What would the last week of our life be like in front of the end of the world? The film ‘A radiant sun’ narrates the few days that remain on Earth from an intimate perspective and through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl, played by Laia Artigas (‘Summer 1993’). ‘A radiant sun’ is not Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholy’, nor is it Adam McKay’s ‘You don’t look,’ but the film moves away from science fiction to focus on a drama about family relationships explained from the subtext.
‘Un sol radiant’ premiered this Friday in the Talent section of the D’A Film Festival and is the debut feature by Mònica Cambra, Ariadna Fortuny, Claudia García de Dios, Lucía Herrera and Mònica Tort, five young creators trained at UPF.
Mila is an eleven year old girl and faces her last days of life before the end of the world. She in turn fights to keep her family together by holding a party for the final moment.
Ariadna Fortuny explains, in statements to ACN, that from the outset they were not looking to talk about the end of the world or family relationships, but rather the issues were coming up. At first they wanted to reflect on the fear of death and how people relate when they have to face a “very beast” fate that is very close. Lucía Herrera points out that the fact that the world ends puts everyone on the same level. “All of them have to face a very difficult situation alone, but accompanied by the people around them.”
Herrera points out that the film focuses on this 11-year-old girl, on her journey to understand what is happening and until she understands it, she cannot express the emotions she carries inside. Fortuny adds that they were looking for the right amount of drama and assures that ‘Un sol radiant’ is not a melodrama.
Fortuny points out that the premise of the film is science fiction but it is far removed from the genre. “The challenge was how we talked about the end of the world without there being a meteorite and we did it from the subtext, from sound or nature.” Fortuny points out that the film is a family drama with a science fiction premise. “It didn’t make much sense to put sci-fi assets in when it wasn’t our genre.” The film draws from the most intimate and naturalistic Catalan cinema, he adds.
Laia Artigas
‘A Radiant Solo’ stars Laia Artigas, who after its discovery in ‘Summer 1993’, by Carla Simón, returns to the cinema with this production. They accompany him in the cast, Núria Prims, Nunu Sales, Jaume Villalta and Mercè Pons.
Also speaking to ACN, Artigas, who puts himself in Mila’s shoes, explains that the filming was very different from that of ‘Summer 1993’ and recalls that they explained the plot of the film ‘Un sol radiante’ to him, but that when recorded, new ideas emerged. In fact, he assures that there was room for spontaneity during filming. The young actress wanted to return to the cinema. “I do extracurricular theater but… the cinema is the cinema”, she assures.
UPF Degree Final
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The project has its seed in a Final Degree project at UPF and is the fruit of the creative work of five authors. Fortuny points out that this is a very particular case. “Five filmmakers are behind the film, but the five of us have been there from day 1 to date and we are all present in making important decisions, but each one has two positions as head of department.”
‘A Radiant Sun’, shot near Cambrils, is a production by Atiende Films in collaboration with the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Barcelona Film School (ECIB), the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), the Institute Cine Canarias, in co-production with IB3 and with the support of ICEC, the Tarragona Provincial Council, the Cambrils City Council, the Reus City Council and the Sant Boi de Llobregat City Council.
