“We like to tell stories that no one notices, the risk, the on going search for new limits. Sometimes success comes, sometimes failure. But nothing intoxicates us. Nor anything sinks us. We continue along the path that we have set, always difficult, always exciting, above all, fun. This is a game, and people love movies and love stories and we like to make people have fun ... That's all we have, all we have: fun”
Serving as the company’s personal philosophy, this is probably the best way to describe the creative brain behind the Spanish film production company La Zanfoña Producciones. Founded in 2001, Seville, La Zanfoña was formed by audiovisual mavericks Gervasio Iglesias, Alberto Rodriguez, Rafael Cobos from Andalucia, with a passion for film and documentaries. Their daring, risk taking approach to film has gained them a wide international appeal, winning them over 40 awards outside of Spain and many collaborations across the world. What’s different about this team is their ability to take an ordinary story and turn it on its feet. By adding a zest of black humour, charismatic characters and brilliant action sequences, the Andalucian filmmakers know how to make a story appealing to anyone, in any part of the world.
Their filmography ranges from teenage dramas such as ‘7 Virgins’, comedy/horrors such as internationally acclaimed ‘Juan of the Dead’, to their latest thriller ‘Unit 7’, in collaboration with Atipica Films.
Based on true events, Unit 7 presents us with the harsh and twisted realities of the 'clean up' operation of Seville as it prepared for its first major post-Franco international event Expo’92. As Spain prepares to welcome millions of visitors, the government hires an elite group of narcotics officers in order to ‘clean up’ the city by whichever means necessary. While this serves as the perfect narrative for a full blown, action-packed adventure, Unit 7 subverts this genre by positioning the characters, rather than the action, at the centre of the film. It manages to explore the human beings caught up in the action, rather than the other way around – making this action narrative a brutally realistic one.
Whether it’s the fact that most of the filmmakers have grown up together and are used to feeding off of each other’s ideas and energies, or their diverse ways of approaching work, there is something quite unique about the films produced at La Zanfoña. The Director and Executive Producer of the company, Gervasio Iglesias recalls how he first started working with director Alberto Rodríguez 15 years ago. “We were both from Seville, so we pretty much grew up together. Since then, with a few other friends, we have worked closely together, always looking for new stories which intrigue us”.
Latino Life: How did you start working on Unit 7?
Gervasio Iglesias: Four years ago, our script writer Rafael Cobos received a summary of a case about police corruption in Seville, from his friend who was a lawyer. This case happened sometime before 1992, which was a very important year for Spain, as we were getting ready for the Olympics in Barcelona and also we were celebrating the Expo in Seville. The south of Spain, and especially Seville, was one of the poorest regions in the country in the Franco era. There was a lot of crime, and a lot drugs. So the government of Felipe Gonzalez, who himself was also from Seville was trying to offer to the world a new image of Spain, or in other words ‘clean’ the city.
At the time, my friends and me were still young, 15-16 years old, but we remember how dangerous the city was. So what we wanted to do was combine these histories and memories, with some fictional characters, in order to create a thriller.
LL: How involved were you in the making of the film?
GI: We were all very much involved in the making of the film. From the very first idea and treatment to the end. Of course Rafael Cobos, the screen writer, worked on the script, and Alberto Rodriguez (director) supervised it. Whereas myself and Jose Antonio Felez worked on the producing of it. But we all knew of how the story was moving and all had a say in the different parts involved in the making. I think that this is the best way to make a film, as this is the only way to really get a sensation of being in and part of the film as a whole. Especially when it has taken 3 or 4 years to create.
LL: How did the involvement of the rest of the companies happen?
GI: Unit 7 was produced by two companies, Atypical and La Zafoña. Our collaboration with Jose Antonio was very important, as he was one of the first successful producers who commended our work and wanted to work with us. So since then we made eight films with him.
LL: What are they types of film narratives and genres you are usually drawn to:
GI: In documentaries, we like to do a lot of musical documentaries, as Andalucia is known for its music and Flamenco. Also internationally this is bound to draw on more attention. In terms of feature films, we are hoping to do something more science fiction in the future.
LL: Has film-making in Spain become increasingly difficult due to the economic climate?
GI: Yes, it is very difficult! The crisis in Spain is very hard and very real. The new government has imposed many restrictions. They are waging a war on culture since in their view culture supports the left, whereas the government is leaning more towards the right. So now they are cutting public film funds, as well as raising taxes on cinema tickets by a huge amount, resulting in less people going to the cinema.
LL: So what’s in the future of Spanish filmmaking?
GI: Now the only way is to go international. Securing international pre-sales is vital and all producers here think that. Furthermore, Andalucia has a lot of cultural relations with Latin America, which has a very big market, so great opportunities.
