Don’t Be Afraid

Colour, 35 mm
Spain, 2011, 90 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Synopsis

At first glance, six-year-old Silvia is a carefree creature enjoying a normal childhood. She spends a lot of time with her best friend Maite, but she has another "friend” who desires her company even more: her father Ignacio.... As time goes by, Silvia withdraws from him into an asocial, somnambulistic world of addiction without those around her even noticing.... Not until she is 25 does Silvia decide to reevaluate her life and to resist everything that connects her to the past. This also means doing battle with herself in order that she may finally become an adult woman who is able to control her own behavior. Veteran Spanish filmmaker Montxo Armendáriz has focused on social issues since his first successful film, Tasio (1984). And for this poignant, nausea-inducing topic he once again chose a subtle yet powerful point of view drawn from an extensive collection of case studies.

About the director

Montxo Armendáriz (b. 1949, Olleta, Spain) graduated in electronics (1969) and worked in the field as a professor until 1982. In 1999 he cofounded Oria Films production. Short films: Barregarriaren Dantza (1979), Ikusmena (1980), and Ikuska (1981). His first feature, Tasio (1984), awarded a Silver Seashell at San Sebastian for direction, started a career dominated by writer-director pictures of international renown. He continued with social issues in the movies 27 Hours (1986), Letters from Alou (1990) – Golden Seashell at San Sebastian, Stories from the Kronen (1995) – screened at Cannes, Secrets of the Heart (1997) – Blue Angel at the Berlinale for Best European Film, nominated for an Oscar, Broken Silence (2001), Traveling Stage (2003), Obaba (2005), Don’t Be Afraid (2011).