festival, following up a successful run in its native Spain where it was a huge hit. Produced by Sogecine, it is being distributed in the United States by Palm Pictures.
BACKGROUND
After directing LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, Julio Medem wanted to present a less downbeat approach to human relationships. He set out to write SEX AND LUCÍA for Najwa Nimri, who plays Elena in the film. Nimri starred as Ana in LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, and Medem wanted to give her a less tragic end than the one she had in that acclaimed film. He also wanted to work with his girlfriend, Montse Sanz, who is the art director on SEX AND LUCÍA and is responsible for the film's evocative and luminous look. Medem would later go on to dedicate the film to Sanz.
Medem began writing the story after inspiration hit during a vacation on the tiny island of Formentera, a trip he made prior to directing LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. When he arrived to the little-known island off the coast of Spain, he immediately knew he found the setting for his next film. The story began with the development of the character Lucía and the beautiful island she escapes to. Simultaneously he began developing a novel entitled EL SEXO, which he later turned into a separate script. Medem then set about joining the two scripts. One year and eight drafts later, SEX AND LUCÍA was born.
The character of Lucía demanded Medem find an actress that could convey vulnerability and combine it with sex appeal, a difficult combination to portray. When asked about the character of Lucía, and finding the actress that had the ability to play her, Medem said, "You could maybe say she is a 'healthy' girl, someone with a clear line, and that's when I found Paz Vega, who I think is wonderful."
A trademark of Medem as a filmmaker is the long rehearsal period that he insists on before filming begins. All of his films start with his original stories that grow out of his experience and his imagination. To better convey the feel of each script he believes the intense rehearsal period brings the actors closer to his words, and helps him transfer the character from the page to the actor. Says Medem of this exhaustive but integral part of the process, "During the rehearsals, I try to get to the center of the character with the actor, and once I feel we have captured the character, i get out and look at it from the outside. It's a very intense process during which things start to change."
This almost organic approach to the script shows in the depth of the characters, the daring, sexy, and evocative unfolding of relationships, and in the love story whose past and future enhances the present. SEX AND LUCÍA is a luminous film, a haunting journey, and an extremely involving love story.
The Director: Julio Medem
Born in Donosti, San Sebastian, Julio Medem is one of Spain's most recognized and honored directors. Medem has received critical acclaim and many awards, with his films having competed in festivals around the world, including Cannes, Venice, Tokyo, and Sundance.
SEX AND LUCIA, in addition to being an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival, was honored with 12 Goya nominations and went on to win 2 Goyas: Best New Actress for Paz Vega and Best Music for Alberto Iglesias.
Medem's last film, LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE garnered tremendous international attention at festivals from Venice to Karlovy Vary to Valladolid to Sundance, and won 2 Goya Awards, for Best Editing and Best Music. His 1996 film, TIERRA (EARTH) was an official selection at Cannes and in addition to 2 Goya Awards, also won the Best Spanish Film of the Year at the Valladolid Film Festival.
This award-winning career was foreseen with Medem's first film, VACAS (COWS), which garnered the Goya for Best New Director; won the BFI's Sutherland Trophy for "The Most Original and Imaginative First Film Shown in Great Britain;" the Best Film at the Turin Film Festival; and the Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival. LA ARDILLA ROJA (THE RED SQUIRREL) continued this pattern with the Audience Award for Best Foreign Film at the Cannes Film Festival; the Special Jury Award and Critics Award at the Gerander Fantastic Film Festival; the Golden Palm Award for Outstanding Independent Film at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival; Film Creation of the Year at the Luis Bunuel Awards; and Film Revelation of the Year by Positif Magazine in France. The film also garnered Medem a Special Award for Direction at the Denver International Film Festival.
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