Alejandro Amenábar shoots 'The Captive', produced by MOD and Himenóptero about Cervantes

The experiences and adventures of the young Miguel de Cervantes during his captivity in Algiers will be addressed by Alejandro Amenábar in 'El captivo', a feature film already being filmed with the impetus of MOD and Hymenoptera.

The Castle Fortress of Santa Pola, the Castle of Santa Bárbara and the Ciudad de La Luz studios in Alicante, different locations in Valencia and Seville will be some of the locations that will host the filming of The captive, and feature film with which Amenábar will seek, in his own words, “to relate the dark reality in which he lived Miguel de Cervantes” during his captivity in Algiers in order to highlight how his life “conditioned the humanism and complexity of his work.” "It is known that he was already writing at that time, and one of his stories in Don Quixote, precisely titled "The Captive", contains numerous autobiographical references. Miguel de Cervantes left a great story untold: his own. It is time for us to know it."

Con script by Amenábar himself, The captive is starring Julio Pena and Alessandro Borghi, who are accompanied by Miguel Rellán, Fernando Tejero, José Manuel Poga, Luis Callejo, Roberto Álamo, Albert Salazar, César Sarachu and the debutante Luna Berroa, among others. The film is a Spanish-Italian co-production directed by MOD e Hymenoptera (responsables de The Others, Mar Adentro, Now o Mientras dure the guerra), Misent Producciones y Propaganda Italia, y cuenta con la participación de Netflix, RTVE y RAI Cinema y con el apoyo de ICAA-Ministerio de Cultura, Generalitat Valenciana y Eurimages. Buena Vista International estrenará la película en cines en 2025, mientras que Film Constellation está al cargo de las ventas internacionales.

La producción ejecutiva corre a cargo de Fernando Bovaira, productor de las películas de Alejandro Amenábar y series de éxito como Los Farad, The Fortuna, Crematorium o tomorrow. En el equipo técnico, destacan, en la dirección de fotografía, Álex Catalán (While the war lasts); en diseño de producción, Juan Pedro de Gaspar (While the war lasts); en diseño de vestuario, Nicoletta Taranta (Para Chiara); en maquillaje y peluquería, Ana López Puigcerver and Belén López Puigcerver (Oscar nominated for The Snow Society), and in sound design, Gabriel Gutierrez (While the war lasts). Alejandro Amenábar will also compose the soundtrack of the movie.

This is the synopsis of The captive: "Year 1575. The young Miguel de Cervantes, wounded in naval combat, is captured on the high seas by Algerian corsairs during his return to Spain. Miguel, aware that a cruel death awaits him in Algiers if his ransom is not paid soon, discovers an unexpected refuge in his passion for telling stories. His fascinating stories restore hope to his fellow prisoners and end up attracting the attention of Hasán, the mysterious and feared Pasha of Algiers, with whom he begins to "Develop a strange affinity. As conflicts grow among his companions, Miguel, carried away by his unwavering optimism, will begin to devise a risky escape plan."