{"id":3746,"date":"2013-12-28T11:20:07","date_gmt":"2013-12-28T10:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarragonaexperience.com\/2013\/12\/28\/jesus-monllao-director-of-hijo-de-cain-tarragona-would-inspire-ridley-scott-for-a-futuristic-film\/"},"modified":"2013-12-28T11:20:07","modified_gmt":"2013-12-28T10:20:07","slug":"jesus-monllao-director-of-hijo-de-cain-tarragona-would-inspire-ridley-scott-for-a-futuristic-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarragonaexperience.com\/en\/2013\/12\/28\/jesus-monllao-director-of-hijo-de-cain-tarragona-would-inspire-ridley-scott-for-a-futuristic-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Jes\u00fas Monlla\u00f3, director of \u201cHijo de Ca\u00edn\u201d: \u201cTarragona would inspire Ridley Scott for a futuristic film\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jes\u00fas<\/a><\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Coronado<\/a><\/strong> and his family live in a mind-blowing house by the sea, in Tamarit<\/strong>. Julio Manrique<\/a><\/strong> keeps his car in a garage at Pla de la Seu<\/strong>, just opposite the Cathedral<\/a><\/strong>. And hidden in Casa Corderet<\/strong>\u2019s back room, in Carrer Merceria<\/strong>, there is an exclusive chess academy, which is also\u2026 wait for it, the library of the \u2018Centre de Lectura<\/strong>\u2019 of Reus<\/strong>. Life in Fill de Ca\u00edn<\/a><\/em>, the awarded d\u00e9but film by Jes\u00fas Monlla\u00f3<\/a><\/strong>, takes place around Tarragona<\/strong>, a set with huge potential which, thanks to its festivalish nomination, is now well-known in places such as Mumbai<\/strong>, La Habana<\/strong>, Montreal<\/strong>, Moscow<\/strong>, Miami<\/strong> or Berlin<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Monlla\u00f3<\/strong>, Anglo Germanic philologist, had been looking forward to such an opportunity for years. In the late 90s, he left Tarragona<\/strong> to study a doctorate in literature in England<\/strong>. In Canterbury<\/strong>, he experienced the solitude of the immigrant and managed to survive with little, very little, which gave him time to think\u2026 and thus he realised that his main purpose in life should be to tell stories; to become a film director. He got trained and got back home in 2000, convinced of being able to make films.<\/p>\n

However, the film he had been looking forward to has taken much time, and it has been released just when both Spanish and Catalan film industry are going through rough times, with less productions than ever before. Until now, Monlla\u00f3<\/strong> has directed three short films, which have succeeded in the corresponding categories \u2013La Mirada oblicua<\/em>, Gloria<\/em> and El legado<\/em>\u2013, he has also made a documentary, and some TV adds, and has continued to work almost as anything, just as he used to do back in England<\/strong>. He actually adapted the script for Fill de Ca\u00edn<\/em> while he was working as a night watchman in a campsite.<\/p>\n

Being an active and determined man, the very same determination which had helped him become a boxer and body builder, Monlla\u00f3<\/strong> always knew that his aim was to shoot a film in Tarragona<\/strong>. And, despite the fact that the city had never had cinematographic models, he was never taken seriously at first. \u201cPeople didn\u2019t really get it. They would look at me utterly shocked, and I was even told to give it try in Hollywood. Instead, I always believed in the possibilities of a city that I love and to which I owe the world<\/em>\u201d, says the director. <\/p>\n

Fill de Ca\u00edn<\/em>, which didn\u2019t make to the Goya Awards<\/strong> due to bureaucratic issues but which has been selected by the EU as one of the best movies in 2013 that will represent Europe<\/strong> on international cinema festivals, has been qualified as a \u201cMediterranean thriller\u201d and shows Tarragona<\/strong>\u2019s potential as a film set. Monlla\u00f3<\/strong> has financed the film thanks to monetary contributions by local institutions. Nonetheless, he claims he was not aiming for the city to become any sort of display window: \u201cMy purpose was to tell a story the best I could. Tarragona sells by itself<\/em>\u201d. <\/p>\n

The film, awarded in Malaga<\/strong> and Tudela<\/strong> film festivals, will resume its tour and will virtually take Tarragona<\/strong> to Poland<\/strong>, France<\/strong> and Australia<\/strong>. It has a range of real lights, faces and locations which, according to Monlla\u00f3<\/strong>, is suitable for all genres: \u201cTarragona is the perfect scenery for a romantic plot. It would actually inspire Ridley Scott for a futuristic film too, a sort of post apocalyptic dystopia<\/em>\u201d. Can you imagine a Blade Runner<\/em> sequel set in Southern Europe\u2019s most important chemistry industrial site?<\/p>\n

*We would like to thank the manager of the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona (MNAT), Francesc Tarrats Bou, due to his permission that allowed us to take this report’s cover photograph inside the building.<\/p>\n