Catalan Language Use in New Film “My Friend eva”โข Faced Potential Dubbing Mandate, Director Reveals
MADRID – Director Cesc Gay says his new film, “Myโ Friend Eva,” which authentically portrays the linguisticโข reality of Barcelona, nearly faced a requirement to โคbe dubbed into Spanish due to its use of Catalan.โค Gayโข revealed that had the film included a significant percentage of Catalan dialog,distributors would have likely forced him to provide a Spanish-dubbedโ version for wider release,particularly inโ markets outside of โCatalonia.
“If I had gone from a percentage of Catalan, they would have forced meโฃ to fold it,” Gay stated, using the industry term for dubbing.โข Heโฃ explained that evenโ in Madrid, he anticipates potential criticism:โ “In aโข movie theater here [Madrid] they โwould have told me: ‘I really like your movie, but give it folded because โขthere is too much Catalan.'”
The film, arriving in theaters September 19th,โ features both Catalan and Spanish dialogue, reflecting the โnatural code-switching common among residents of Barcelona. Actress Nora navasโฃ echoed this reality, noting, “In my house or with friends we talked in Catalan and Castilian in โany conversation you constantly change.”
Gay deliberately cast Catalan actors for Catalan-speaking roles and non-Barcelona actors for Spanish-speaking roles to maintain authenticity. While he โคexpressedโค a desire โฃfor a more balanced bilingual presentation, he feared the repercussions of exceeding a certain threshold of Catalan dialogue, citing a pattern of resistance to languages other than Spanish, even comparing it to attitudes โtowards French.
“my Friend eva” is structured in six acts, focusing on both the separation and subsequent new โbeginnings of its protagonist, and is described as “like a blow ofโฃ fresh air, enjoyment, โeveryday life, life” byโ Navas. โTheโ film intentionally avoids a definitive ending, leaving interpretation open to the audience.