Latido Films is set to release Carte Blanche, a bloody period war action film directed by Oscar-winning producer Gerardo Herrero (The Secret in Our Eyes), and will be part of the big-ticket, high-quality genre films that will set Spain apart at this year’s Marché du Film.
Set in the Moroccan desert in 1921, Spain is waging a brutal war against the Berber tribes of the Rif following the massacre of Spanish conscripts. An eight-man elite Spanish Legion squad sets out, led by Sergeant Hell, a vengeful man whose brother was tortured and killed in a massacre.
A raid on a local Berber village quickly turns into a racially-fueled rape, torture, massacre, and suicide mission, with the squad cornered by local archers and attempting to escape down an arid valley.
Rising Spanish star Iván Pellicer (“Cueller”) plays Faura, a hero who upholds a moral compass. “Carte Blanche” also stars Salva Reyna (“The 47”) and the squad’s psychotic sergeant Victor Clavijo (“The Weight”).
Using elaborate special effects, “Carte Blanche” was filmed in the same dry scrub desert of Almeria used by David Lean and Sergio Leone.
Carte Blanche is based on the 2004 award-winning novel of the same name by Spain’s Lorenzo Silva, and is inspired by historical facts. Spain’s Rif War, won by future Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, served as a crucible for the values and military tactics of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, and Franco treated his republican enemies with the same humanity he accorded to the Rif’s inhabitants.
“The great film industry faced the most tragic moment in history and did so with courage. “The time has come to do this with the riff wars,” Herrero said.
During his long career since arriving on the Spanish film scene in the late 1980s, at least two of Herrero’s best films as a director have been released in conflict zones. Comanche Territory, set in Sarajevo in 1997, and Raqqa: Spy vs. Spy, a 2024 Syrian spy thriller.
“Gerardo Herrero has proven time and time again that he is a master director of films that capture the audience’s attention. ‘Carte Blanche’ is a captivating action movie that leaves you with no time to catch your breath while watching it and stays with you long after the movie is over,” Antonio Saura, head of Latido Films, told Variety.
Latido Films’ 2026 Marché du Film also features The Harvester from David Pérez Sanido, one of Spain’s most acclaimed young directors after Ane.
A big-budget film for Spain starring Antonio de la Torre (The Realm) and Patricia López Arnaiz (Sundays), it focuses on Spain’s first recorded serial killer and boasts meticulous construction from the 1870s.
“La Luz” by Fernando Franco (“Wounded”), which won in San Sebastian, will also be released for the first time on the market. Produced by top Spanish indie Morena Films (“Everybody Knows”), the film centers on a Catholic priest whose past comes back to haunt him as he seeks salvation.
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Patricia López Arnaiz in “The Harvester” Provided by: Latido Films
