QUIET! WE’RE FILMING!

QUIET! WE’RE FILMING! FILMS SHOT IN IBIZA

By Laura Martínez

The island is an eternal source of inspiration six movies for filmmakers. These five films, shot on the island of Ibiza, combine the well-known with the little-known. But don’t worry, I’m gonna give you everything you need to awaken your curiosity and inner cinephile.

AMNESIA – GABRIELE SALVATORES 2002

Entirely shot on the island and produced in Italy, this film from the early 2000s tells three stories about parent-child relationship issues that intertwine with each other. A fiftysomething man who directs and produces porn films wants to reconnect with his daughter Luce, whom he hasn’t seen for a long time. At the same time, a father and son from entirely different worlds find the reasons for their lack of communication. These two stories converge with Angelino, a beach bar owner, who links the two. Ibiza shines in all its splendour and is the paradisiacal setting where family problems and solutions converge simultaneously. Featuring two well-known faces from Spanish TV and cinema, Rubén Ochandiano and Juanjo Puigcorbé, this film was nominated for the David di Donatello and the Golden Biznaga of Malaga awards in 2001 and 2002, respectively.

WHERE WILL MY CHILD BE? LUIS MªDELGADO, 1981

Manolo Escobar is in top form, playing himself in this wonderful eighties comedy co-starring María Kosty and Antonio Garisa. Escobar meets Diana, a beautiful, determined young woman whose motorbike breaks down on a road in Ibiza. Manolo picks her up in his brand-new red Mustang convertible, and they embark on a torrid summer romance, after which she becomes pregnant with their son, Lito. But Manolo never learns of Lito’s existence. After the summer, they go their separate ways, and Diana raises the child independently. Seven years later, Diana decides to look for him with the help of Manolo’s father - who knows about their relationship - and together, they embark on an adventure to tell the singer about his son’s existence. The Ibizan roads and their sunsets are the omniscient protagonists of this endearing film.

MORE - BARBET SCHROEDER 1969

More is probably the best-known film, shot in Ibiza, on this list. Considered a cult classic, it deals with themes that were lurid for the 1960s: drugs, casual sex... topics that were still taboo at the time and which production companies and filmmakers tried hard to avoid. Stefan Brückner (Klaus Grünberg) is a young German mathematics graduate who, after a brief adventure in Paris, accepts the invitation of a beautiful and enigmatic young woman named Estelle to travel to Ibiza. He discovers Estelle’s strange and dependent relationship with Wolf, an ex-Nazi. A damaging love triangle and addiction are the main ingredients of this iconic film, the soundtrack of which was composed mainly for the movie by Pink Floyd. Filmed in the streets of Ibiza’s old town, Dalt Vila, and by the magnetic islet Es Vedrá... the film’s photography brings out the best of our beloved, beautiful island.

THE LONG AGONY OF THE FISH OUT OF WATER - FRANCISCO ROVIRA BELETA, 1970

“But isn’t that fisherman Joan Manuel Serrat?” is the first thing you might say when you start to watch this film that is halfway between a drama and a musical. The renowned Catalan singer-songwriter made this film in the 70s in which he plays the role of Joan, a fisherman from a small village on the Costa Brava who falls in love with an English tourist called Mabel. When she returns to London, he follows her there and becomes involved with the hippie movement. He even lands a gig performing at the Isle of Wight Festival to get her attention, but in the end, he doesn’t even manage to win over his summer crush. After this disappointment, the fisherman-singer heads to a hippy commune in Ibiza. The film paints a reasonably accurate portrait of what the island was like then and radiates a timeless nostalgia for an era that will always be longed for.

THE TROUBLE WITH SPIES – BURT KENNEDY 1987

Starring Donald Sutherland and Ned Beatty, this hilarious spy spoof was filmed on the island in 1984. The plot centres on the disappearance of secret agent George Trent in Ibiza. His inept colleague Appleton Porter (Sutherland) is sent to investigate, during which the clueless agent comes close to losing his life on countless occasions, which is the real meat of the film. The film marks the final big-screen appearance of Oscar-winning veteran actress Ruth Gordon (‘Rosemary’s Baby’) as Mrs. Arkwright. A curious fact for film buffs: the role of Appleton Porter, the film’s protagonist, was first offered to actor Michael Caine for one million dollars (in 1987!), but Caine turned down the role, and Sutherland stepped in, proving to be the perfect choice to play such an endearing oaf.

ZARABANDA BING BING (BALEARIC CAPER) JOSE MARÍA FORQUÉ, 1966

The French actor Jacques Sernas and the beautiful Italian actress Daniela Bianchi head the cast of this unclassifiable, funny and brilliant film that is halfway between adventure and comedy. Directed by José María Forqué - father of the great Verónica Forqué – this hilarious film centres its plot on the discovery of a priceless sceptre at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, heavily desired by a wealthy American heiress. The fantastic images of the Port of Ibiza and Dalt Vila’s cobbled streets in the mid-1960s, Daniela Bianchi’s outfits and a simply perfect script make this film one of cinema’s hidden gems.