For 80 Days

Colour, 35 mm
Spain, 2010, 105 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Another View

Synopsis

The theme of love among old people, neglected by the film world as elsewhere and viewed out of perspective, is seldom treated on the big screen. Axun and Maite met at secondary school during a repressive era that never allowed their relationship to go beyond friendship. Later on, their paths led them apart: Axun got married and moved out to the country to live on a farm, while Maite travelled the world, clarified her sexual orientation in her own mind, and now, having had a successful career as a piano teacher, she has returned to San Sebastian to take up her retirement. Fifty years on, Axun and Maite, now both seventy, meet up by chance while visiting patients in hospital. At first, they don’t recognise one another, but soon long- suppressed feelings begin to emerge once more with the same intensity, and Axun is aware for the first time of her chance to start something entirely new. Feelings once illicit which, fifty years ago, she was unable and forbidden to identify, force her to reassess her marriage and to embark on a journey of self-knowledge. When Maite invites her to the island of Santa Clara, Axun has to decide whether to obey her heart, or her reason....

About the director

Jon Garaño (b. 1974, San Sebastian) studied journalism and advertising at the University of the Basque Country, and film in Sarobe and San Diego. In 2001 he cofounded Moriarti productions, working as screenwriter and director. As executive producer he was involved in the documentary Lucio (2007). Filmography and TV work: Farewell (Despedida, 2001), Sahara Marathon (2003), The Dragon House (2005), Miramar Street (2006), FGM (2008), On the Line (2008), Asämara (2008), For 80 Days (2010). José Mari Goenaga (b. 1976, Ordizia, Spain) graduated in film in Sarobe and cofounded Moriarti productions. In addition to short films, of which Tercero B (2002) and Sintonía (2005) garnered a total of 140 awards, he is co-creator of the animated feature Supertramps (2004) and the feature-length documentary Lucio (2007), each nominated for a Goya award.