STAR LINE PRODUCTIONSpresents

C

armenStarring

PAZ VAGALEONARDO SBARAGLIA

JAY BENEDICT

A feature film directed byVICENTE ARANDA

B a s e d o n t h e n o v e l b y Prosper Mér iméeProduced by Bill Chamberlain And Juan Alexander

Running time: 119 mins Certificate: tbc

Publicity Information:Giorgia Lo SavioVerve Pictures

tel: 020 7287 2750email: giorgia@vervepics.com

‘CARMEN’ wi l l open in London and Selected Cinemad Across the Country in Ju ly

CARMEN Memoire

THE NOVEL

Since it was first published in 1847, the novel Carmen has been adapted to the opera, to the theatre, to the dance stage, to the world of fine arts, to the review, and to the cinema. We have chosen to revert to Prosper Merimee’s original text as our source of inspiration for this project. On the threshold of a new century so dominated by rapid communication technology, it is our feeling that the original text, which, with the passage of time, remains an inexhaustible source of creative possibilities, can allow us to transcend certain realms of paradise in which passion and the freedom to choose our own destiny can mitigate much of the cruel haste of our age and nourish our most heroic dreams.

THE CHARACTER

The story of Carmen is one of fate being strummed by the hand of Destiny, as in Greek tragedy. It is an overwhelming story of love and death.

This tragedy stems from the clash between two diametrically opposed worlds: the worlds of anarchy and order. And it is Carmen’s seductive disorder that must die if law has to prevail.

Carmen continues to represent the free, modern woman. But this freedom straddles the two frontiers she treads and to which she has given herself with a courage and conviction bordering upon fanaticism: her race and her destiny.

Prosper’s Carmen embodies several myths about woman, hence her overwhelming power and timelessness: she is Pandora (full of spiritual gifts, divine beauty and the seeds of evil); she is The Fatal Woman, the Three Furies (who control the destiny of men); she is Venus (Goddess of love, and, therefore, polygamous), and she is, as well, Diana (cruelty and vengeance). That is what makes Carmen so classical and universal, so fascinating and so steeped in the conflicts of today.

OUR AESTHETIC CHOICE

We shall also use Merimee’s original novel as the point of departure and exceptional original guide for the kind of aesthetic we wish to bring to the work. The use of colour as a narrative key and indicator of the feelings dominating the characters: red (devastating passion); black (death, the devil); yellow (ill-omen); white (Carmen’s innocence, which proves to be simply overwhelming).

THE DIRECTOR

To talk about love and death (Lovers), jealousy (Jealousy), the overwhelming force of passion (Juana La Loca) sex (Turkish Passion) hate and vengeance (Straw-haired Fanny) or freedom and the code of honour that governs an entire race (El Lute), there is no one better than Vicente Aranda. Few have managed to capture so remarkably well the kind of feelings often nurtured during a war or in the course of a battle (Riders at Dawn).

THE CAST

In our quest for fidelity, and the best possible acting talents, we have gone for a suitable blend of proven experience and the freshness and exuberance of youth.

Carmen will be played by Paz Vega, the Spanish actress of the moment. In just a couple of years, she has played many roles which have won her so many accolades among public and critics alike, in film successes such as The other side of bed, Novo, Sex and Lucia, for which she won the Goya award for Best Female Newcomer in 2002, She’s Mine, as well as Almodovar’s latest offering, Talk to Her.

For the part of Jose, we have chosen the Argentine actor, Leonardo Sbaraglia, one of the most popular actors in Latin American Cinema today, whose remarkable descent upon the Spanish market in recent times is there for all to see, in films such as Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s Intact, which won him the Goya award for Best Male Newcomer in 2002, Utopia, The city with no limits, and Desire. He is one of the most promising acting talents in film today.

THE TECHNICAL CREW

To guarantee the impeccable quality of our project, we have vouched for a technical crew second to none. To that end, as production designer, we have gone for Benjamin Fernandez, whose vast experience includes work in Hollywood, and one of the best costume designers in the world today, Yvonne Blake, the winner of an Oscar and several BAFTAS and Goyas. Paco Femenia will be in charge of photography. He has worked some of the most prestigious directors in

our country, among them Almodovar and Agustin Diaz Yanes. He was also DOP on Vicente Aranda’s recent Juana, La Loca / Mad Love

CARMEN Short Synopsis

On a journey through Spain, the French writer Prosper Merimee is forced by fate to be the witness of a story of passion. The free, enigmatic nature of a woman called CARMEN, her southern beauty, her passionate, impulsive character turn the sergeant, Jose, into the victim and protagonist of a fatalistic chain of extraordinary events, turbulent loves, uncontrollable passions, jealousy and bloodshed.

With each of Carmen’s string of new lovers, with each new episode of love, passion and jealousy, Jose takes another step towards alienation and delinquency. Death stains Jose’s hands red, time and again until, finally, after shooting Carmen’s latest lover, he tries to take her far away and start a new life.

But neither entreaties nor threats are of any use. In vain he humbles himself before Carmen, offering her a prosperous and happy life. His impassioned words of love fall on deaf ears and the most callous indifference. Frustration and passion drive Jose once more to unsheathe his dagger. What else could he do?

If each episode of love is a small death, how can all of Carmen’s love be retained, how can her searing fire be embraced?

CARMEN Long Synopsis

PROSPERO, a man of letters of French origin, is on his way to Granada and Cordoba to carry out research on the Omeya and Nazari dynasties. On horseback, he traverses the Andalusian countryside, accompanied by his servant and guide, ANTONIO. Along the way, they meet a man, of average height and powerful build, of dark complexion and sombre expression. From his rather refined appearance, it is clear that he is not the common bandit often encountered in those parts. This isn’t lost on PROSPERO, keen observer that he is. Knowing that there is no need to be overly worried, he is not afraid to greet the stranger. The person in question is JOSE, from Navarre, the most wanted man in Andalusia, wanted for murder and banditry. In spite of the servant’s clear misgivings, the two men strike up a conversation, in the course of which Jose confesses his crimes and hunger. JOSE, who trusts PROSPERO to say nothing, is rather fearful, however, of the servant’s suspicious look. Out of precaution, both travellers take leave of each other, with mutual best wishes for the rest of their respective journeys.

As fate would have it, PROSPERO and JOSE meet again, this time at the prison, to which JOSE is now confined, having handed himself in to the authorities. PROSPERO offers to help him after a most summary trial, in which JOSE is condemned to death by the garrotte. JOSE’s only wish now is to die. But before that, he wishes to tell his story to PROSPERO.

The source of the terrible misfortune that has befallen JOSE is CARMEN, the gypsy girl who stole his heart. His passion for that dark-haired girl with deep, penetrating eyes has made him in to the very opposite of what he had wanted to be in life: a man of honour. But he can’t do without her.

Carmen works as a cigar roller in a tobacco factory and, at the time that they meet, JOSE is the sergeant on guard at the sentry post in that part of the city. He knows nothing about her, but Carmen is already very popular in the lively night district of Triana.

It all starts when JOSE is ordered by his senior officer to arrest CARMEN following a skirmish at the factory, in which she ends up stabbing one of her work colleagues. He is completely bowled over by her dark eyes, her provocative hips and her voice like honey; and

ends up letting her go. JOSE is sent to prison, stripped of his sergeant’s stripes, and charged for neglect in the course of his duty.

His recompense for that favour is not long in coming; not in the form of money, but in the form of CARMEN’s fiery body, well-versed in the art of love-making. JOSE loses his virginity, though, with such a loss, he gains pleasure of the type never previously experienced. From then onwards, he can’t get CARMEN out of his system. But CARMEN is a most capricious woman. Anyone who can give her money or jewellery, or provide the slightest pleasures to her stomach, is rewarded with her company in bed. Out of jealousy, JOSE is driven to commit his first murder.

After the death of his senior officer, JOSE has to flee JEREZ, to the safe company of a group of bandits in the mountain range – DANCAIRE, JUANELE, VETUSTO – all members of a band led by a certain ONE-EYE, CARMEN’s gypsy husband, who is still in prison serving time for one of his many contraventions of the law. But JOSE disregards the marital union that supposedly exists between ONE-EYE and CARMEN and sees himself leading a happy life with this woman he has come to love. Using all her wiles, the clever gypsy girl leads JOSE to believe that she belongs only to him.

Hijacking and robbery become the way of life of the former respectable army sergeant, whose religion and upbringing had previously prevented him from performing such deeds. He knows that it is the only way for him to be close to CARMEN, and doesn’t hesitate to choose such a life.

When ONE-EYE comes out of prison and rejoins the band, JOSE’s jealously grows. CARMEN’s goadings only add further fuel to his already inflamed heart and he ends up fatally stabbing ONE-EYE. With Carmen’s husband out of the way, JOSE’s overriding desire is now to begin life anew, with Carmen. So blinded is he by that desire that he doesn’t see that she is a being moved only by a craving for unbridled freedom, a creature that will never allow herself be tied down by anyone or anything.

When CARMEN takes a new lover, a very wealthy and famous bullfighter called LUCAS DOMEQUE, JOSE is once again driven to stain his hands in blood. He catches CARMEN in bed with the bullfighter. After shooting her lover, JOSE literally drags his wife away from the scene of the crime.

No amount of begging is going to serve his cause now. No amount of promises of a fruitful life together, no amount of talk of love and passion either. Fate lurks before JOSE’s very eyes, but he chooses not to see it.

CARMEN Director’s Notes

In choosing a character like Carmen our desire is not just to confine ourselves to the superficial about her, to the anecdote of a woman who “drives men crazy”. We also want to delve into her motivations.

Carmen is Spanish, but was always moulded by foreign hands, resulting in her character being dispossessed of its context. Nevertheless, there are certain facts, among them one very fundamental one: she lived in the second and third decades of the nineteenth century.

Spain in that period was a country of contrasts, a geographical area anchored in a recent historical experience – the Napoleonic invasion – a chessboard on which that eternal of human dichotomies was played out: freedom or order, or, what amounts to the same thing, chaos or tyranny.

The backdrop of a country where injustice must be corrected by taking to the hills with a blunderbuss, where bandits appear who “steal from the rich to give to the poor”, where, logically, chaos puts in an appearance constantly with the intention of becoming a rule, might explain much about Carmen.

Reducing it to pure synthesis, we could say that Carmen, over and above the classification that would brand her as “femme fatale” par excellence, is a “normal” woman who, as still happens with so many women in our times, refuses to give in to her own emotions.

The driving force of this character is so complex that, as inevitably happens in the most day to day situations, no doubt through lack of culture, Carmen has become an enigma before her very own eyes.

But what is clear is that, in her – in her spirit – she encapsulates, in a symbolic way, like some specific field of research, the same paradox which afflicted Spain at that time: Freedom or order…”

The tragedy of Carmen consists in the fact that, in order to accede to the demands of her emotions, she must lose her freedom. Moreover, Carmen detests order.

Carmen accepts death without the need to intellectually explain such a difficult enigma. Why? The most conventional explanation that everyone seems to want to give, perhaps out of a desire to calm not only their own conscience but that of others, is that she is superstitious. That falls short. Because, apart from her being superstitious, Carmen’s character is incompatible with the idea of the home and the daily submission to a husband. She has no desire to suckle a child, become an old woman, no wish to limit her feelings to a single experience, nor does she want to be, like most women, constantly to and fro between the kitchen and the dining room with a plate in her hands. If you like, you can call this the vocation for liberty or rebellion, but also for supreme lucidity.

CARMEN The Characters

CARMEN

Young, attractive gypsy girl; eighteen years old. Well versed in the divinatory arts. Superstitious, passionate, fickle. Has a natural gift for song and dance; also possesses the gift of gab, with which she beguiles everyone. Doesn’t like the quiet life, nor can she stay in any one place for any length of time. Craves a life of unbridled freedom, not wishing to be controlled by anyone. A free spirit.

Her beauty and supreme self-confidence attract men to her and she is capable of getting whatever she wants from them. But, among her own people, is considered a bearer of bad luck, and, like her mother, someone who attracts the forces of death.

When she meets JOSE, she is already married to a gypsy, a certain ONE EYE, member of a band of brigands and smugglers.

JOSE LIZARRABENGOA

Young, good-looking, native of Navarre. Has a religious upbringing; spent several years in the priesthood, but didn’t finish his studies, having been forced to flee his town, Elizondo. After leaving Navarre, he joins the army and is posted in Seville. An honest, though somewhat naïve man, his firm and honest intention in life is to make a career in the army… until CARMEN crosses his path. He falls haplessly into the web of the beautiful gypsy girl who manages to introduce him into the band of smugglers. In his quest for CARMEN, JOSE goes from being an upright, law-abiding citizen with a brilliant future ahead of him, to being a sought-after killer, responsible for two murders. The fickle, capricious temperament of the gypsy girl, who refuses to be tied down by anyone or anything, drives JOSE to growing bitterness. His greatest desire is to have a normal life again, with CARMEN at his side.

PROSPERO

Man of letters, of French origin. On his way to Granada and Cordoba to do research on the Nazari and Omeya dynasties. Meets Jose along

the way, and, in spite of his shabby appearance, knows he is not the ordinary bandit one usually comes across in such parts.

Will become JOSE’s confidant, when he is sentenced to death. Only he will know the true origin of JOSE’s tragedy.

ONE EYE (EL TUERTO)

Forty-year-old, quick-tempered gypsy. Real boozer and brawler. Lost his right eye in a fight with two payos*(1), although, according to him, they came out of the scuffle holding the nasty end of the stick. Quick to pick a fight, but usually backs out even more quickly. Is not a brave man.

Prepared to do virtually anything for a quick buck. Even his marriage to CARMEN brought him some economic gain. But, to be fair to him, it must also be said that he really does like the little gypsy girl and doesn’t hesitate to enforce “the right bestowed upon him by natural law” when he confronts JOSE over the woman that’s his.

Would do anything to be the leader of the band, but his lazy, irascible, violent nature doesn’t make him a very popular figure.

DANCAIRE

Leader of a band of smugglers from Jerez. Nice, pleasant, good-natured. Has great charisma; brave, well liked and held in high esteem by his men for his leadership qualities and very measured sense of risk. Good, elegant, sprightly flamenco dancer.

The complete antithesis of a brigand, and, needless to say, of ONE EYE. Takes an immediate liking to JOSE, whom he recognises as an honest person. Possesses all the skill and diplomacy necessary to deal with the tensions that inevitably arise among his men; never tolerates treachery or conspiracy though.

(1) * Translator’s note: In the gypsy culture, a payo is a native of Spain who does not belong to the gypsy race. In the mouth of a gypsy, the term has slightly pejorative overtones.

CARMEN Cast

C ha r a c t e r A c t o r / A c t r e s s

____________________________________________________________

Carmen PAZ VEGA

Jose LEONARDO SBARAGLIA

Prospero JAY BENEDICT

Tuerto ANTONIO DECHENT

Dancaire JOAN CROSAS

Teniente JOE MACKAY

Lucas JOSEP LINUESA

Fray Carmelo WILLIAM ARMSTRONG

Señorito JULIO VELEZ

Juanele ALVARO MONJE

Aristoteles EMILIO LINDER

CARMEN Main Crew

Director Vicente Aranda

Producer Juan Alexander

Executive producer Jose Luis G. Arrojo

Co-producer Bill Chamberlain

Associates producers Stefan Schmitz Roberto Di Girolamo

Screenwriters Vicente ArandaJoaquin Jorda

Director of Photography Paco Femenia

Music Jose Nieto

Film Editor Teresa Font

Production designer Benjamin Fernandez

Costume designer Yvonne Blake

Line producer Ana Vila

Sound Alastair Widgery

Mixing John Hayward

Sound Editor Nacho Cobos

Make-up Miguel Sese

Hairstylist Natalia Sese

Assistant director Richard Walker

Set dresser Emilio Ardura

Casting Amado Cruz

CARMEN Cast – Paz Vega is...Carmen

In just two years, Paz Vega has gone from being just a promising young actress to taking on the starring roles in some of the Spanish film industry’s most outstanding productions.

A native of Seville, she began her career in two highly successful TV series. “Companions” and “7 Lives” were her springboard to the big screen.

Her first break in cinema came from Pedro Olea in “Beyond The Garden” and she began to make a name for herself after her performance in “Nobody Knows Anybody” by Mateo Gil. But it was thanks to Julio Medem that Paz and Lucia became the most talked-about names in modern cinema. “Sex and Lucia” marked a decisive step in her career and won her immediate recognition in the form of a Goya award for Best New Actress. In the same year, she was also nominated for Best Actress for her role as a battered wife in “Mine Alone”, by Javier Balaguer. It is the first time that a Spanish actress has been nominated in the same year in two different categories for two such different roles.

Paz Vega participated in the two most awarded films of 2002: “Talk To Her” by the Oscar-winning Pedro Almodovar, and “The Other Side of the Bed” by Emilio Martinez-Lazaro. She also tried her luck abroad under the orders of the French director Jean-Pierre Limousin in the film “Novo”. Directors now fight over her.

In his version of “Carmen”, Vicente Aranda has afforded her one of the most attractive female characters, a seemingly tailor-made role, highlighting all her dramatic talents, her beauty, her sensuality, her aplomb and her interpretative power.

FILMOGRAPHYCARMEN by Vicente Aranda – 2003DI QUE SÍ by Juan Calvo - 2003NOVO by Jean-Pierre Limosin – 2002) THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED (El otro lado de la cama) by E. Martinez-Lazaro- 2001TALK TO HER (Hable con ella) by Pedro Almodovar – 2001MINE ALONE (Sólo mía) by Javier Balaguer – 2001SEX AND LUCIA (Lucía y el sexo) by Julio Medem – 2001NOBODY KNOWS ANYBODY (Nadie conoce a nadie) by Mateo Gil – 1999I WILL SURVIVE (Sobreviviré) by Albacete & Menkes – 1999ZAPPING by Juan Manuel Chumilla – 1998ÉL Y EL CABALLO by David Carradine – 1997

BEYOND THE GARDEN (Más allá del jardín) by Pedro Olea – 1996

CARMEN Cast –Leonardo Sbaraglia is...José

With a 15-year-long career under his belt, combining theatre, television and cinema, Leonardo Sbaraglia is now a “veteran” of the profession. He owes much to Marcelo Piñeyro who entrusted him with the role of “Pedro” in “Wild Tango”. This was the beginning of a close actor-director relationship. Under his direction Leonardo burst onto the Spanish scene with “Wild Horses”, and established a name for himself sharing the lead with Eduardo Noriega in “Burnt Money”. This film earned its director a Goya Award for Best Spanish Language Film.

His broad smile and penetrating look now fill our screens, but what has really conquered the Spanish public is his dramatic range and the passion which oozes from each of his characters.

He arrived from his homeland with a considerable wealth of experience, but working in Spain required him to forge a new way for himself. He continued to perfect his technique with acting lessons, efforts which were not long in finding their reward in a Goya statuette for Best New Actor for his role in “Intact”, which established him as one of the best actors of his generation.

Since then, Leonardo Sbaraglia has become a sure bet in the cinema industry in our country. In 2001 he shot four films, demonstrating yet again his versatility as an actor.

In “Carmen”, Sbaraglia plays “Jose”, an upright soldier of firm moral convictions, who falls into the clutches of Carmen, a beautiful, steamily passionate woman. His interpretation is further proof of the total commitment he gives to all of his characters.

FILMOGRAPHYCARMEN by Vicente Aranda – 2003THE WHORE AND THE WHALE (La Puta y la Ballena) by Luis Puenzo – 2003CLEOPATRA by Eduardo Mignogna – 2003UTOPIA by Maria Ripoll – 2002DESIRE (Deseo) by Gerardo Vera – 2002NOWHERE by Luis Sepulveda – 2001THE CITY OF NO LIMITS (En la ciudad sin límites) by Antonio Hernández – 2001INTACT (Intacto) by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo – 2001BURNT MONEY (Plata Quemada) by Marcelo Piñeyro – 2000LOS LIBROS Y LAS NOCHES by Tristan Bauer – 1999ASHES FROM PARADISE (Cenizas del Paraíso) by Marcelo piñeyro – 1997

BESOS EN LA FRENTE by Carlos Galettini – 1996DON’T DIE WITHOUT TELLING ME WHERE YOU’RE GOING(No te mueras sin decirme adónde vas) by Eliseo Subiela – 1995WILD HORSES (Caballos salvajes) by Marcelo Piñeyro – 1994FUEGO GRIS by Pablo Cesar - 1994WILD TANGO (Tango Feroz) by Marcelo Piñeyro – 1993NIGHT OF THE PENCILS (La noche de los lápices) by Hector Olivera – 1986

CARMEN Director’s filmography

VICENTE ARANDA

CARMEN- 2003MAD LOVE (Juana la loca)- 2001Concha de Plata Award for Best actress (San Sebastian International Film Festival)Selected to represent Spain in the 2001 Oscar Awards.JEALOUSY (Celos)- 1999THE NAKED EYE (La mirada del otro)- 1997FREEDOMFIGHTERS (Libertarias)- 1995Special Jury Award in the Tokio International Film FestivalTURKISH PASIÓN (La pasión turca)INTRUDER (Intruso)- 1993THE BILINGUAL LOVER (El amante bilingüe)- 1992LOVERS (Amantes)- 1991Goya Award for Best Film and Best DirectorIF THEY TELL YOU I FELL (Si te dicen que caí)- 1989Award “Ciudad de Barcelona”EL LUTE II -1988National Cinematography AwardEL LUTE I -1987Best Actress and Best Actor in the San Sebastian International Film FestivalTIME OF SILENCE (El tiempo del silencio)-1985FANNY STRAW-TOP (Fanny Pelopaja)- 1985MURDER IN THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE (Asesinato en el Comité Central)-1981GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN PANTIES (La Muchacha de las bragas de oro)-1979CHANGE OF SEX (Cambio de sexo)-1976CLARA ES EL PRECIO-1974THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE (La novia ensangrentada)-1972THE EXQUISITE CADAVER (El cadáver exquisito)- 1968LEFT-HANDED FATE (Fata morgana)-1966BRILLIANT FUTURE (Brillante porvenir)-1964

LOS JINETES DEL ALBA (TV series)EL CRIMEN DEL CAPITAN SÁNCHEZ (TV series)

CARMEN CREW – Costume Designer

YVONNE BLAKE

FILMOGRAPHY

2003 CARMEN by Vicente Aranda Brigde of San Louis by Mary McGuckian2001 Morality Play by Paul McGuigan2000 Gaudi Afternoon by Susan Seidelman1998 What Dreams May Come by Vicent Ward1996 Looking for Richard by Al Pacino1994 El Detective y la muerte by Gonzalo Suárez1994 Canción de Cuna by José Luis Garci

GOYA AWARD BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER”1992 La Reina Anónima by Gonzalo Suárez

NOMINATED GOYA BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER”1991 Don Juan en los infiernos by Gonzalo Suárez

NOMINATED GOYA BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER”1989 The Return of the Musketeers by Richard Lester1987 Remando al Viento by Gonzalo Suárez

GOYA AWARD BEST “COSTUME DESGNER”1985 Flesh & Blood by Paul Verhoeven1983 Bearn o la sala de las muñecas by Jaime Chávarri1981 Green Ice by Ernest Day1980 Superman II by Richard Lester1978 Superman by Richard Lester

NOMINATION BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER” ACADEMY OF SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & HORRORO FILM USA

1974 The Four Musketeers by Richard LesterBAFTA AND OSCAR NOMINATION BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER”

1973 Jesus Christ Superstar 1971 by Norman JewisonBAFTA NOMINATION BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER”The Three Musketeers by Richard LesterBAFTA NOMINATION BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER

1971 Nicholas and Alexandra by Franklin J. SchaffnerOSCAR BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER”BAFTA NOMINATION BEST “COSTUME DESIGNER”

1970 The Last Valley by James Clavell1966 Fahrenheit 451 by François Truffaut

CARMEN CREW – Production designer

BENJAMIN FERNANDEZ

FILMOGRAPHY2003 CARMEN by Vicente Aranda Man on fire by Tony Scott2001 The Others by Alejandro Amenabar

Goya 2002 Best Production DesingNominated golden satellite Awards Best Art direction

2000 Gladiator by Ridley Scott1998 Enemy of the State by Tony Scott1996 Daylight by Rob Cohen1996 Dragonheart by Rob Cohen1995 Nadie hablará de nosotras cuando hayamos muerto

by Agustín Diaz Yanes1993 True Romance by Tony Scott1990 Revenge by Tony Scott1990 Days of thunder by Tony Scott1989 Indiana Jones and the last Crusade by Steven Spielberg1982 Conan the Barbarian by John Milius1979 Alien by Ridley Scott1965 Doctor Zhivago by David Lean

CARMEN CREW – Director of Photography

PACO FEMENÍAFILMOGRAPHY

2003 Carmen by Vicente Aranda

2001 No news from God (Sin noticias de Dios) by Agustin Diaz Yanes

Juana La Loca/ Mad Love By Vicente ArandaNominated to the Goya for Best Director of Photography

1999 Volaverunt by Bigas LunaNominated to the Goya for Best Director of Photography

1998 To the loving ones (A los que aman) by Isabel Coixet

1997 Amor de Hombre by Yolanda García Serrano and José Luis Iborra

1995 Nadie hablará de nosotras cuando hayamos muerto By Agustín Díaz Yanes

1994 Morirás en Chafarinas by Pedro Oléa

1988 Lluvia de Otoño by José Ángel Rebolledo

1986 El Hermano Bastardo de Dios by Benito Rabal

1980 Pepi, Luci, Bom y Otras Chicas del montón By Pedro Almodovar

CARMEN CREW - Music

JOSE NIETO

FILMOGRAPHY

2003 Carmen by Vicente Aranda

2002 El Alquimista impaciente by Patricia Ferreira

2001 Juana la loca (Mad Love) by Vicente ArandaNominated Goya 2002 Best Original Score

2000 Sé Quién Eres by Patricia FerreiraGoya 2001 Best Original Score

1999 Celos (Jealousy) by Vicente Aranda

1998 Extraños (Strangers) by Imanol Uribe Finisterre by Xavier Villaverby La Mirada del otro (Naked Eye) by Vicente Aranda

1997 Passion in the desert (U.S.A). by Lavinia CurrierSan Sebastian International Film Festival

1996 Bwana by Imanol UribeSan Sebastian International Film Festival Tu nombre envenena mis sueños (Your Name Poisons My Dreams) by Pilar MiróSan Sebastian International Film Festival Libertarias (Freedomfighters) by Vicente ArandaTokyo International Film Festival

1995 El perro del hortelano (The Dog in the Manger) by Pilar Miró Desvío al paraíso (Shortcut to Paradise) by Gerardo Herrero

1994 Días Contados (Numbered Days) by Imanol UribeSan Sebastian International Film Festival

Guantanamera by Tomas Gutirrez AleaLaubyrdale International Film FestivalHavana Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalVenice Film Festival

La Pasión Turca (Turkish Passion) by Vicente ArandaGoya 1995 Best Original ScoreMoscow International Film Festival

Of love and shadows by Betty Kaplan

1993 Intruso (Intruder) by Vicente ArandaBest Original Score Gramado Film Festival

El Amante bilingüe (The Bilingual Lover) by Vicente Aranda

1992 El Maestro de esgrima (The Fencing Master) by Pedro oleaGoya 1993 Best Original Score

Beltenebros (Prince of Shadows) by Pilar MiróBerlin International Film Festival

1991 El rey Pasmado by Imanol UribeGoya 1992 Best Original Score

1990 Amantes (Lovers)v by Vicente ArandaBerlin International Film Festival

Lo más natural (The Most Natural Thing) by Josefina MolinaGoya 1991 Best Original Score

1989 Esquilache by Josefina MolinaGoya 1990 Best Original Score

1989 El Lute II, camina o revienta by Vicente ArandaBerlin International Film Festival

1988 El Bosque animado by José Luis CuerdaGoya 1989 Best Original Score

CARMEN – technical crewProduction Designer, BENJAMIN FERNANDEZ is capable of creating the unimaginable, not surprising given his long experience in national and international productions that have won many an Award, among them The Others (A. Amenábar), and Oscar-winning films such as Gladiator and Alien, by Ridley Scott, or Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For him, no detail is minor; everything is crucial to the fidelity of the story.

PACO FEMENIA is our DOP. He has worked with the most prestigious directors in Spain, from Pedro Almodovar and Bigas Luna to Agustin Diaz Yanes. Here, he teams up with Vicente Aranda again, after Juana la Loca. For this adventure, he has chosen to seek inspiration in the original landscape: the prodigious light of Andalusia, that brings out tragedy as much as it evokes sensuality. The eyes of Paco Femenia pursue that light, intent on capturing its quality and true essence. Talent and technique combine to capture the perfect atmosphere for the story, that blend of light and dark, of luminosity and shadiness, the celebration of light and death, dark and foreboding.

YVONNE BLAKE is one of the most prestigious costume designers in the business. Numerous awards attest to her talent and international recognition, among them an Oscar for Nicolas y Alexandra, by F. Schaffner, as well as several BAFTAS and GOYAS (Rowing with the Wind, by Gonzalo Suarez, and Canción de cuna, by J.L. Garci). She too delves into the Spain of the XIX century with all the passion of a female conquistador. She wanted to make a Carmen different from all the others, hence her choice of lively colours. The result is a Carmen that shines bright, sporting her own colours and bearing a light that is unmistakably hers; one which befits a woman who has no equal when it comes to the clever manipulation of the arms of seduction.

JOSE NIETO is behind the music for a story of such depth and density, in which the characters, far from being linear, are ever so complex. Jose Nieto is one of the great music composers of Spain, and he has worked closely with Aranda in several of his films, achieving a level of creativity that is exceptional. Every sequence, in fact every fragment of every sequence, receives the right blend of music. The result is a marriage of concept and content that is truly unique.

CARMEN – visual aspects

Before undertaking the film adaptation of Prosper Merimee’s novel, it was necessary to reflect upon the type of image that was going to prevail and on the elements that would inform image.

We knew that in a text such as Carmen we couldn’t simply stick to the surface without going beyond the anecdotic dimension of a woman “who drives men crazy”. We also wished to delve into motive: on the part of novelist and characters alike.

The Spain discovered by Merimee was a country of contrasts, a place still smarting from an historical event of overriding importance – the Napoleonic invasion – a landscape in which the eternal, two-way contradictory pull of man was being tragically played out: freedom versus order; disorder versus tyranny.

To capture the atmosphere that prevailed in a country where survival, in the strictest sense, was the order of the day, where the only means of righting legalised wrongs was by taking to the hills with dangerous weapons, where bandits “stole from the rich to give to the poor”, where chaos so often reared its ugly head that it became norm, inevitably entails evoking an image that had, necessarily, to stand out for its harshness, its contrast, its striking elements of light and dark. It also had to stand out for its overwhelming clarity, and, above all, for its originality, because, as Merimee clearly saw, not only had the inhabitants of that country not given up on life, they had also devised meaningful ways of resistance.

Our camera is an eye in search of essences, a camera which knows that beauty resides without, i.e., in the skin, as it were. It is a camera that is also fully cognisant of the fact that beauty can only be termed as such if it reflects what lies beneath: deep feeling and a desire to transcend.

We shall strive to achieve that combination, and we shall undertake that task with no less passion than that seen in the characters of the story, a story in which fate, destiny, chance, passion and even the impossible desire for happiness are perceived as intangible ideals, as well as rock-hard elements that are deeply entrenched in the soul of the characters.

Among the members of the team involved in the making of this film, we often talk about “colour”. There are two colours whose presence is constant and powerful and which have become the virtual leitmotiv of our conversations: red and black. We are well aware of the need to

avoid simple categorisation, even the kind of simple categorisation derived from excessive confidence in the “use of colour as an element of the storyline”. But we should also like to arrive at an abstract definition via the adoption of values defined in two colours so emblematic of passion, life and death.

We shall strive for an image concept for our film. However, mindful as we are that inspiration cannot be programmed, that it is, in fact, the result of conscientious search and meticulous examination of the elements present, we are prepared to push ourselves to the limits necessary to achieve our aims.

The film shall be shot in its entirety in Andalusia, in keeping with the demands of the story on which it is based. What has been previously said about the characters can also be applied to the possibilities offered by the inherent beauty of this part of Spain. It is the type of beauty that often conceals its sense of tragedy, its often misunderstood character, its temperamental inclination towards passion, beauty and pain. Our story unfolds in the Andalusia of the XIX century. It is a century that Andalusia has made virtually its own, in the way an oyster does with its shell after being engendered by it. It is an exceptional film set, there for our taking, for exteriors and interiors.

Andalusia beckons; for the most to be made of the opportunity, for full advantage to be taken of its landscapes, the notoriety of its palaces, the charm of its every little nook and cranny, as well as, needless to say, of its truly exceptional moments of light. In this part of the planet, the sun can so easily carry out two major functions. It can give even greater intensity to tragedy and it can further exalt sensuality. In so doing, it is as much a gentle caress as it can be a source of pain.