Alex de la Iglesia, Telecinco Cinema Re-Team for Fantasy Action-Adventure Film ‘Mandragora’
variety.comEmiliano De Pablos Spanish genre master Álex de la Iglesia and Telecinco Cinema, the production arm of broadcast network Mediaset España, are re-teaming for fantasy action-adventure film project “Mandrágora.”De la Iglesia and Carolina Bang’s Madrid-based outfit Pokeepsie Films will produce “Mandrágora” with powerhouse Telecinco Cinema, the feature marking the high-profile Spanish director’s fifth joint project with the broadcaster.Set in 17th Century Spain, “Mandrágora” follows Hernán, 15, who unearths a human-shaped root for which he begins to feel an inexplicable attraction.
The gruesome death of his parents at the hands of Count of Torresnegras’ troops forces him and his new friend to flee to the nearby woods.
In their depths, along with terrifying monsters and legendary creatures, lives La Bruja, an expert in black magic, who will shelter Hernán and Mandrágora, the root.
With the help of Madariaga, a mercenary adventurer, they embark on a mission to end Torresnegras’s reign of terror forever.De la Iglesia will direct and is co-writing the script alongside Jelen Morales (“La pequeña Suiza,” “Un mal día lo tiene cualquiera”).With “Mandrágora,” De la Iglesia, one of Spain’s biggest broad audience auteurs, is returning to the fantastic, one of his favorite movie genres.Breaking out with 1995’s “The Day of the Beast,” a milestone in Spanish cinema, De la Iglesia’s “The Last Circus” (2010) won Venice Festival best director and screenplay awards.More recent movies such as “Witching & Bitching” (2013, €15 million -$15.29 million- at the Spanish box office), “My Big Night” (2015, $12.23 million) and the remake of the Italian movie “Perfect Strangers” (2017, $20.39 million) have consolidated De la Iglesia’s status as.
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