The Sacred Spirit

The Sacred Spirit (Spanish: Espíritu sagrado) is a 2021 tragicomedy film playing with science fiction themes directed and written by Chema García Ibarra. The cast is led by Nacho Fernández, Llum Arques, Joanna Valverde and Rocío Ibáñez. It is a Spain–France–Turkey international co-production.

The Sacred Spirit
Film poster
SpanishEspíritu sagrado
Directed byChema García Ibarra
Written byChema García Ibarra
Starring
  • Nacho Fernández
  • Llum Arques
  • Joanna Valverde
  • Rocío Ibáñez
CinematographyIon de Sosa
Edited byAna Pfaff
Production
companies
  • Apellániz & De Sosa
  • Jaibo Films
  • La Fábrica Nocturna Cinèma
  • Teferruat Films
Distributed byLa Aventura
Release dates
  • 10 August 2021 (2021-08-10) (Locarno)
  • 26 November 2021 (2021-11-26) (Spain)
Countries
  • Spain
  • France
  • Turkey
LanguageSpanish

Plot

Primarily set in Elche,[1][2] the fiction tracks the members of an association of ufologists that see their secret mankind-changing master plan imperiled after their leader dies. Meanwhile, everyone else is looking for a missing girl.

Cast
  • Nacho Fernández as José Manuel.[3]
  • Llum Arqués as Verónica.[3]
  • Joanna Valverde as Charo.[3]
  • Rocío Ibáñez as Carmina.[3]
  • José Ángel Asensio as Julio.[3]
  • Ainara Paredes as Andrea.[3]
  • David Terol[3]
  • Gorka Tszyu[3]
  • Antonio Vicente Boix[3]
  • Vicente Piqueres[3]
  • María Dolores Molina[3]
  • Isabel Matute[3]
  • Irene Santos[3]
  • Lorena Iglesias[3]
  • Ana Rubio[3]
  • José Miguel Sánchez[3]

Production

A joint Spain–France–Turkey co-production, the film was produced by Apellániz & De Sosa and Jaibo Films alongside La Fábrica Nocturna Cinèma and Teferruat Films, with the participation of Movistar+, À Punt Mèdia, RTVE and TRT, support and help from the IVC, ICAA, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, CNC Cinema du Monde and Eurimages.[4][5] Filming began on 12 October 2020 in Elche.[6]

Release

The Sacred Spirit had its world premiere at the 74th Locarno Film Festival (LFF) on 10 August 2021.[4][7] The film was also presented in October 2021 at the Toulouse Spanish Film Festival[8] and on 8 November 2021 at the 18th Seville European Film Festival (SEFF).[9] Distributed by La Aventura,[10] it was theatrically released in Spain on 26 November 2021.

Arrow Films inked UK rights for the film whereas HBO Europe acquired rights to the film for its European territories for a HBO Max release.[11]

Reception

The American review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 93% approval rating, with an average score of 7.9/10, based on 14 reviews.[12]

Jay Weissberg of Variety considered the "puckish" debut full-length film imagining dark goings-on among UFO believers to be a "an immaculately framed feature generating uneasy amusement in the viewer".[13]

Accolades
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
20214th Berlanga AwardsBest Feature FilmWon[14][15]
Best DirectorChema García IbarraNominated
Best ScreenplayChema García IbarraWon
Best Leading ActorNacho FernándezNominated
Best Art DirectionLeonor DíazNominated
Best Production SupervisionMiguel MolinaNominated
20229th Feroz AwardsBest Drama FilmNominated[16][17][18]
Arrebato Award (Fiction)Won
Spanish Screenwriters' Union AwardsBest Screenplay in a Comedy Feature FilmChema García IbarraNominated[19][20]
202248th Seattle International Film FestivalSpecial Jury Prize for Originality of Vision (Ibero-American competition)Won[21]

See also

References
  1. Lombardo, Manuel J. (9 November 2021). "Elche: es un mundo extraño". Diario de Sevilla.
  2. Martínez, Luis (12 August 2021). "Chema García Ibarra: cómo conquistar el universo sin salir de Elche". El Mundo.
  3. Weissberg, Jay (15 August 2021). "'The Sacred Spirit' Review: This Puckish Spanish Debut Imagines Dark Goings-On Among UFO Believers". Variety.
  4. "'Seis días corrientes' y 'Espíritu sagrado', premiados en la 74 edición del Festival de Locarno". Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. 16 August 2021.
  5. "Cine 'Seis días corrientes' y 'Espíritu sagrado' competirán en el Festival de Locarno". rtve. 1 July 2021.
  6. "Comienza el rodaje de 'Espíritu sagrado', primer largometraje de Chema García Ibarra". Audiovisual451. 13 October 2020.
  7. Medina, Marta (12 August 2021). "Ovnis, raptos y costumbrismo alicantino: el 'Espíritu sagrado' de Chema García Ibarra". El Confidencial.
  8. Thépaut, Héloïse (11 October 2021). "Toulouse : découvrez le palmarès du festival Cinespaña". L'Opinion Indépendante.
  9. Morillo, Jesús (8 November 2021). "García Ibarra trae al Festival de Sevilla un largo alucinado en un Elche hiperrealista". ABC.
  10. "'Espíritu sagrado' – estreno en cines 26 de noviembre". Audiovisual451. 26 November 2021.
  11. Dalton, Ben (7 October 2021). "Locarno Competition title 'The Sacred Spirit' seals UK, Europe deals (exclusive)". ScreenDaily.
  12. "The Sacred Spirit". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  13. Weissberg, Jay (15 August 2021). "'The Sacred Spirit' Review: This Puckish Spanish Debut Imagines Dark Goings-On Among UFO Believers". Variety.
  14. "'Lucas', 'Las consecuencias' y 'El lodo' se imponen en las nominaciones de los Premios Berlanga 2021". Europa Press. 18 November 2021.
  15. "'Espíritu sagrado', 'El cover' y 'Las consecuencias' triunfan en los Premios Berlanga 2021". Cine y Tele. 5 December 2021.
  16. "'El buen patrón', favorita en el Premios Feroz, con las sorpresas de 'Espíritu sagrado', 'Libertad' y 'Tres'". El Mundo. 25 November 2021.
  17. "Los Feroz 2022 completan sus nominaciones con los premios Arrebato de ficción y no ficción". Audiovisual451. 21 December 2021.
  18. Romero Medinilla, María (30 January 2022). "Premios Feroz 2022: Mejor película, actor y actriz | Todos los ganadores y premios en directo". La Vanguardia.
  19. "Los Premios del Sindicato de Guionistas de España cierran sus nominaciones". Exclusiva Digital. 15 February 2022.
  20. "'Cachitos' y 'Venga Juan', entre las ganadoras televisivas de los Premios ALMA a los mejores guiones de 2021". Vertele!. 24 March 2022 – via eldiario.es.
  21. Ziko, Christian (24 April 2022). "'Klondike,' 'Know Your Place' Win Big at Seattle International Film Festival (Winners List)". indiewire.com.
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