Produced by THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO and distributed by A Contracorriente Films, 'El 47', written and directed by Marcel Barrena and starring Eduard Fernández, remains a box office smash two months on from release.
The film, still showing in theaters, makes it the film in the Catalan language with the largest movie theater audience of the last 42 years, ahead even of titles such as ‘A House on Fire', ‘Black Bread’ and 'Alcarràs'. According to figures in the Ministry of Culture’s Cinema Yearbook, to find a film in Catalan with a greater movie theater attendance it’s necessary to go all the way back to 1982, when 'La Plaza del Diamante (The Time of the Doves)', by Francesc Betriu, reached an audience total of 503,835.
'El 47', which premiered on September 6, shot straight into the Top 7, becoming the second best premiere of a film in Catalan in the last decade, and soaring to Number 1 at the box office just twelve days later, becoming the only film in Catalan to reach number 1 at the Spanish box office in over 15 years. 'El 47' is nominated in the Best Fiction Feature Film and the Cinema and Education in Values categories of the 30th edition of the Forqué Awards, the annual awards organized by EGEDA taking place this year on December 14 in Madrid.
Fed up with Barcelona City Council claiming that public transport couldn’t reach the Torre Baró district because the streets were too narrow and unsafe, Manolo Vital, a local resident and bus driver for the city’s public transport service, set out to show, from behind the wheel of the route 47 bus – 'El 47' – that the authorities were wrong. 'El 47' is the inspiring true story of a man, a bus and the destiny of a neighborhood.
The film narrates the story of the Barcelona neighborhood of Torre Baró, but it is also the story of many other neighborhoods formed in the 1950s with the influx of emigrants who settled on the outskirts of big cities across Spain. In many cases, they lived in homes built by their own hands after having had to abandon their land to carve out a future far from home. Years later, in the 1970s, many of these neighborhoods were still not considered part of the city and lacked basic amenities like running water and electricity.
Marcel Barrena (Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea, winner of three Goya awards; 100 meters, winner of two Gaudí awards, and Little World, nominated for the Goya for best documentary) is the director of the film and author of the screenplay, co-written with Alberto Marini (El desconocido, Mientras duermes).
The film stars Eduard Fernández (winner of three Goya awards, a Silver Shell at the San Sebastian Festival and three Silver Biznagas at the Malaga Festival, among other honors), along with Clara Segura (Goya nominee for Creature), Zoe Bonafonte (‘Scandal. Story of an Obsession, Amar es para siempre), Salva Reina (Iron Reign, Marshland), Carlos Cuevas (Merli: Sapere aude, Smiley), Betsy Túrnez (One for All, The One-Eyed King), Oscar de la Fuente (La Casa, The Good Boss) and Aimar Vega (Los pequeños amores, Prison 77). The film also features the presence of Vicente Romero (Intemperie, Express) and a special appearance by David Verdaguer, winner of two Goya awards for Summer 1993 and Jokes & Cigarettes. In recognition of the struggle and dignity of their united community, many of the extras used in the film are residents of Torre Baró and, in most cases, were eyewitnesses to the challenge to the authorities led by Vital in 1978 or are direct relatives of those who were.
'El 47' features the significant collaboration by Movistar Plus+, support from ICEC, participation by RTVE and 3Cat and also Triodos Bank, and financing by the ICO.
The Mediapro Studio Distribution is responsible for international sales.
