SPA21 While at War

Synopsis

The first Spanish-language production in nearly 17 years from Oscar-winning writer/director Alejandro Amenábar (The Sea Inside, The Others, Agora), While at War is a powerful and hugely resonant historical drama set in the first months of the Spanish Civil War, depicting how the country inexorably slid into nearly four decades of fascism under dictator Francisco Franco.

It’s July, 1936. Nationalist forces take to the streets of Salamanca, challenging the authority of the democratically elected Second Spanish Republic. But the esteemed Miguel de Unamuno (Karra Elejalde, (Operation Goldenshell SFF18, Spanish Affair SFF15) author, professor, and rector, pays the uprising little mind: for all his wisdom and experience, he doesn’t believe that his country is under imminent threat.

Initially supporting the rebellion, it’s not until his colleagues are rounded up that Miguel begins to reconsider his principles, hoping he can exert his considerable influence to bring reason before it’s too late…

Deeply intelligent and spectacularly mounted, While at War depicts a nation split between those compelled by egalitarianism, and others driven by reactionary visions of how to make Spain ‘great again’.