Special: Ahead of the world premiere of all 10 episodes of its series News years (The New Year) at Venice Film FestivalFilm producer Rodrigo Sorogoyen spoke to Deadline about Movistar Plus+ dramaWho plays in the official selection from the competition.
It follows a couple, Ana (Iria del Rio) and Oscar (Francesco Carril), who meet in their early 30s. The 10 episodes revisit the pair on a single day, New Year’s Eve, over the course of a decade, on New Year’s Eve. Sorogoyen created the series with Sara Cano and Paula Fabra and directed four installments.
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Look at the timeline
This will be Sorogoyen’s third time at Venice. He was there in 2019 with his film the motherwhich was based on a short film of the same name that earned the director an Oscar nom. In 2022, he was part of the jury for the official selection of the festival.
‘The New Year‘ is a Movistar Plus+ original series produced with Sorogoyen’s Caballo Films and in collaboration with ARTE France. Movistar Plus+ International is selling it internationally.
Five episodes of the series will be played in Venice today (September 3) and the remaining five tomorrow.
Closing Date: The series is set periodically on the same day, New Year’s Eve. It is a special time of year, full of emotion, anticipation and reflection. What does that set-up offer in terms of storytelling?
Setting each episode during New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day allows the characters to frequently, even involuntarily, question what’s going on in their lives, how the last year has been, what resolutions they have for the coming year. It was something very fascinating, because I think it happens to most people, even if they don’t consciously try to do it.
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Closing Date: You’re also looking at a specific decade in the characters’ lives. What was the attraction in that period of 30 to 40 years old?
I just passed my 30s, I’m 42, and I guess that makes me more sensitive to it and more interested in it. It is a way of reviewing and understanding the last years of my life, or at least trying to; Why am I where I am and what have I done or not done to be in this place?
It is usually a decade in which people make critical decisions about their lives. Most people start families, specialize in their professions, experience potential romantic disappointments and often lose loved ones. I think that’s another reason I was interested. But I’ll tell you one thing, any decade can be attractive to me for a series made like this, be it people’s 20s or 40s, 50s or 60s.
Closing Date: The final episode consists of a 40-minute single-shot sequence. What did you want to achieve and how difficult was it to implement?
Yes! I’m excited for episode 10. There’s a 40-minute shot where it’s just the two of them talking. I was aiming for the highest level of honesty. The actors were already deeply rooted in their characters, and I just wanted to see them exist, live in that room and feel for as long as possible what it means to be Oscar and this. My intuition was that any viewer who had followed the previous nine episodes with interest would be struck by it. I knew the result would be powerful.
As for execution, imagine… the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The main thing is that we have a fantastic team, which we had and rehearsed a lot. And then, more rehearsals.
Closing Date: You’re in Venice, one of the biggest film festivals in the world, with a TV series. What does that say about the blurred lines between film and TV?
Being in Venice, it is a dream for me to share a section with acclaimed directors like Cuarón, Winterberg or Wright. Those names give you a hint that the line separating “cinema” from “series” is becoming increasingly blurred.
If a series is shown on the big screen, is it cinema? If a movie is only watched on a streaming platform and never in a theater, is it still cinema? These are interesting questions and that’s what festivals are here for, for all of us to have these conversations.
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