Spanish indie film studio Filmax has sold sleeper hit “The Teacher who Promised the Sea” to Italy’s Officine Ubu following sales to Nachshon Films in Israel, Angel Films Scandinavia, India’s BookMyShow and airline rights to Encore Inflight.
“The Teacher…” is based on the real story of Antoni Benaiges, an instructor from Catalonia who, back in 1935, was assigned to teach at a little village school in the province of Burgos. With his new and innovative teaching methods, he began to change not just his students’ lives but also life in the village. However, not everyone in the village was happy about these changes.
The film had a successful run in Spanish cinemas in the autumn and winter of 2023-24.
Filmax head of international, Ivan Diaz, expects to close other key territories at EFM where it is being screened.
“We are thrilled that a company as prestigious as Officube Ubu is going to give a theatrical release in such an important market as Italy to this film, which has brought us so much success at the Spanish box office,” he said.
It stars Enric Auquer (winner of the Best Newcomer Goya for “Eye for an Eye”; “Perfect Life”) and Laia Costa (Best Actress award at the Malaga Film Festival for “Lullaby” and winner of the Lola Award for Best Leading Actress for “Victoria”).
Expressing his delight at the previous sales, Diaz added: “It’s a very strong start for us in terms of international sales. I’m sure this film still has a very long and bright future ahead of it and that more sales will be made here in Berlin, because it is a film that connects with audiences on an emotional level, whether they’re from Spain, or anywhere else in the world.”
“The Teacher…” is directed by Patricia Font, winner of the Goya for Best Short Film with “Coffee To Go,” and produced by Minoria Absoluta, Lastor Media, Filmax and Mestres Films AIE.
Filmax, which celebrated its’ 70th anniversary last year, is one of the biggest independent studios in Spain, involved in film and TV production, movie distribution, international film and TV sales as well as exhibition.
It recently nabbed worldwide distribution rights to romcom “My Friend Eva,” the latest from Spanish director Cesc Gay whose last pic, ‘Truman,’ was a big hit overseas, scoring significant box office earnings in theaters across several countries.