Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American rights to “Bitter Christmas,” written and directed by frequent collaborator Pedro Almodóvar (“Talk to Her,” “All About My Mother,” “Pain and Glory”) and produced by Almodóvar’s longtime producer, his younger brother Agustín Almodóvar, the studio announced on Tuesday.
“Bitter Christmas” follows Elsa, an advertising director whose mother dies during a long December holiday. She works non-stop and, without realizing, doesn’t give herself time to mourn her mother’s absence. After a moment of crisis, Elsa decides to travel to the island of Lanzarote accompanied by her friend Patricia. The story of these characters run parallel to that of a screenwriter and film director, exploring how life and fiction are inseparably linked, sometimes painfully so.
The film, which recently wrapped production, stars Bárbara Lennie (“Petra”), Leonardo Sbaraglia (“Pain and Glory”), Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (“Parallel Mothers”), Victoria Luengo (“The Room Next Door”), Patrick Criado (“Riot Police”), Milena Smit (“Parallel Mothers”), Quim Gutiérrez (“Dark Blue Almost Black”) and Rossy de Palma (“Parallel Mothers”). Several of these actors have appeared in previous Almodóvar/Sony Pictures Classics collaborations, including Luengo in “The Room Next Door”; Sánchez-Gijón, Smit and de Palma in “Parallel Mothers”; Sbaraglia in “Pain and Glory” and “Wild Tales”; and Lennie in “The Skin I Live In”.
Additional notable film creatives include Director of Photography Pau Esteve Birba (“The Good Boss”), Production Designer Antxon Gómez (“Pain and Glory”), and Composer Alberto Iglesias (“The Room Next Door,” “Parallel Mothers,” “Pain and Glory”).
This acquisition marks the latest chapter in the storied relationship between Sony Pictures Classics and Almodóvar. Most recently, the distributor released Almodóvar’s first English-language feature film “The Room Next Door,” which took home the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice International Film Festival; the short film “Strange Way of Life”; and Oscar-nominated features “Parallel Mothers” and “Pain and Glory.”
The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and Almodóvar’s production company, El Deseo, on behalf of the filmmaker.
