''Foremost by Night'' ( es, Sobre todo de noche, links=no) is a 2023 neo-noir melodrama film directed by (in his feature film debut) which stars

Lola Dueñas María Dolores Dueñas Navarro (born 6 October 1971) better known as Lola Dueñas is a Spanish actress. Born in Madrid, she is the daughter of Nicolás Dueñas and studied in the Teatro de La Abadía of Madrid. She decided to relocate to Par ...

and Ana Torrent alongside Manuel Egozkue. It is a Spanish-Portuguese-French international co-production.

Plot

Exploring the issue of stolen children in Spain, the plot tracks Vera's search for her biological son, given in adoption, thereby coming across Cora and her adoptive son Egoz.

Cast

Production

The screenplay was penned by Víctor Iriarte, Isa Campo, and Andrea Queralt. The film was known in early development stages under the provisional title ''Reescritura''. A Spanish-Portuguese-French venture, the film was produced by Atekaleun, CSC Films and La Termita Films alongside Ukbar Filmes and 4A4 Productions, and it had the participation of

TVE TVE may stand for: Television * Televisión Española, a Spanish state-owned public-service television broadcaster ** TVE HD, a high-definition channel run by Televisión Española * Televisão Educativa, a defunct Brazilian TV network * TV Eduk ...

and TVC and backing from ICAA, the Basque Government, and the Foral Deputation of Gipuzkoa. Shooting locations included the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

, Madrid, Paris, and Portugal.

Release

The film made it to the ' Venice Days' independent slate of the 80th Venice Film Festival, where it was presented on 2 September 2023. It was also selected for screenings in the 'New Directors' competitive section of the 58th Chicago International Film Festival and the main competition section of the

68th Valladolid International Film Festival The 68th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) took place from 21 to 28 October 2023, in Valladolid, Spain. '' The Movie Teller'', an adaptation of the Hernán Rivera Letelier's novel, directed by Lone Scherfig, opened the festival. ...

. Distributed by Atalante, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 1 December 2023.

Reception

According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, ''Foremost by Night'' has a 100% approval rating based on 9 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.8/10. Jonathan Holland of '' ScreenDaily'' deemed the film to be a "admirable, well-crafted feature debut" for Iriarte, yet otherwise remarkably lacking in "the human dimension, the emotional undertow". of '' Cinemanía'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a "stimulating, unpredictable, sensitive, painful and hopeful" exercise in which both Dueñas and Torrent shine.

Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2023: * 1st — '' El Periódico de Catalunya'' (critics) * 1st — '' El Confidencial'' (consensus)

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "4" , , , 11th Feroz Awards , , colspan = "2" , 'Arrebato' Special Award (Fiction) , , , , , - , rowspan = "3" ,

16th Gaudí Awards The 16th Gaudí Awards ceremony, presented by the Catalan Film Academy, will take place on 4 February 2024 at the complex in Barcelona. Background A record number of 81 productions were presented as candidates to the awards, of which a 40% had ...

, , Best Original Screenplay , , Isa Campo, Andrea Queralt, Víctor Iriarte , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Ana Torrent , , , - , Best Editing , , Ana Pfaff , ,

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 21882016 2020s Spanish-language films 2020s Spanish films 2020s French films Spanish drama films Portuguese drama films French drama films Films shot in Madrid Films set in Spain Films shot in Paris Films shot in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Films shot in Portugal 2023 directorial debut films 2023 films Films about child abduction 2023 drama films