24° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL

La doble vida del faquir

The Fakir's Double Life
by Esteve Riambau, Esteve Cabeza
Country: Spain
Year: 2005
Duration: 94'


In 1937, during the Spanish civil war, in the college of Sant Julià de Vilatorta in Barcelona, an amateur director and a group of young orphans dressed up as sultans and explorers secretly shoot an adventure film. Almost 70 years later, the stars of the film recall the extraordinary experience, going back in their memory to their childhood, when they had the possibility to exchange their uniforms for Oriental turbans, while reality was imposing its own tragic fancy dress ball.

“Esteve Riambau and I aren’t former students of Jordá’s, but we shared the same desire to talk with him when we had the opportunity to transform a story into a film. The discovery of an amateur film that was made in a Catalonian orphanage in 1937, right during the civil war, awakened our curiosity. In my case there was also a personal motivation: one of the children of that orphanage, who was filmed by Felip Saguès, was my father.” (E. Cabeza)

Biography

film director

Esteve Riambau

Esteve Riambau (Barcelona, 1955) graduated in medicine, but has worked as a film critic since 1978. He has written over 30 books about the history of cinema and teaches Science of Communication in Barcelona. He has co-authored numerous documentaries for television and La doble vida del faquir is his debut film as well.

FILMOGRAFIA

La doble vida del faquir (doc., 2005)

Elisabet Cabeza

Elisabet Cabeza (Sabadell, Spain, 1965), graduated in law and has collaborated since 1990 with the Spanish newspaper “Avui.” La doble vida del faquir is her first full-length film.

FILMOGRAFIA

La doble vida del faquir (doc., 2005)

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