February 12, 2025

Filming is already underway on 'The Beloved’ (El ser querido), the new movie by Rodrigo Sorogoyen that will be filmed on location in Fuerteventura and Madrid over the course of 10 weeks.

With a script by Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña, 'The Beloved’ stars Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo.

Synopsis: After years of estrangement, an acclaimed director and his daughter, a struggling actress, make a movie together and are forced to confront a troubled past neither of them has wanted to face.

In the words of the protagonists

Javier Bardem: "I am very excited to be part of this team and to work with Rodrigo. The story we hope to tell is exciting and to do this with the cast and crew we have is a real privilege."

Victoria Luengo: "I am very excited to be part of this film. Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña, who I was lucky enough to work with on 'Antidisturbios' (Riot Police), have written a wonderful script and I greatly admire all the people I will be sharing this adventure with."

The main keys of the film

• Javier Bardem, one of the most famous and acclaimed actors both nationally and internationally, returns to film in Spain after his award-winning role in 'El buen patrón' (The Good Boss) by Fernando León de Aranoa, which earned him, among others, the Goya for Best Actor and the Platino, Forqué and Feroz awards.

• Bardem has four Oscar nominations and has won the coveted statuette once for his performance in 'No Country for Old Men', a film for which he was also awarded a Golden Globe, a Bafta Award and a SAG Award. He also has six Goya Awards as an actor as well as two as a producer (and a total of 11 nominations), has won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes International Film Festival, two Volpi Cups for Best Actor at the Venice International Film Festival, the Silver Shell and the Donostia Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival, among others.

• His latest work on the limited series 'Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez' has also earned him nominations for the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor.

• Victoria Luengo, meanwhile, has garnered widespread recognition from audiences and critics alike for her theatre, film and television roles. In cinema, she has appeared in films such as 'The Room Next Door' by Pedro Almodóvar and 'Suro' (Cork), a production for which she won the Gaudí Award for Best Actress and a Best Actress nomination at the Goya Awards.  

• On television, she starred in 'Antidisturbios’ (Riot Police), the multi-award winning original Movistar Plus+ series directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, for which she won the Ondas Award for Best Actress, and 'Reina Roja' (Red Queen). In addition, she has received numerous accolades for her acclaimed work in the play 'Prima Facie', for which she was recognised with the Fotogramas Award. She was also the recipient of the 2024 Princess of Girona Award for the Arts.

• Luengo returns to work alongside Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña after his role in 'Antidisturbios’ (Riot Police), the acclaimed Movistar Plus+ original series.

The Cast

Bardem and Luengo are joined by an extensive cast headed by Raúl Arévalo (Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor for 'Gordos' (Fat People) and for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for 'Tarde para la ira' (The Fury of a Patient Man)),  Marina Foïs (five-time César Award nominee, also for the Goya for Best Actress for 'As Bestas' (The Beasts), by Sorogoyen), Mourad Ouani ('Nos vemos en otra vida' (See you in another life), 'La Unidad'), Raúl Prieto ('Antidisturbios' (Riot Police), 'Las noches de Tefía' (Nights in Tefía), Melina Matthews ('The Room Next Door', 'Apagón' (Offworld)), Laura Birn ('Foundation'), Nuria Prims ('Incierta Gloria' (Uncertain Glory), 'Élite' (Elite)), Pablo Gómez-Pando ('Los años nuevos' (The New Years), 'Ama'), and Malena Villa ('El llanto' (The Wailing), 'El Ángel').

The creative duo Sorogoyen-Peña returns to Movistar Plus+

Sorogoyen is one of the most recognised Spanish filmmakers. He has just released the series 'Los años nuevos' (The New Years), which had its world premiere in the official Out of Competition section at the Venice International Film Festival, and is returning to feature films after the award-winning 'As Bestas' (The Beasts), co-written with Isabel Peña and which received multiple awards, including the César Award for Best Foreign Film and nine Goya Awards, including Best Film, Direction and Original Screenplay.

Sorogoyen and Peña together form a solid and highly-regarded creative partnership that has also produced films such as 'Que Dios nos perdone' (May God Save us), Silver Shell for Best Screenplay, 'El reino' (The Realm), seven Goya awards, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, the feature film 'Madre' (Mother), premiered at the Venice Film Festival, 'Stockholm' and the series 'Apagón' (Offworld), as well as the acclaimed 'Antidisturbios' (Riot Police), Sorogoyen and Peña's television debut. In 2019, Sorogoyen also received an Oscar® nomination for the short film 'Madre'.

Technical crew

In the technical department, Sorogoyen is once again working with his core team, including the director of photography Alex de Pablo (Goya for Best Cinematography for 'As bestas'), the composer of the original soundtrack Olivier Arson (Goya for Best Original Music for 'As Bestas' and 'El reino'), sound director Aitor Berenguer (Goya for Best Sound for 'As bestas' and 'Verónica'), art director Jose Tirado (Goya nominee for Best Art Direction for 'As bestas'), the editor Alberto del Campo (Goya for Best Editing for 'As bestas' and 'El reino') and Fabiola Ordoyo in Sound Design (Goya for Best Sound for 'As bestas' and nominated for 'Mapa de los sonidos de Tokio' (Map of the Sounds of Tokyo) and 'Blackthorn'), all of them boasting long and award-winning careers.

'The Beloved’ is an original Movistar Plus+ film in co-production with Caballo Films and El Ser Querido AIE, co-produced by Le Pacte and in association with Canal+ in France, with funding from the ICAA and Creative Europe Media and with the support of the ICEC and the Community of Madrid.

The film will be released in cinemas, distributed by A Contracorriente Films, and will later come exclusively to Movistar Plus+. International sales will be handled by Goodfellas.

For more information please contact movistarplus.comunicacion@telefonica.com

About Movistar Plus+
Movistar Plus+ is the leading audiovisual entertainment offering of the Telefónica Group in Spain. Its proposition includes bold original productions and the best premium sports content, films, series, documentaries and programmes, in addition to the best functionalities and on-demand access so users can enjoy watching television wherever, however and whenever they wish.

Movistar Plus+ was born as a film producer in 2013 under the Telefónica Studios brand. Some of the co-produced titles are "Palm Trees in the Snow", "Regression", "Tadeo Jones", " My Big Night", "Anacleto Secret Agent", "Wild Tales", "Requirements To Be A Normal Person", "To Steal From A Thief", "Toro", "Altamira", "Truman", "Smoke & Mirrors", " Gold" or "Champions". In 2019, Movistar Plus+ released its first original fiction film, “While at War“, by Alejandro Amenábar, followed by “Canallas”, by Daniel Guzmán, and “Prison 77“, by Alberto Rodríguez and "I'm Nevenka" by Iciar Bollain. Movistar Plus+ has announced the production of Original feature films by prestigious directors Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Alberto Rodríguez, Oliver Laxe, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa and Ana Rujas.