- The struggle of reality with fantasy that exists within every human being. A pressure-cooker of repression, desire, jealousy, sex and loathing. A film crew descend on the arid landscape of Andalucia to rework Lorca's 'House of Bernarda Alba'. From the beginning the film crew are hindered by the constant watch of the local Police and the worrying prospect of the film running out of finance. However, whispers loom of a deeper tragedy; an incident which permeates the mood of the entire production.—Marcus Thompson
- When her husband dies, BERNARDA, a wealthy and once beautiful woman locks herself and her frustrated daughters away from the world for 8 years of mourning. This is Federico Garcia Lorca's acclaimed play The House of Bernarda Alba, and a film crew has descended on the landscape of Andalucia to film it. When the actress playing young Adela mysteriously disappears, they have to re-shoot all her scenes and rely on guerrilla film tactics to complete the picture as the money begins to run out. Would-be film maker PEPE, a rebellious, sensitive village stud, owes money to police officer Miguel. The police officer threatens to take Pepe's horse and sell him for dog food if Pepe cannot pay. In order to save his horse, Pepe takes on a bet that he can sleep with all the actresses making the film, including the older Poncia and Bernarda. Pepe tries to seduce the actresses and discovers that it is not going to be such an easy task. When a tourist disappears, and one of the actresses is attacked by a hooded man, Pepe becomes a suspect. As the film progresses, the action inside the house reflects the lives of its cast; an examination of sexual repression and turmoil, with the five daughters under the yoke of the tyrannical figure of Bernarda, the matriarch who is haunted by a devastating secret from her past. Shooting Bernarda is a homage to the creative genius of Lorca, a struggle between repression and freedom, reality and illusion. With Lorca's masterpiece as the axis, the inter-twined 'realities' reflect and stimulate each other. By inter-cutting the play with extraordinary on location recollections and fly-on-the-wall production footage, re-set as it is in Lorca's arid landscapes, 'Shooting Bernarda' will shine new light on, and breathe new life back into a work so loved by actors and audiences the world over.
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