A museum curator faces all facets of mourning in Spanish director Sergi Pérez’s upcoming feature “Memorial,” selected to participate at Madrid’s 7th Annual ECAM Incubator, among Spain’s most prestigious international co-production forums.
Written by Pérez and Anna Cammany, the project is produced by EAVE and Berlinale Talents Alum Carla Sospedra Salvadó and her production outfit Edna Cinema (“Mamífera”). Other producers include Jofre Ferré and Ander Sagardoy at Barcelona’s Sumendi Filmak (“Betiko Gaua”), Alex Lafuente at Madrid’s B Team Pictures (“Reinas”) and Jerome Vidal at Paris-based Noodles Production (“Robot Dreams”).
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Having contributed to the pre-production of Carla Simon’s Golden Bear-winning Berlinale title “Alcarràs,” Sospedra has also produced Isabel Coixet and Laura Ferrés’ 2022 San Sebastian stunner “El techo amarillo,” Bélen Funes’ “Sara a la Fuga” and Simon’s 2020 short “Correspondencias,” co-directed with Dominga Sotomayor. She’s also worked with Elena Trapé (“Palabras, mapas, secretos y otras cosas”), Liliana Torres (“Mamífera”) and Alba Cros (“Otherness”).
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“Memorial” explores profound grief through its protagonist, Manel, who’s charged with moving a piece he’s grown fond of to a collection abroad after losing his partner. From innocuous despair to rage and confusion, no emotions are blunted for the sake of comfort or reason.
“The project proposes an analogy between how we preserve art and how we preserve the memory of our loved ones when they’re gone. The main character of the film tries to fill the void of this absence with objects as a way to bring that person back to reality,” Sospedra told Variety. “I love producing films that bring silenced topics to the table, that open new dialogues and help to break stigmas-reconstructing the representation and the view we have of the world, potentially healing part of the audience.”
Pérez, whose 2015 debut feature “El camino más largo para volver a casa” scooped a Gaudi plaudit for best film – which coincided with a rapturous festival run – has crafted a love note to impermanence and the insurmountable toll that loss has the potential to inflict on the fragile psyche.
“In this story, we focus on memory and the effort it takes to keep it present, an almost reckless need to strive not to forget, so as not to lose that presence that- even if it’s an absence- occupies a very powerful space. Absence as presence,” Pérez relayed. “The choice of a character who’s a curator of a museum makes it notable and different, not only because of the immersion in the art world but because he’s the clearest metaphor for the preservation of collective memory.”
He went on, “Jacques Derrida said that the custodian is in charge of preserving art, but he’s also in charge of choosing what stays and what doesn’t because not everything fits in the archive; in some way, the custodian is the one who must preserve but also forget. That’s where the paradox and singularity of our story lies: how can this figure who has perfectly executed this motto continue to maintain it when it comes to his personal memory?”
“Memorial” also touches on honoring existing relationships that strive to endure trauma, as Manel’s daughter Laia attempts to console and accompany him through the bereavement to mixed success. Secrets emerge, and the plot takes jarring, incoherent steps forward.
“There’s a story of care and paternal-filial love that will bring us closer to those more erratic and dysfunctional aspects of our protagonist’s grief,” Pérez mused. “In the end, even though the protagonist’s entire journey is very irrational, our top priority is for the viewer to understand Manel and see what he does as a very profound act of love, hence the dramatic function of the daughter, of family. We’re talking about an antagonist who slowly begins to recognize and understand – in all its magnitude – her father’s actions.”
The project – which took part in 2023’s Mallorca Talent Lab, Atlantida Film Fest, Abycine Lanza and Impulso CMM Abycine Lanza Proyectos – is slated to shoot autumn 2025.
