Filming begins for «While the War Lasts»

Alejandro Amenabar begins filming his next movie, titled While the War Lasts, today. The filmmaker started his work on Bordadores street and will later move to Compañía, with the day concluding on Cervantes street. For two weeks, over a hundred technicians and about a thousand extras will participate in the feature film.

The location scouting, which began in February with the help of the Salamanca Film Commission, has resulted in 15 locations being part of the feature film. The streets: Bordadores, Compañía, Cervantes, de la Veracruz, Tavira, the Church of San Martín, Plaza de San Benito, the University's Historic Building, the Escuelas Mayores courtyard, the Pontifical University, the Old Cathedral, the Roman Bridge and especially La Plaza Mayor, where filming will take place, weather permitting, on May 30th and 31st, will be protagonists in the director's story.

The film sets Salamanca in the 1930s, in the moments leading up to the beginning of the civil war, so the city's transformation work has been exhaustive. For example, in the Salamancan agora, it was necessary to reproduce one of the four flowerbeds that were part of the Plaza (the other three will be digitally reproduced) or recreate the old Novelty. Furthermore, it is necessary to remove anachronistic elements such as benches, lampposts, signs… modify the lighting of the Roman Bridge, or dress the ground with leaves, straw, and sand.

Due to the complexity of the filming, the City Council has collaborated with the work of the Local Police, cleaning services, lighting, civil engineering, maintenance, water, parks and gardens… in addition to ceding La Torre de los Anaya/Palacio de Abrantes as a logistics center. The Adoratrices Building, lent by Caja Duero, has also been used as a second base camp, where the vintage vehicles to be used in the production remain parked.

The feature film stars Karra Errejalde, who will portray Miguel de Unamuno. He will be accompanied by a truly luxurious cast: Eduard Fernández, Santi Prego, and Nathalie Poza will bring the characters of While the War Lasts to life.

The film has a strong Salamancan presence, as technicians from the city are part of the crew. Additionally, the production company held a casting call at Espacio Joven for the selection of 1000 extras, to which 2717 people applied. Training has also been provided, as students from the Communication Faculties of U.S.A.L. and the Pontifical University have been selected to complete their internships on set.

The project has the support of various institutions such as the Salamanca City Council, through the Salamanca Film Commission, U.S.A.L., EspañaDuero, UPSA, and the Cathedral.