amenábar’s ‘El Captivo’ Premieres in Valencia Ahead of International Launch
Valencia, Spain – Alejandro Amenábar‘s past drama, ‘El Captivo’ (The Captive), received an exclusive preview screening in Valencia today as part of the Mostra de Valencia – Cinema del Mediterrani, signaling the start of its international rollout following a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, starring Julio Peña and Alessandro Borghi, recounts the 1575 capture of a young Miguel de Cervantes by arab privateers in the Mediterranean.
Valencia’s Councilor for Cultural Action, Heritage and Cultural Resources, José Luis Moreno, lauded the preview, emphasizing the city’s commitment to fostering the Mediterranean audiovisual industry. “We want to contribute…to the dissemination and the promotion of Mediterranean audiovisual, enhancing our city as a meeting place for the audiovisual industry,” Moreno stated. He further highlighted the film’s importance,noting that it “invites us to revisit a fundamental part of our modern history,contributing a new vision…of one of our most influential writers of worldwide literature,Miguel de Cervantes.”
Producer Fernando Bovaira explained the choice of Valencia for the preview was a gesture of gratitude for the support received from local institutions, technicians, and actors.
‘El Captivo’ was filmed extensively in the valencian Community, including locations in Alicante, Santa Pola, and the Ciutat de la Llum, alongside the Royal Alcázares of Seville. The film is a co-production involving mod Producciones, himenopter, Misent Producciones, Mod Pictures, and Propaganda Italia, with participation from Netflix, RTVE, and RAI Cinema, and financial backing from Icaa, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Generalitat Valenciana, Eurimages, and Region Lazio, alongside Arcano and Crea SGR.The narrative centers on Cervantes’s experience as a hostage in Algiers, where he finds solace and a means of survival through storytelling, ultimately forging an unexpected connection with the city’s feared leader, Hasan. The film details his attempts to devise a daring escape plan amidst growing tensions among his fellow captives.