This Wednesday, on the set of Almodóvar's 17th film, the word "cut" was heard for the last time. After more than two weeks of intense filming, the recordings came to an end. For this reason, the Meliá Salinas hotel celebrated a spectacular farewell party.
During the event, with toasts and fireworks included, María José Docal, on behalf of the Tourism Board and the Cabildo, thanked the director from La Mancha for choosing Lanzarote as the setting for his new project and invited Almodóvar to return to the island "but to rest and enjoy a vacation." In the toast, the councilor invited Almodóvar to premiere "Broken Embraces" in Lanzarote, an invitation that the director kindly accepted, not ruling out the possibility that the film will be screened for the first time on the island.
The mayor of Yaiza, Gladys Acuña, and the Councilor for Tourism of Yaiza, Evaristo García, also attended the event, and presented him with a souvenir of Lanzarote. The councilors Noelia Umpiérrez and Juan Jesús González attended on behalf of the Teguise City Council.
Thus, after this warm farewell, the team is leaving the island, from this Thursday, in a staggered manner. Aware of the inconvenience they have caused to the inhabitants, especially for having closed roads on several occasions, they take the opportunity to apologize. "We have tried not to harm the island," says a spokesperson for the production company. Now, she and several more members will stay for a few days to return the cars they have used and the sets. This past week, the team has returned to record in Famara, both on the beach and in one of the bungalows they rented.
Next stop, Madrid
From May 26 to June 11, Pedro Almodóvar has toured emblematic places, which he had personally chosen on previous visits, such as Playa del Golfo, Mirador del Río, the roundabout of the César Manrique Foundation, La Geria or Famara beach. Exceptional scenarios in which the constant presence of neighbors and the media has not been lacking. A team of 70 people, plus the 150 extras that Almodóvar hired on the island, have shaped the passionate and tragic love story that takes place on the island, starring Penélope Cruz and Lluís Homar.
Despite the large influx of neighbors present in each sequence, the production company appreciates that "people stood behind the fence so as not to disturb". After the island of volcanoes, now it's Madrid's turn. The director will shoot there, in principle, until the month of September. And if everything goes well, according to Almodóvar's calculations, "Broken Embraces" will premiere in early 2009.
