Frontera

1943. Franco has blocked the passage of refugees fleeing Nazi repression across the Pyrenees. At the customs post in a border village, Manel Grau, a government official with a Republican past, decides to disobey orders with the help of Juliana, a local woman, and Jérôme, a French smuggler. Together, they embark on a crusade to help as many people as possible escape the war. Manel soon finds himself caught up in a dangerous odyssey that will awaken old ghosts in both him and his wife, Mercè, from the still-recent Spanish Civil War.

Judith Colell was born in Barcelona in 1968. She holds a PhD in Communication from Ramon Llull University (URL), a degree in Art History from the University of Barcelona (UB), and a Certificate in Film from New York University. In addition to directing several television films, she has directed the feature films El dominio de los sentidos (1997) (Collective); Mujeres (2001), which received awards at the Sitges, Lorca and Vitoria Film Festivals, among others; 53 días de invierno (2007), which premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival, won Best Actress at the Toulouse Film Festival, and was nominated for 10 Barcelona Awards; and Elisa K (2010), which won the Special Jury Prize at the San Sebastián Film Festival, a Special Mention from the Jury in Nantes, and the National Culture Award from the Government of Catalonia, and was nominated for 5 Gaudí Awards and for the Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, among other accolades. In 2021, she directed 15 Horas, a Dominican production filmed entirely in Santo Domingo, which won the SIGNIS Award at the Málaga Film Festival and Best Screenplay in Marseille, France. She has been President of the Catalan Film Academy since 2021. She previously served as Vice-President of the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences and is a founding member of CIMA, the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media.

Presentation and Q&A with the director.

Year of Production: 2025

Time: 100’

Country: Spain

Language: Catalan, Spanish, German, French, Yiddish. Original version with subtitles in Spanish

Director: Judith Colell

Cast: Miki Esparbé, Maria Rodríguez Soto, Asier Etxeandia, Bruna Cusí, Jordi Sánchez

Production: Marta Ramírez, Jaume Banacolocha, Jordi Frades, Albert Sagalés, Mar Medir

Script: Gerard Giménez Forner, Miguel Ibáñez Monroy

Director of Photography: Andreu Adam Rubiralta (AEC)

Production Companies: Coming Soon, Diagonal, Crespeth Films, Bulletproof Cupid

Distribution: Filmax

Winner of Best Film, Best Supporting Actress and Best Costume Design at the Gaudí Awards

Selected at SEMINCI