Lights On Boards ‘Samsara’ Helmer Lois Patiño’s ‘Ariel,’ Reveals Poster (EXCLUSIVE)

Lights On has secured international sales rights to “Ariel,” the latest feature from acclaimed Galician director Lois Patiño, whose previous work “Samsara” tripped out audiences at the Berlin Film Festival. The film is set to make its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam(IFFR) on Feb.1 1, screening in the harbour section, a platform for bold and innovative contemporary cinema.  

“Ariel” tells the story of Agustina Muñoz, an Argentine actress who arrives on the Azores Islands to perform in a production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” with the Galician theater company Voadora. 

However, after a strange incident on the ferry over, she notices peculiar behavior among the island’s inhabitants. Guided by a mysterious girl named Ariel, the actress navigates a surreal landscape where reality and fantasy blur, creating an ambiguous, dreamlike world.  

The film is a Spain-Portugal co-production by Filmika Galaika and Bando à Parte, shot on location in the Azores. Patiño co-wrote the script and collaborated with cinematographer Ion de Sosa to bring the ethereal visuals to life. The cast includes Muñoz (“Rara,” “Viola”), Irene Escolar (“The Girls Are Alright,” “An Autumn Without Berlin”), and members of the Galician Voadora company, including Hugo Torres, Marta Pazos, and José Díaz.  

“Lights On is extremely happy and proud to collaborate once again with Lois Patiño and his new film ‘Ariel,’” Flavio Armone managing director of Lights On, told Variety.  “We believe that Lois has once again managed to create a unique and original work in which the viewer is transported into a new world where the boundaries between reality and fantasy are blurred. We can’t wait to bring ‘Ariel’ out into the world!” he said.

Patiño, known for his meditative and visually stunning films, described “Ariel” as a project that rose “from the desire to explore Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ from the perspective of the character of Ariel, the spirit of the air,” Patiño explains. “But little by little, it opened up to the rest of the author’s work, reflecting on how and from where the poetry, humanity and depth of Shakespeare’s texts can challenge us today.”