The Spanish-Colombian co-production was premiered at the Venice Critics Week, which ran from September 1 to 11.
1492. Among Christopher Columbus’s crew are three men who should have been dead by now. They have managed to avoid their sentences by participating in the uncertain voyage. However, upon reaching the Canary Islands, they flee carrying one of the ship’s sails. Meanwhile, in the Old World, a woman tries to save her dying sister, hoping that a healer can help her. Both journeys try to outwit death. Both journeys are at the mercy of time and history.
This is the story of Eles transportan a morte, a film competing in the 36th Venice Critics’ Week, an independent section parallel to the Venice International Film Festival, organized by the Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCC), which will screen the first seven films in competition. With this proposal, Spanish directors Helena Girón and Samuel M. Delgado explore topics such as colonization in a context that is decisive for understanding the present: “From this date on, witch hunts, the slave trade, and the conquest of America were essential in establishing and organizing the modern capitalist system we have come from.”
The feature film is co-produced by the Spanish companies Fílmika Galaika and El Viaje Films, with the associated production of La Banda Negra and the Colombian company Blond Indian Films, a production house and post-production sound studio that has participated in films such as Pájaros de verano by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, El abrazo de la serpiente by Ciro Guerra, Blanco en blanco by Théo Court, Entre perro y lobo by Irene Gutiérrez Torres, as well as the series Frontera verde, Historia de un crimen: Colmenares, Siempre bruja, El robo del siglo, and Distrito Salvaje, among others.
The technical team of Eles transportan a morte includes Colombians Carlos E. García, director of Blond Indian Films, as the sound designer, and Camilo Sanabria, the composer of the original music. The screenplay was written by directors Helena Girón and Samuel M. Delgado, photography by Jose Alayón, editing by Manuel Muñoz Rivas, and performances include Xoán Reixes, Valentín Estéves, David Pantaleón, Sara Ferro, Nuria Lestegás, and Josefa Rita Míguez, among others.
The film, prior to its participation in Venice Critics’ Week, has been selected in its project phase by the Ikusmira Berriak program of the San Sebastián Festival and Tabakalera, and is supported by the AGADIC, ICAA - Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Government of the Canary Islands, with the participation of the Galician Radio and Television Corporation (CRTVG) and Radio Television Canaria (RTVC). Bendita Film Sales manages its international sales and Begin Again will release the film in theaters in Spain.
