Foremost by Night

2023 film

Foremost by Night

Theatrical release poster

Spanish| Sobre todo de noche
Directed by| Víctor Iriarte
Screenplay by|

* Víctor Iriarte
* Isa Campo
* Andrea Queralt

Starring|

* Lola Dueñas
* Ana Torrent
* Manuel Egozkue

Cinematography| Pablo Paloma
Edited by| Ana Pfaff

Production
companies

* Atekaleun
* CSC Films
* La Termita Films
* Ukbar Filmes
* 4A4 Productions

Distributed by| Atalante (es)

Release dates

* 2 September 2023 (2023-09-02) (Venice)
* 1 December 2023 (2023-12-01) (Spain)

Countries|

* Spain
* Portugal
* France

Foremost by Night (Spanish: Sobre todo de noche) is a 2023 neo-noir melodrama film directed by Víctor Iriarte [es] (in his feature film debut)[1] which stars Lola Dueñas and Ana Torrent alongside Manuel Egozkue. It is a Spanish-Portuguese-French international co-production.

## Plot

[edit]

Exploring the issue of stolen children in Spain,[2] the plot tracks Vera's search for her biological son, given in adoption, thereby coming across Cora and her adoptive son Egoz.[3]

## Cast

[edit]

* Lola Dueñas as Vera[4]
* Ana Torrent as Cora[4]
* Manuel Egozkue as Egoz[4]
* María Vázquez as bibliotecaria[5] ('librarian')
* Katia Borlado[5]
* Lina Rodrigues[5]

## Production

[edit]

The screenplay was penned by Víctor Iriarte, Isa Campo, and Andrea Queralt.[6] The film was known in early development stages under the provisional title Reescritura.[7] A Spanish-Portuguese-French venture, the film was produced by Atekaleun, CSC Films and La Termita Films alongside Ukbar Filmes and 4A4 Productions, and it had the participation of TVE and TVC and backing from ICAA, the Basque Government, and the Foral Deputation of Gipuzkoa.[7][4] Shooting locations included the Basque Country, Madrid, Paris, and Portugal.[8][7]

## Release

[edit]

The film made it to the 'Venice Days' independent slate of the 80th Venice Film Festival,[9] where it was presented on 2 September 2023.[2] It was also selected for screenings in the 'New Directors' competitive section of the 58th Chicago International Film Festival and the main competition section of the 68th Valladolid International Film Festival.[10][11] Distributed by Atalante, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 1 December 2023.[12][13]

## Reception

[edit]

According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Foremost by Night has a 100% approval rating based on 9 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[14]

Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be a "admirable, well-crafted feature debut" for Iriarte, yet otherwise remarkably lacking in "the human dimension, the emotional undertow".[15]

Paula Arantzazu Ruiz [es] of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be a "stimulating, unpredictable, sensitive, painful and hopeful" exercise in which both Dueñas and Torrent shine.[16]

### Top ten lists

[edit]

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2023:

* 1st — El Periódico de Catalunya (critics)[17]
* 1st — El Confidencial (consensus)[18]

## Accolades

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category | Nominee(s)  | Result | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2024

| 11th Feroz Awards | 'Arrebato' Special Award (Fiction) | Won |

[19]

16th Gaudí Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Isa Campo, Andrea Queralt, Víctor Iriarte | Nominated | [20]
Best Supporting Actress | Ana Torrent | Nominated
Best Editing | Ana Pfaff | Nominated

## See also

[edit]

* List of Spanish films of 2023
* List of French films of 2024

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Giornate degli Autori, i film della ventesima edizione". Cinematografo. 27 July 2023.
2. ^ a b Meseguer, Astrid (2 September 2023). "El fantasma de los bebés robados españoles irrumpe en el Festival de Venecia". La Vanguardia.
3. ^ ""Sobre todo de noche", de Víctor Iriarte, competirá en Giornate degli Autore de Venecia". EiTB. 27 July 2023.
4. ^ a b c d "Se está rodando la ópera prima de Víctor Iriarte, 'Reescritura', protagonizada por Lola Dueñas y Ana Torrent". Camera and Light Mag. 8 August 2022.
5. ^ a b c Úbeda-Portugués, Alberto (23 November 2023). "Los estrenos del 1 de diciembre. 'Sobre todo de noche'. Almas perdidas". Aisge.
6. ^ "Isaki Lacuesta apadrina "Reescritura", debut de Víctor Iriarte, ya en rodaje". Cadena COPE. 7 August 2022.
7. ^ a b c "Víctor Iriarte concluirá en París el rodaje de 'Sobre todo de noche', su primer largometraje". Audiovisual451. 7 December 2022.
8. ^ Fernández, Harri X. (2 January 2023). "El cine vasco no pierde fuelle". Deia.
9. ^ "Isabelle Huppert Drama, Peter Sarsgaard Spanish Flu Satire, Celine Sciamma Short Set for Venice Days". The Hollywood Reporter. 27 July 2023.
10. ^ Kay, Jeremy (14 September 2023). "'Fallen Leaves', 'About Dry Grasses', 'La Chimera' among Chicago fest international line-up (exclusive)". ScreenDaily.
11. ^ Altuna, Itziar (24 August 2023). "La Seminci selecciona las nuevas películas de Víctor Iriarte, Oskar Alegria y el Colectivo Negu". Diario Vasco. Grupo Vocento.
12. ^ Ruiz, Paula Arantzazu (23 October 2023). "Seminci 2023 | 'Sobre todo de noche': la historia de un crimen atroz contada deslumbrantemente por Víctor Iriarte". Cinemanía - via 20minutos.es.
13. ^ Rivera, Alfonso (25 July 2022). "En marcha el primer largometraje de Víctor Iriarte, Sobre todo de noche". Cineuropa.
14. ^ "Foremost by Night". RottenTomatoes. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
15. ^ Holland, Jonathan (2 September 2023). "'Foremost By Night': Venice Review". ScreenDaily.
16. ^ Ruiz, Paula Arantzazu (23 October 2023). "Seminci 2023 | 'Sobre todo de noche': la historia de un crimen atroz contada deslumbrantemente por Víctor Iriarte". Cinemanía - via 20minutos.es.
17. ^ Casas, Quim (22 December 2023). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023". El Periódico de Catalunya. Prensa Ibérica.
18. ^ Medina, Marta (21 December 2023). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2023: niños robados, sexualidad femenina y monjas, muchas monjas". El Confidencial.
19. ^ Abenia, Enrique (27 January 2024). "Palmarés completo de los Premios Feroz 2024: 'Robot Dreams' y '20.000 especies de abejas' triunfan y 'La Mesías' arrasa". Cinemanía - via 20minutos.es.
20. ^ Oteo, Jana (5 February 2024). "Premios Gaudí 2024: Lista completa de los ganadores". La Razón.

## External links

[edit]

* Foremost by Night at IMDb

*[Ref.]: Reference