Institut Ramon LLull

Claudio Zulian's film 'Born', accepted to participate in competition at the New York City International Film Festival

Cinema.  New York, 04/05/2015

Based on real events, Born follows the adventures of coppersmith Bonaventura, his sister Marianna and the rich merchant Vicenç, with whom both have pending issues. All of them lived at the beginning of c XVIII in the disappeared neighborhood of El Bornet in Barcelona. Three persons facing up to a time of big social, political and also intimate mutations. 




Born, a film by Claudio Zulian based on the book "La ciudad del Borne" by the historian Albert García Espuche, has been accepted to participate in competition in the category Narrative Feature Films at the New York City International Film Festival, April 30 to May 7, 2015.

The film is divided in three parts. Each part has one of the main characters as a protagonist. They follow a chronological order.

Bonaventura Alberni (Marc Martínez) is a great coppersmith. Like all good artisans, he is sensible to the raw material he manipulates and proud of his own skill. Like many other barceloners of that time, Bonaventura also loves gambling. Prices of housing and workshops start to become object of speculation: Bonaventura is evicted. He asks for help to his sister Marianna, but his husband just died leaving all legacies to his son. Marianna is going to fall into poverty. Bonaventura tries to ask for a loan to his neighbor Vicenç, who is a rich merchant. Vicenç reminds him he already has big debts. Bonaventura thinks he finally find a solution for his problems: he evicts an old woman, tenant in a house that he thinks he can claim as a legacy of his uncle, disappeared years ago. Nevertheless, even with the difficulties of the Spanish Succession War that is setting on fire the peninsula, the news fly...

Marianna  (Vicky Luengo), young widow of a good tanner, sees herself into poverty when her husband let the entire legacy to their son. This means, among other things, that the mother must pay a rent of the house where she lives to her son or leave the house. Like many other women of that time, she is obliged to work at the tavern as a maid. Work is very hard and Marianna doesn’t want to resign herself to poverty. She will make a radical decision that will lead her to discover unknown aspects of her character, and even her body, in confrontation with the society of her time. The Succession War is approaching. Barcelona, keep by Felipe V's troops, the Borbon claimant, is sieged by Carlos III' soldiers, the Austria claimant. Vicenç, a fervent supporter of the Austria party, is sent to jail. The city is conquered, with the collateral consequences, and Carlos III establishes his court in the city. Barcelona gets back to normality. Marianna, after so many proves, is now a strong and ambitious woman. She has a plan and she won’t let anything stop her, not event her own feelings.

Vicenç Duran (Josep Julien) is the perfect example of the then emerging bourgeoisie that afterwards marked life of Barcelona and other Spanish cities. After Carlos III took Barcelona, Vicenç's business flourish. He pushes his former partner Joan Kies into bankruptcy and gets his palace. Under the king's protection he organises a society to obtain the tobacco monopoly. He has a beautiful mistress. Everything is going fine until his wife discovers his adulterous relationship and threatens him with a public scandal that would damage his business. Vicenç will have to make a decision. The war is close again.

An Acteon's production in collaboration with Generalitat de Catalunya, Ajuntament de Barcelona, Fundació Noguera, Obra Social La Caixa, Museu de la Música de Barcelona.

 

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Filmmaker, artist, musician, writer, producer. Claudio Zulian was born in Padova and lives in Barcelona. He’s the author of a multifaceted work covering filmmaking, visual arts, music, theatre and literature. We highlight his last feature film Born, his internationally awarded documentaries The Shifting CityFortuny & The Magic Lantern and L’Avenir, and his previous feature film Beatriz/Barcelona. As an artist, his videoinstallations and works have been exhibited worldwide.

Filmography:

2014:  Born, fiction feature film. TRAILER - BLOG - FACEBOOK - TWITTER

2010:  Fortuny & The Magic Lantern (Fortuny la lámpara maravillosa), documentary.

2009:  After Violence (Después de la violencia), documentary.

2007:  Just Like Paradise (A lo mejor), documentary. Best Experimental Documentary Canariasmediafest, Canary Islands 2008.

2006:  The Shifting City (A través del Carmel), non-fiction feature film. Catalan Cinema National Prize (Premio Nacional de Cine de Catalunya) 2010, City of Barcelona Prize (Premio Ciudad de Barcelona) 2009.

2004:  Beatriz / Barcelona (Beatriz / Barcelone), fiction feature film.

2004:  The Future (L’Avenir), documentary. “Paloma de Plata” Award at the Leipzig Film, Documentary and Animation Festival (Germany) 2005 / Ecumenical Award at the Leipzig Film, Documentary and Animation Festival (Germany) 2005 / Best Short Documentary Film Award at the “Cine Numérico de Viña del Mar” Festival (Chile) 2006 / 2nd Prize Best Documentary at the Mediteran Film Festival (Široki Brijeg, Bosnia Herzegovina) 2007.

2002:  Strange Looks (Miradas extrañas), fiction short film.

Born by Claudio Zulian

Feature film, 102 min

New York City International Film Festival

April 30 to May 7, 2015

This website only uses session cookies for technical and analytical purposes. It does not compile or assign users’ personal data without their consent. This website does, however, use third-party cookies for statistical purposes. You can obtain further information or manage or reject cookies by clicking on "+ Info".