San Sebastian’s buzz title “Dance of the Living” is the long-awaited second feature of José Arallon, which will premiere the world on Friday at San Sebastian’s new director’s competition, and now has the first trailer exclusively shared with variety by sales agent Vendita Film Sales.
The trailer captures the film’s double charm. One is the introduction to Lucha Canary, a Canary Islands wrestling, a ancestral tradition dating back to the island’s first Berber settlers. In it, the wrestler tries to force the other person to touch the ground with another part of his body other than his own legs. In one epic scene, the wrestler charges forward, picking up Miguel, the film’s father’s protagonist, and simply throws him to the ground.
The trailer’s main story, Fuerteventura’s spooling on the blown-up Canary Islands, actually turns on Miguel and daughter Mariana, who struggle to advance after the death of his wife and Mother Pilar, the actual champion wrestlers. Their entire world is of traditional canary wrestling. However, Miguel has a chronic knee injury, and Mariana’s anger around the world makes her bite. “She insulted my mother,” Mariana insisted. In reality, Mariana feels that she is shaming her mother’s memories by failing to improve her grades in wrestling.
More photos of Miguel’s massive torso. Arayan is particularly fascinated by his body. Sweeping by the wind, the brutal sun hitting nearby areas that look like mountains on Mars, Mariana walks through the desert landscape of scrubs. “Help me,” Mariana pleads. However, in many of the films, Miguel is too trapped in his own regret to even help himself.
Arayan says he was attracted to canary wrestling because of his sense of “credibility” and potential paraphor. “This minor phor, resisting, standing up, balancing, balancing, fighting seemed very powerful to me. This form of struggle is not part of the sport, but it is an idea that can be transposed into many stories as it continues to exist in the lives of these people after leaving the Terrero Wrestling Ring.”
He added: “Canarian wrestling is perhaps one of the last surviving spaces of cultural resistance in the archipelago. There’s something unique about this practice that goes far beyond sports.
“Dance” is set in Tenerife-based Herge film, founded by Arayon in 2004, with credits including Love Diaz’s 2025 Cannes premier title “Mazellan,” and Macou Maschine’s Double Malaga Fest winners “Undergrowth” and “Matadero” ‘Silato’s kovawriter Santiagophilil.
The film is a blonde Indian film released in Colombia by Colombian sound designer Carlos Esteban Garcia and Danish producer Katlyn Pols. He co-produced the two-week hit “Bird of Passage,” by the Cannes director.
Key technical credits include Ace DP Mauro Health, Cannes Jury Award winner “Sir” as a Spanish Oscar entry and was selected as a friend of Arayan since his film student at EICTV in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba.
“Dance of the Living” was written by Marina Alberti, who directed “Aitana,” and Samuel M. Delgado, director of the weekly title “They Carry Death” by the Venice critics of the Arion production.
“The most important thing that happened with filmmaking in the Canary Islands was that people came together who needed to make a film, wanted a somewhat authentic vision and looked back at themselves,” Arayaon told Variety.
