San Sebastian – Madrid’s ECAM incubator has a strong history of discovering talent. One of this year’s films vying for the next step is Jordi Boke Claramund’s feature debut “Laughing” (“Riure”). Developed in collaboration with Pausa Dramàtica Films and Fractal, the film casts the world of the circus while exploring family, identity and belonging.
Claramund won the Gaudi Prize for his short story “Unforgettable”,” He teams up once again with producer Anna Moragriega Juárez, who co-founded Pausa Dramatica with Olga Doganok.
Laughing, currently in development, centers on Lola, a young clown who grows up in her family’s declining circus troupe. A key moment occurs when a trained horse accidentally injures a child during a performance. “I would like to define this film as the story of a modern-day mermaid princess, lived through the eyes of Laura, a young clown who grew up in her parents’ circus. Laura sets out to find her own path away from the circus tent. She’s working hard. She feels like she’s no longer representing herself,” Claramund said. varietyadding, “Simply put, I sometimes say it’s the story of a clown who has lost his desire to laugh or to keep making people laugh.”
Her once-thriving business is crumbling, and “she wonders if there’s really any point in taking over a declining circus where she doesn’t feel heard, and is looking for new creative outsiders.” I decided to look for opportunities,” the director explained.
From there, she attended a theater acting school in the city, where she felt she was “more listened to and given more creative power. There, she was able to meet people her own age with similar dreams and aspirations.” But she also finds a more individualistic, cynical, and masked society in contrast to her family’s communal life in the circus. ”
Laughing, co-written by Boke Claramund and Tomás Bayo N’Kontra, highlights the conflict between generations in a close-knit world of outsiders. Claramund’s research is immersive. “This summer I am living and working with an active family circus troupe, living in a tent and a small van. This explains how difficult and demanding it is to run a circus today. It turns out that in the face of harsh external criticism, bureaucracy is increasing and newer, more comfortable art forms are being sought after.
In addition to ECAM, producer Fares detailed the project’s journey. “We participated in several scriptwriting labs and the incubator provided necessary support for the production and design aspects of our films. In 2022, we joined FaberLlull Residence and the SGAE Foundation Script Lab. I became a member of
Pausa Dramatica Film, founded by Fares and Doganok, is leading the film’s development. “The team we have assembled together with my co-screenwriter Tomas Bayo Nkontra has deep meaning for me and my production company. has inspired us to promote new voices, potentially young talents who share our friends and values,” said Fares.
The filmmaker hopes the film will speak to a generation of “post-millennials who are currently facing an uncertain and discouraging future,” and that it is a challenge that has been imposed on us. It also conflicts with big ambitions and a desire for “growth.” he said.
“In a time when everything is possible and everything seems impossible, Laura’s desire to find her own ambitious path and the feeling that she doesn’t belong anywhere or that no one understands her… It explores the conflict between the constant frustration of not being able to do something, and I think this feeling resonates with people my age.”
