10/08/2023 - Miguel García de la Calera’s second feature is a romantic drama being shot in Madrid, Montevideo and the Dominican Republic, and stars Spanish thesp Ugarte alongside Chile’s Benjamín Vicuña

The second feature by Miguel García de la Calera, titled El silencio de Marcos Tremmer (lit. “The Silence of Marcos Tremmer”), wrapped filming in Madrid last month, after having been shot in Uruguay in March and April (on location in Montevideo and Colonia de Sacramento); principal photography has now shifted to the Dominican Republic, where the last part of the movie will be filmed imminently. This co-production boasts an international cast – which sees Spanish actors rubbing shoulders with Chilean and Uruguayan thesps – comprising Benjamín Vicuña (The Memory of Water [+see also:
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The screenplay, penned by Javier Dampierre and Ricardo Urroz, introduces us to the titular man (played by Vicuña), a successful Uruguayan publicist who lives in Madrid and is still head over heels in love with his wife, Lucía (Ugarte). One day, Marcos finds out that a terminal illness will bring his life to an end in just a few months’ time. In order to shield Lucía from what will surely be a period of immense suffering, he makes a risky decision: to conceal the problem and keep her away from him. But does he have any right to decide for her? This will place the main character in a very painful dilemma, which he can only navigate if he is absolutely certain that he is doing the right thing.

Thus, the filmmaker asks the questions: “To what extent do we have the right to decide on behalf of others, even if we’re sure that these decisions will be for their own good? Where do we draw the line between altruism and arrogance? Can we come to understand the meaning of true love when we are not willing to show our vulnerabilities in front of the other person? Under this thematic premise, we’ve developed the story of Tremmer, who is capable of refusing the consolation that his wife could offer him during the last few months of his life in order to spare her immense suffering. Through his silence, he protects, or thinks he is protecting, the one he loves.”

Miguel García de la Calera is a Spanish director and producer who has notched up ample professional experience in cinema: he directed short films such as Memorias de atracos, La Persecución (Pre)Establecida and El pintor de sombras (starring Unax Ugalde and Ingrid Rubio) before helming his first feature-length fiction film, The Caribbean “All Inclusive”, a 2020 Dominican-Spanish co-production starring Cristina Castaño, Hiba Abouk, Alejo Sauras, Marc Clotet and Terele Pávez. That movie was a candidate for the Platino Award for Best Comedy.

El silencio de Marcos Tremmer (which does not yet have an international title, although it is likely to be the literal translation mentioned above) is a production by Spanish outfit La Higuera Films SL together with Hélix SRL (Dominican Republic) and La Mayor Cine (Uruguay), which has secured funding from the Dominican General Directorate of Film, Uruguay Audiovisual and the Ibermedia programme, as well as benefiting from incentives from the ICAA.

(Translated from Spanish)