EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of the world premiere of all 10 episodes of his series The News Years (Los Años Nuevos) at the Venice Film Festival, filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen spoke to Deadline about the Movistar Plus+ drama, which plays in the Official Selection out of competition.
It follows a couple, Ana (Iria del Río) and Óscar (Francesco Carril), who meet at the start of their 30s. The 10 episodes revisit the pair across the same day, New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day, across a decade. Sorogoyen created the series with Sara Cano and Paula Fabra and helmed four installments.
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This will be Sorogoyen’s third time at Venice. He was there in 2019 with his film Mother, which was based on a short film of the same name that scored the director an Oscar nom. In 2022, he was part of the jury for the Festival’s Official Selection.
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‘The New Years’ is a Movistar Plus+ original series made in collaboration with Sorogoyen’s Caballo Films and in association with ARTE France. Movistar Plus+ International is selling it internationally.
Five episodes of the series play today (September 3) at Venice, and the remaining five tomorrow.
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DEADLINE: The series is set on the same day, New Year’s Eve, over a period of time. That’s a special time of year, full of emotion, expectation and reflection. What does that set-up offer in terms of storytelling?
Setting each episode during New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day allowed the characters to often, even involuntarily, question what is happening in their lives, how the last year has been, what resolutions they have for the coming year. It was something very appealing, because I think it happens to most people, even if they’re not consciously trying to do that.
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DEADLINE: You are also looking at a specific decade in the characters’ lives. What was the fascination with that period between 30 and 40 years old?
I’ve just gone through my 30s, I’m 42, and I suppose that makes me more sensitive to, and more interested in it. It’s a way of revisiting the last years of my life and understanding, or at least trying to; why I am where I am, and what I’ve done or not done to be in this place?
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It’s usually a decade in which people make crucial decisions about their lives. Most people start a family, specialize in their profession, they likely experience a major romantic disappointment, and often lose loved ones. I guess that’s another reason I was interested. But I’ll tell you one thing, any decade could be fascinating to me for a series produced in this way, it could be people’s 20s or 40s, 50s or 60s.
‘The Beasts’ director Rodrigo Sorogoyen.
Movistar Plus+
DEADLINE: There is a 40-minute single-shot sequence in the final episode. What were you seeking to achieve and how hard was it to execute?
Yes! I’m excited about episode 10. There’s a 40-minute shot where it’s just the two of them talking. I was aiming for the highest possible level of authenticity. The actors already had their characters deeply ingrained, and I just wanted to see them exist, to inhabit that room, and feel for as long as possible what it means to be Óscar and Ana. My intuition was that any viewer who has followed the previous nine episodes with interest will be struck by it. I knew the result would be powerful.
As for the execution, well, imagine… it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The key is having a spectacular team, which we had, and rehearsing a lot. And then, rehearsing even more.
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DEADLINE: You are at Venice, one of the biggest film festivals in the world, with a TV series. What does that say about the blurred lines between film and TV?
Being in Venice, sharing a section with such admired directors as Cuarón, Vinterberg, or Wright is a dream for me. Those names give you a clue that the line separating “cinema” from “series” is increasingly blurred.
If a series is shown on a big screen, is it cinema? If a movie is only seen on a streaming platform and never in a theater, is it still cinema? These are fascinating questions and festivals are also here for that, for all of us to have a this conversation.
