A Magical Healing Experience: Romería, a Special Behind-the-Scenes Story from Director Carla Simón

Amid the release of director Carla Simón’s latest film, Romería, on May 27, Simón shared the behind-the-scenes story of the work, which draws on her own autobiographical experience, along with a greeting.

Romería is a story of Marina, a 18-year-old whose parents died when she was young, who confronts her family’s hidden secrets through her mother’s diary and the accounts of people around her, and it is a work that Spanish director Carla Simón, who won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival with Alcaraz, Summer, turned into a film from her own real experiences. In particular, it is set against a dazzling yet painful portrait of young people who lived through the liberalization era of the 1980s following the Franco dictatorship. In this installment of what is known as the “Memory Trilogy,” the “Family Trilogy,” or the “Summer Trilogy”—following Frida’s Summer (2017) and Alcaraz, Summer (2022)—Carla Simón brings the memories of individuals and their times back to life with a modern sensibility, using sunlit coastal scenery and restrained emotions, unveiling a poetic film world. Last year, she entered the competition section at the Cannes Film Festival and garnered praise including, “Carla Simón’s singular talent captures the faces of an unpredictable family” (Screen International), “A choice one step away from realism completed her best work” (International Cinephile Society).“

In a video letter unveiled outright ahead of the release, director Carla Simón directly revealed a very special autobiographical detail tied to Vigo (Vigo), a city in the Galicia region, the film’s main setting. The director said “My real father was from Vigo, and my mother also spent time with my father there, in a place filled with energy and music in the ’80s”, confessing the profound sense of liberation she felt while filming in Vigo, where she stepped away from the rural Catalonia that was the setting of her previous works and the blue sea opened up before her. She added “Vigo is always like magic, a special place connected to the stories of my parents’ love”, revealing her heartfelt sincerity projected onto the space.

Finally, director Carla Simón sent a release greeting to Korean audiences, saying “I hope you really enjoy Romería”. With expectations mounting over how the director’s autobiographical experience and the glorious scenery of young people in the 1980s will be reconfigured on the screen, Romería, which will offer beautiful comfort to everyone walking through loss, was released May 27.