Año Bisiesto (''Leap Year'') is a 2010 Mexican film from the Australian-Mexican screenwriter and film director

Michael Rowe Michael Rowe (born 1960) is an American television writer, producer and comedian. He has written for ''Becker (TV series), Becker'', ''The Nanny'', ''Futurama'', ''Paranormal Action Squad'' and ''Family Guy'', as well as writing the episode of ...

Synopsis

Shot almost entirely in a seedy one-room apartment, this psychodrama details the grinding routine of Laura ( Mónica del Carmen), a 25-year-old freelance journalist, who lives a very isolated life in her small apartment rarely venturing out besides getting men home from nightclubs and never going beyond one night in bed. Until she meets the quiet, inscrutable Arturo (

Gustavo Sánchez Parra Gustavo Sánchez Parra (born 30 September 1966) is a Mexican actor. He has appeared in more than ninety films since 2000. Selected filmography References External links * 1966 births Living people Mexican male film actors {{ ...

) and the pair enter into an intense, violent sexual relationship. The story focuses on the fascinating evolution of their relationship. As days go by, Laura crosses out the days on a calendar, revealing her secret past to her lover. It takes place in February on a leap year.

Production

At first

wanted the violence and sexual relations on screen to be real, but during filming

proposed to solve some things with tricks because "that's what filmmaking is all about, making people believe that we do things for real." So Rowe changed his position and later confirmed that in the end only two scenes were unsimulated.

Main releases

The film premiered in France, at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

Directors' Fortnight 17 May 2010, and a month later on a public release. Next place to see the film was Rowe's home country, Australia, at the Melbourne International Film Festival and many other Film Festivals followed (''Toronto'', ''Athens'', ''Rio de Janeiro'', ''Sao Paulo'', ''Mar del Plata'' in Argentine, ''Hong Kong'' and the ''Latin Beat Film Festival'' in Japan, among others). According to the producers, the film was sold in over 30 countries and in Mexico it played in commercial theaters with only 12 copies and was seen by close to 50,000 spectators –unlike large productions that screen up to 200 copies.

Film festivals and awards

References

External links

*
Film web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ano Bisiesto 2010 films 2010s erotic drama films BDSM in films 2010s Spanish-language films Films shot in Mexico Mexican erotic drama films Caméra d'Or winners 2010 drama films 2010s Mexican films