''Cork'' () is a 2022 Spanish rural drama film directed by Mikel Gurrea which stars Vicky Luengo and Pol López alongside Ilyass El Ouahdani. It is shot in Catalan.

Plot

Set in rural

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, the plot follows a couple (Elena and Iván) who moves from the city to the countryside to run an inherited

cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

plantation, involving as outsiders in the escalating tension between local and immigrant cork workers.

Cast

* Vicky Luengo as Elena * Pol López as Iván * Ilyass El Ouahdani as Karim

Production

Gurrea's debut feature, the project was developed at the San Sebastián's Ikusmira Berriak 2016 Residency, Sources2 and the Sam Spiegel Film Lab. The screenplay was penned by Gurrea alongside Francisco Kosterlitz. Laia Costa was originally a cast choice for one of the leads, but eventually Vicky Luengo was cast as the protagonist. The film was produced by Lastor Media alongside Malmo Pictures and Irusoin, with the participation of

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

EiTB Euskal Irrati Telebista (; ; acronym EITB, branded eitb) is the Basque Autonomous Community's public broadcast service, which broadcasts throughout the Basque Country. Its main brand is Euskal Telebista (ETB, Basque Television). EITB is the l ...

, and funding from ICAA, , and support from Creative Europe's

MEDIA Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

. It was shot in Catalan in

Darnius Darnius () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Empordà in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The first document where is related Darnius was dated in 983, and the written name was ''Darnicibus''. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the m ...

and other locations of the

province of Girona The Province of Girona ( ; ) is a Provinces of Spain, province in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest ...

such as Maçanet de Cabrenys,

Agullana Agullana () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, Girona, Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia o ...

Figueres Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...

, and the Albera Massif (

Alt Empordà Alt Empordà (; ; "Upper Empordà") is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) located in the Comarques Gironines, Girona region, in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of two comarques into which Empordà was divided by the comarca division of Catalo ...

), with, in addition to the three leads, a cast consisting of non-professional actors, primarily cork workers. Shooting started on 19 July 2021.

Release

The film was selected for screening at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival's main competition, where it was presented on 19 September 2022. Distributed by

A Contracorriente Films A Contracorriente Films is a Spanish film distribution and production company. It is based in Barcelona. History The company was founded in 2009 in Barcelona by Adolfo Blanco along with other people, including Amalia Blanco Lucas, Eduardo Esc ...

, it was theatrically released on 2 December 2022.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

ScreenDaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned ''Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involve ...

'' wrote that the film "tells its tale unfussily and efficiently, with few stylistic flourishes".

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "4" align = "center" , 2022 , , rowspan = "3" , 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival , , colspan = "2" , Irizar Basque Film Award , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , colspan = "2" , Fipresci Award , , , - , colspan = "2" , Euskal Gidoigileen Elkartea Award , , , - , 18th

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, secon ...

, colspan="2", Best International Feature Film , , , - , rowspan = "12" align = "center" , 2023 , , rowspan = "10" , 15th Gaudí Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "10" , , - , Best New Director , , Mikel Gurrea , , , - , Best Actress , , Vicky Luengo , , , - , Best Actor , , Pol López , , , - , Best Original Screenplay , , Mikel Gurrea, Francisco Kosterlitz , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , Mayca Sanz , , , - , Best Art Direction , , Isona Rigau Heras , , , - , Best Editing , , Ariadna Ribas , , , - , Best Original Score , , Clara Aguilar , , , - , Best Sound , , Leo Dolgan, Xanti Salvador , , , - , rowspan = "2" ,

37th Goya Awards The 37th Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain, took place at the FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre in Seville, Andalusia on 11 February 2023. Background On 31 May 2022, Seville was r ...

, ,

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V'' **Runners-up: Steve Kloves – '' ...

, , Mikel Gurrea , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Actress , , Vicky Luengo , ,

References

{{reflist 2020s Catalan-language films Spanish drama films Films shot in the province of Girona Films set in Catalonia Films about internal migration Films about immigration to Spain 2022 drama films 2022 films 2020s Spanish films 2022 directorial debut films