Bowfinger Int’l Pictures, run by Spanish actor-director Santiago Segura and producing partner María Luisa Gutiérrez, and Beta Fiction Spain (BFS), the Spanish affiliate of Germany’s Beta Film, have teamed up to produce “Infiltrada” (“Infiltrated”) the true story of a young Spanish policewoman who infiltrated the Basque separatist group, ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, translated as Basque Homeland and Liberty).
To be directed by Bilbao-based helmer Arantxa Echevarría, the feature film based on true events follows the 20-year old policewoman, known only by her alias Aranzazu Berradre Marín, who managed to embed herself with members of the terrorist group, even sharing living quarters with them.
Eventually, she helped lead to the dismantling of the infamous organization that used terrorist tactics in its campaign for an independent Basque state.
Based on extensive research that included the collaboration of journalists and interviews with people who were directly involved in the operation, “Infiltrada” will depict not only the events but will also be a psychological portrait of the woman who had to cut all ties with family and friends to take on the role of her lifetime. A screenwriter has yet to be announced.
Echevarría said: “When my producers told me about Aránzazu, my mind immediately went back to the ‘90s, to that Basque Country broken open, where the last breaths of an already meaningless conflict were still adding more and more innocent victims.”
“I saw that girl, an inexperienced policewoman, undercover in a world of murderers in which a single mistake could mean death. A young woman barely 20 years old, pretending to be someone else and with almost no help from the outside world,” she continued, adding: “Eight years of her life pretending to be an ETA terrorist. Those years in which you can travel, you start having your first serious relationships, you enjoy time with your friends, eight years that she decided to put her life on pause. Scared to death and at the same time being a hero.”
“Immediately I said that of course I wanted to direct the film. To remember our recent and painful past. To give thanks to Aránzazu, in whichever hidden place she is now,” she added.
Bowfinger’s Gutiérrez remarked: “We believe that audiences deserve to know the story of this anonymous woman who received no public recognition and carried out her duty with absolute dedication and with no fear of giving up her life in all senses. She sacrificed her past and her future to accomplish the mission’s goal and contributed to the dismantling of the terrorist group ETA and moreover, to national security.”
“We would like to transmit to the audience all the contradictions that this character had to live with for the eight years that she was undercover, her fears and her reasons to keep going,” she added.
Said Mercedes Gamero, CEO of BFS: “The film will be a cinematic story, told from the polyhedral perspective of a complex woman, which is not only going to be entertaining, but will also be a portrait of an era. For these reasons, we believe it will attract the interest of a multigenerational audience willing to enjoy big, epic stories at a cinema.”
BFS was launched in May 2022 as a film distributor and film, TV producer. The company is led by Gamero and Pablo Nogueroles, widely recognized executives in the audiovisual industry. In November, BFS released its first feature film in cinemas as a distributor, “13 Exorcismos.” Directed by Jacobo Martínez, the film has been one of the fifteen highest grossing Spanish films of the year with more than 160,000 admissions. In late December, BFS released “Pray for the Devil” directed by Daniel Stamm, which has lured more than 130,000 admissions so far.
Aside from “Infiltrada”, the company is developing the feature film “Dolores,” based on the book “La Pasionaria: La vida inesperada de Dolores Ibarruri” with a screenplay by Michel Gaztambide and Alejandro Hernández.
Moreover, the production company is developing a television series about the life of Spain’s Queen Sofía.
Gutiérrez has produced more than 35 films, many of them box office hits. These include family comedy “Father There is Only One” and “A todo tren.”
With headquarters in Madrid and the Basque Country, Bowfinger’s latest productions and co-productions include “Llegaron de noche,” directed by Imanol Uribe and “Sin ti no puedo” by Chus Gutiérrez.
Some of their upcoming releases include “Lobo Feroz” by Gustavo Hernández; “Me he hecho viral” by Jorge Coira; “Vacaciones de verano” by Segura and “El hombre del saco” by Ángel Gómez, among others.
