Spectacular promotion of “Claret” in the United States: it opens in a thousand theaters

There it is titled ‘Slaves and kings’ and the main character’s fight against slavery during the years in which he was a bishop in Cuba has gone deep.

The movie claret, by Pablo Moreno, which had a lukewarm reception in Spain, largely due to the impact of Covid on movie theaters, is getting even with its international release. Especially this week, in which it has starred in a spectacular simultaneous premiere in a thousand theaters in the United States, on August 22 and 23.

No other previous Pablo Moreno film – not even Freedom Networkwhich was the most international to date – had enjoyed similar promotion in the country that is home to the mecca of cinema.

But it is that, in addition, in the month of July it premiered in Mexico, on Thursday, August 26 it did so in Ecuador, in September it will travel to Argentina and Chile, and in October it will be released in Brazil.

The premiere in the United States has caused some developments in relation to the original film. The first has to do with the title, which is slaves and kings (Slaves and kings) given that the figure of Claret is not as well known as in Spain.

“They warned us that Claret is a brand of wine there,” explains the director of the film, Pablo Moreno, the most persistent and constant narrator of stories of religious figures in the country.

The second novelty is the addition, during the screenings, of extra material, about 15 minutes long, which helps to situate the North American viewer so that he knows the figure of Claret and the relevance of the order he founded: the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart. of Mary, better known as Claretians.

fight against slavery

Pablo Moreno explains that the new title did not seek to provoke a special effect in the audience, but only allude to the two main parts of the film: Claret’s stay as bishop in Cuba, where he stands out for his fight against slavery, and his period as confessor to Queen Elizabeth II, that allows to recreate the atmosphere of the Spanish Court in the 19th century.

BOSCO FILMS

However, the appeal to slavery quickly resonated with the social concerns of the American public, where this topic is still very hot; “And very especially from the Cuban community in Miami, which has a very vivid memory of those episodes in the history of their country,” explains Moreno.

The film has been well received and has been praised for its good technical finish, production design and acting, as well as the interest of an extraordinary and little-known story.

A story that has the wisdom to be articulated through the figure of the writer Azorín, who discovers that everything that was believed to be known in his time about Claret was distortions or lies created by his enemies, and who launches himself in search of the truth .

prejudices

“Among the criticisms we have received, the most serious have deplored our decision to dub the film into English; but we wanted to make it easier for it to reach the widest possible audience”, explains Moreno. In fact, the film has been screened for two days, one in English and the other in Spanish. “When we have the viewer data we will see if the decision to dub it was a right or wrong.”

Another criticism is more surprising. «Some said that the film was very good, but that it was a pity that it was about a man of the Church; which gives an idea of ​​the extent to which prejudices last”, laments, surprised, the director.

Moreno is very pleased with the spectacular North American premiere, which has been made possible thanks to the company Fathon Events and the distributor Bosco Films. But he has the thorn in the middle of the results of claret in Spain.

«The fear of people to go to theaters because of Covid affected us a lot, but perhaps it is not the only reason and we are witnessing a change of time and uses. We have to consider whether the traditional theatrical distribution model is going to continue to be valid in the coming years”, reflects the filmmaker.

In any case, the director of claret He is in favor of giving the film a new opportunity in Spain. “We are left with the doubt of not knowing how the film would have worked in theaters in another context, without the conditioning factors of fear of Covid,” he explains. «When the international tour concludes and we take stock, we may choose to re-release it. I am, of course, in favor of doing so.”

spiritual cinema

Moreno recognizes that the film market is undergoing very drastic changes; but he also regrets that the public interested in religious films or documentaries is still a fragile market in Spain.

It exists, there is an interested public, «but it is not a trained public, aware that it has to support this type of cinema; so that it is possible to continue doing so, to favor the existence of an industry”, says Moreno. “In this field, the Protestants are ten years ahead of us.”

BOSCO FILMS

Director of claret and of a forbidden god Take the series as an example chosen, which is a free access biblical blockbuster and has managed to create a firm and solid community of believers. So much so that when they premiered a film version of the same content in theaters that their audience could later watch for free online, fans of chosen They filled the halls. “This helps an industry to develop,” explains Moreno. And this is what is still very green in Spain.

A man for our time

Regarding the protagonist of his film, he assures that Antonio María Claret «is a man for our time».

«Claret gave everything he had to defend the truth: he is an apostle, an intellectual, a missionary and a saint. There are elements of Claret’s spirituality that are very relevant today: his fight against slavery, against racism; his desire to educate people, to enlighten them in the midst of circumstances like those of the 19th century; which coincidentally seem to me to have parallels with our current times and circumstances.”

“We are thrilled to bring another inspiring story of faith to American film audiences,” said Lucía González-Barandiarán, founder of Bosco Films. «slaves and kings features a hero who is still hugely topical 150 years later; but perhaps the most interesting thing about his figure is that he died as a loser that only 60 years later was discovered in authenticity ».

“I really liked how the film tells the process of the vocational call,” explains Moreno. And also his vision of the virtues that a priest must have, “and that must be taken care of, also today; such as the ability to listen to the other, as well as an effort to communicate directly, without detours or rhetoric».

Claretian spirituality has also been highly valued by North American viewers; «which is simple, at ground level, and that is always very popular», says Moreno. In the United States, in fact, the Claretians live in the poorest areas of the country, “and the missionary fire continues to burn in them.”