Dark, gripping, multi-narrative thriller set in rural Spain. "Exciting picture of a crime and how its ripples beget other acts of turpitude and create new victims." — The Observer
Screened as part of NZIFF 2007
The Night of the Sunflowers 2007
La noche de los girasoles
An atmosphere of ominous danger pervades this dark and gripping thriller set in rural Spain. Esteban, a speleologist, is asked to survey a recently discovered cave that locals believe will put their nearby sleepy little town on the map. He is saddled with Pedro, a photographer, and Gabi, Esteban’s girlfriend, also accompanies them on the trip. While waiting outside the cave, Gabi is viciously assaulted. Reason gives way to crazed instinct as the men seek revenge, leading to grave consequences that none of the three could have foreseen.
“Debut feature director Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo… expertly succeeds in creating a palpable sense of menace across the film’s six chapters, each realised from the point of view of one of the film’s multiple protagonists... But this is no exercise in style over substance, for The Night of the Sunflowers asks profound questions around the moral choices we execute in times of crisis… A dazzling reflection on violence, vengeance and the problems of being in the wrong place at the wrong time." — Maria Delgado, London Film Festival