Archive of films Contestant / Concursante

Spain
2006, 90 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2007

Being rich is financially demanding and unexpected fortune can ruin your life… In this satirical story about Martín, a young teaching assistant in an economics department, things aren’t what they seem, and winning prize money doesn’t mean you’ve won anything at all. The feature debut of a director who made one of the most successful short films in the history of Spanish cinema.

Synopsis

Martín Circo Martín (the brilliant Leonardo Sbaraglia), a young, badly paid departmental assistant who teaches economics, has just won a general knowledge contest, with the biggest prize ever offered in the history of television. The prize is worth three million Euros, but there’s one catch – the winner receives his cash as “payment in kind”. Martín soon realises that to be rich is an expensive business and that he hasn’t got the money to be able to enjoy his winnings. Thus, as he gradually gets tangled up in a web of inexorable banking totality, he starts to become not only a victim, but also an economic dissident… He slowly uncovers advertising conspiracies, dodgy bank schemes, economic lies and parasites. He also finds himself reconsidering the views he imposed upon his students at the faculty...

About the director

Rodrigo Cortés (b. 1973, Orense) made his first short film at the age of 16. At 25, he came up with one of the most successful short films of the year, Yul (1998), which sparked the interest of foreign TV stations. His following title, 15 Days (15 días, 2001), entered the history of Spanish short film as one of the most successful films ever made – the film won 57 national and international awards. It also symbolically earned him two weeks in Los Angeles, where, thanks to a prize from Universal Studios, he was able to attend the Filmmaster express course. While the film 15 Days was doing the international festival circuit, Cortés continued making television commercials and video clips. The satirical comedy The Contestant is his feature debut.

Contacts

Filmax International
Miguel Hernandez 81-87, Districte Economic Hospitalet, 08908, Barcelona
Spain
Tel: +34 93 336 8555
Fax: +34 93 263 0824
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.filmaxinternational.com

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Rodrigo Cortés
Screenplay:	Rodrigo Cortés
Dir. of Photography:	David Azcano
Music:	Víctor Reyes
Editor:	Rodrigo Cortés, Guillermo Represa
Producer:	Julio Fernandez, Luis Collar, Pancho Casal, Douglas Stuart Wilson, Ignacio Salazar-Simpson
Production:	Castelao Productions s.a.
Cast:	Leonardo Sbaraglia, Chete Lera, Miryam Gallego, Fernando Cayo, Myriam De Maeztu, Luis Zahera
Contact:	Filmax International

Guests

Rodrigo Cortés

Film Director, Film Director

Maria Contreras

Producer