Director Alexis Morante premieres his new film, A Stone's Throw from You, a romantic comedy shot in Gran Canaria. The story centers on a relationship between two men, but avoids typical conflicts like coming out of the closet. Morante seeks to normalize diverse relationships, showing them without making them the axis of the drama. The film also claims Canary identity, an element he considers absent in productions that only use the islands for their tax incentives.
Technology at the service of authenticity: capturing the Canary essence 🎬
Beyond the narrative, the project stands out for its technical commitment to the location. The cinematography seeks to capture the specific light of Gran Canaria, moving away from the typical postcard image. Direct sound records real accents and environments, prioritizing authenticity over the artificial clarity of dubbing. This technical approach, from the choice of locations to working with local actors, constitutes a statement of intent against productions that use the territory as a neutral and identity-less set.
The 'palm tree set' syndrome and other cinematic diseases 😄
The film seems to diagnose a common ailment: the palm tree set syndrome. It's that condition by which a production company sees the Canary Islands only as a green screen background, but with guaranteed sun and tax relief. The characters could be anywhere, because the place doesn't matter. Morante, on the other hand, prescribes a dose of reality: accents that sound real, streets that are not just in front of a hotel, and a story where the conflict is not being gay, but dealing with a somewhat chaotic family or the price of housing. A revolutionary approach: treating people and places as what they are.