ECAM incubators in Madrid have built a reputation for bringing out outstanding new talent. Among this year’s project, documentary film director Elena Molina moved to fiction for the first time with “The Eel Maderas Anguila.”
The story continues with Gizlane, 18. For the first time, she has the opportunity to fake privacy, independence and a new life. However, her roommates (mackerel, drool, plants) come from fundamentally different backgrounds, and their unstable position means that any mistake can cost them their place in the apartment. While they struggle to form a surrogate family, a crack appears. For some, the lack of emotional support promotes the dangerous appeal of frustration, jealousy, and extremist rhetoric.
“These young people live without any mistakes,” Molina told Variety. “If they fail their driver’s license exams or fail with the wrong group of friends, they could lose everything. That abandonment and lack of support make them vulnerable to hate speech and extreme right ideas. Fear becomes a source of violence.”
Molina developed a project from the documentary “Remember My Name,” which follows the girls at Merira’s shelter. Filmmakers aim to stay close to them, integrate their experiences into the script and maintain credibility through street casting and workshops. “I don’t want to tell their stories from the outside,” she said. “We’ll get them in front and behind the camera, mix professional actresses like Alba Flores with non-actors to capture the real language and textures of their world.”
For Molina, the move towards fiction is a deliberate change in control. “You can’t always shape aesthetics in a documentary. Here, I want to make a physical, sensory film where the apartment itself reflects the inner world of the characters,” she said. She quoted “Kinki Cinema.” I cited Spanish films from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Despite the heavy subject matter, Molina insists on the light be. “Humor and kindness are essential,” she said. “These girls build lives of ingenuity and absurdity and ambitious. I want to show not only the pain, but the bright side of their struggle.”
The Eel Dilemma, produced by Montse Pujol Solà on Guspira Films, is budgeted at 2 million euros and is actively seeking funding. This project is looking for distributors, sales agents, co-producers and television partners. Pujolsola, chosen as one of the 10 Spanish producers of variety to watch in 2024, previously produced “Tritie Drift” and “I Remember My Name.” “Elena has the unique ability to portray harsh reality with empathy. It’s never a shame because it’s raw and illuminating,” Pujol Sora said. “That’s what drew me to the project and why did I feel it was natural to chase her from documentaries to fiction?”
In addition to Ecam’s incubadora, the project has participated in the Catalan Academy of Films under Carla Simón and is currently participating in Netflix/Dama’s “Cambio de Plano.” The team is in discussion with Spanish and international partners, and France is considered a natural co-production territory following Molina’s final collaboration with Les Films D’Ici.
“The reality that the film depicts is not just Spanish,” Puyol Sora said. “Where vulnerable young people are forced to navigate adulthood without assistance, it resonates in Europe and beyond. That’s why we are confident in our international reach.”
Morina emphasizes the urgency. “When I first started writing, people warned me not to overstate violence. But recent events have been worse than I had imagined. Hate speech is growing, and the film is responsible for dealing with it. “Eel Dilemma” is a way to do that.
