''That Was Life'' () is a 2020 Spanish drama film directed and written by David Martín de los Santos. It stars

Petra Martínez Petra Martínez Pérez (born 24 June 1944) is a Spanish actress who has had a long career on stage, film and television. Career Martínez was in the cast of the 1967 stage play ''Twelfth Night'' by William Shakespeare. In 2011, Uroc Teatro, ...

and

Anna Castillo Anna Castillo Ferré (born 9 October 1993) is a Spanish actress. Her film breakthrough came with the role of Alma in the drama ''The Olive Tree (2016 film), The Olive Tree'' (2016) for which she won a Goya Award for Best New Actress. Biography ...

as two Spanish immigrants who form a friendship after meeting in a hospital in Belgium.

Plot

María and Verónica, two Spanish immigrants of different generations, meet in a hospital in Belgium where they form a friendship after an unexpected event. This leads María to embark on a journey of self discovery through the Spain she left many decades ago.

Cast

Production

The film began shooting in May 2019 in different locations of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in Almeria and

Cabo de Gata Cabo de Gata (Cape of Cats) is a cape located in Níjar, Almería in the south of Spain, one of the biggest capes. It is the driest place in the Iberian Peninsula (150–170 mm average precipitation, the lowest being 52 mm in 1981). Th ...

, later in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Santiago Racaj was the cinematographer and Javier Chavarría was the production designer. Other credits include Tonucha Vidal (casting director), Eva Valiño (sound) and Miguel Doblado (editing).

Release

The film was screened at the 17th

Seville European Film Festival The Seville European Film Festival (SEFF; ) is an annual film festival dedicated to European cinema held in November in Seville, Spain, since 2004. History The festival is an initiative of the Instituto de la Cultura y las Artes de Sevilla ( ...

(SEFF), where it won the ASECAN award for Best Film and Best Actress for

. The film had to postpone its release in cinemas several times due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, ultimately being scheduled to be released on December 10, 2021.

Critical reception

The performance of Martínez was met with acclaim. Demetrios Matheou from ''

Screen International ''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 involv ...

'' wrote that "Martinez, well into her seventies when she shot this, gives a strong, minimalist performance". Writing for Cineuropa, Alfonso Rivera commented that "David Martín de los Santos makes his debut in fiction with a humble, emotional and intimate film, that supports its subtle theme over the experienced performance of the great Petra Martínez".

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "5" , 2021 , ,

27th Forqué Awards The 27th ceremony of the Forqué Awards was held on 11 December 2021 at the IFEMA Palacio Municipal in Madrid. The gala aired on RTVE Play, was hosted by Elena S. Sánchez and Marta Hazas. History The nominations were disclosed on 11 November ...

, , Best Actress (film) , , Petra Martínez , , , , , - , rowspan = "4" , 34th ASECAN Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "4" , , - , Best Director , , David Martín de los Santos , , , - , Best Screenplay , , David Martín de los Santos , , , - , Best Actress , , Petra Martínez , , , - , align = "center" rowspan = "16" , 2022 , , rowspan = "2" ,

9th Feroz Awards The 9th Feroz Awards ceremony, presented by the Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España, took place at the Auditorio de Zaragoza in Zaragoza, Spain, on 29 January 2022, to recognize the best in Spanish cinema and television. The ...

, ,

Best Actress (film) Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...

, , Petra Martínez , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Supporting Actress (film) , , Anna Castillo , , , - , rowspan = "8" ,

1st Carmen Awards The 1st Carmen Awards, presented by the Andalusian Film Academy, were held on 30 January 2022 at the in Málaga. The gala, broadcast on Canal Sur, was hosted by Adelfa Calvo and Pedro Casablanc. History The Andalusian Film Academy disclosed the ...

, , Best Fiction Feature Film , , La vida era eso AIE , , , , rowspan = "8" , , - , Best Screenplay , , David Martín de los Santos , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , Damián Paris , , , - , Best Actress , , Petra Martínez , , , - , Best Original Song , ,

Estrella Morente Estrella Morente (Estrella de la Aurora Morente Carbonell) is a Spanish flamenco singer. She was born on 14 August 1980 in Las Gabias, Granada in southern Spain. She is the daughter of flamenco singer Enrique Morente and dancer Aurora Carbonell ...

& Fernando Vacas , , , - , Best New Director , , David Martín de los Santos , , , - , Best Editing , , Miguel Doblado , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Pilar Gómez , , , - , rowspan = "2" , 77th CEC Medals , , Best New Director , , David Martín de los Santos , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Actress , , Petra Martínez , , , - , rowspan = "2" ,

36th Goya Awards The 36th Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España, Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AACCE), honoured the best in Spanish films of 2021 and took place at the Palau de les ...

, ,

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...

, , Petra Martínez , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - ,

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 – '' ...

, , David Martín de los Santos , , , - , - , rowspan = "2" , 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards , , Best Film Actress in a Leading Role , , Petra Martínez , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role , , Anna Castillo , ,

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 10395398
''That Was Life''
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' Spanish drama films 2020 films Films about immigration to Belgium Films set in Belgium Films shot in the province of Almería Films shot in Belgium 2020s Spanish-language films 2020s Spanish films 2020 directorial debut films