Directed by Violeta Salama
Produced by Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo, and Clara Nieto
Narrative Feature
Spain | 2021 | 119 min
In Spanish, and Chelja
with English subtitles
Watch TrailerAn eye-catching directorial debut starring Cecilia Suárez, Laia Manzanares, Sarah Perles, Mara Guil, and Leonardo Sbaraglia, filmed on location in Melilla, this festival favorite explores the ever-blending identities and cultures in this Spanish enclave in Northern Morocco.
Violeta Salama — Director
Violeta Salama holds a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and a Master’s degree in creative documentary from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona.
She moved to Vancouver in 2007 to pursue a post-graduate degree in film production at the Vancouver Film School. There she began working in second production units, such as The L Word and Smallville. In 2009, she returned to Madrid to work on television series Crematorio and Amar en Tiempos Revueltos.
Violeta transitioned to cinema with Antonio Chavarrías to make Dictado as an assistant director, followed by Blancanieves by Pablo Berger and El Sexo de los Angeles by Xabier Villaverde. In 2013 Jaime Rosales included some scenes directed by her in his film Beautiful Youth. She has collaborated as script supervisor with directors such as Manolo Martin Cuenca and Mateo Gil. Alegría is her debut film as a director.
Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo — Producer
Olmo Figueredo is a producer and director, known for La Trinchera Infinita (The Endless Trench, 2019), Adiós (Goodbye, 2019), and El Estado Contra Pablo Ibar (The Miramar Murders, 2021).
Clara Nieto — Producer
Drama Production and Business Director at Warner Bros. ITVP España y Portugal. Format creator and series producer of “At Home” (2020) for HBO Europe. Founder and producer at Powehi Films, producing the film “Alegria” by Violeta Salama. Berlinale Talents 2021.
Her career as a cinema and tv show producer includes films such as “Holy Camp” (2017), “Your son” (2018), “Quién te cantará” (2018) and “Bye” (2019), as well as the 2nd season of tv series “Paquita Salas” (2018) for Netflix and short film “Madre” (2017) (Goya award and nominated for the Oscars).
Law and Business Administration, with a master’s degree in Intellectual Property. With more than ten years of experience as an audiovisual lawyer. During this period I legally supervised more than 100 audiovisual projects such as “Perfect Strangers” (2017) or “The Bar” (2017). I also collaborate with the film “The Sisters Brothers” (2018).