147 desperate survivors crammed onto a 12 x 6 metre raft. The shipwreck of the frigate La Méduse in 1816 was a dehumanising hell that inspired various artists over the years, including filmmaker Augustí Villaronga.
El ventre del mar was originally intended as a play, but the Spanish director modified his plans during the Covid-19 pandemic. His story about two survivors of the shipwreck is now a mix of theatre and film. Sometimes the actors are clearly standing in scenery with a shallow layer of water, while at other moments they are on a real raft with a sea of drowned bodies in the background.
Villaronga has his two main characters, an officer and a sailor, reminisce about their indelible traumas. This story, told in a slightly abstract, poetic style, is sometimes abruptly contemporised using news footage.
Trailer
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Interview
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Film details
- Country of production
- Spain
- Year
- 2021
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2021
- Length
- 75"
- Medium/Format
- DCP
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