Cinema Releases - Summer 1993

• 

The film is directly based on the director's own childhood. In the summer of 1993, following the death of her parents, six year old Frida moves from Barcelona to the Catalan countryside to live with her aunt and uncle, now her new legal guardians. Country life is a challenge for Frida – time passes differently, and the nature that surrounds her is mysterious. She now has a new little sister whom she has to take care of, and has to deal with new feelings, such as jealousy. Often, Frida is naively convinced that running away would be the best solution to her problems. Yet, the family does what it can to achieve a fragile new balance and bring normality to their life. Occasional family outings to a local fiesta or a swimming pool, cooking or listening to jazz in the garden bring them moments of happiness. Slowly, Frida realizes that she is there to stay and has to adapt to the new environment. Before the summer is over, she has to cope with her emotions and her new parents have to learn to love her as their own daughter.

Winner Best First Feature Film and Generation KPlus Grand Prix International Jury -  Berlin Film Festival 2017
Summer 1993 was the   Spanish Oscar entry for 2018
Winner  'Best New Director', 'Best New Actress' and 'Best Supporting Actor'   Goya awards 2018
Winner 'Best Film' 'Best Director' 'Best Screenplay'  Gaudi awards 2018

Carla Simón Director

Filmography Selected

Carla Simón (1983) studied at the University of California and the Audiovisual Communication Department of Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona. After that she directed TV series and programmes for TV Catalan. After being awarded the prestigious scholarship of Obra Social “la Caixa”, Carla moved to the UK to study at the London Film School, where she wrote and directed the documentary Born Positive and the fiction Lipstick, both short films selected in numerous international film festivals. Summer 1993 is her feature film debut produced by Inicia Films and co-produced by Avalon. The project was developed at Berlinale Script Station, Ekran program in Poland, Sources 2 in Barcelona and won the SGAE screenwriting fund. It was also presented at the Low Budget Film Forum in Les Arcs, Premiers Plans Atelier, Berlinale Co-Production Market and won the first prize in Holland Film Meetings in 2015. The film also received the MEDIA Development funding and the ICAA fund for production. In 2013 Carla created Young For Film!, an association which taught cinema to children and teenagers. Since moving back to Barcelona, she has been collaborating with “Cinema en Curs”.

Summer 1993/Estiu 1993 (Feature, 2017)

Las Pequeñas Cosas / Those Little Things (Fiction, Short, 2014)
Lipstick (Fiction, Short, 2013)
Born Positive (Documentary, Short, 2012)
Lovers (Fiction, Short, 2010) Co-director
Women (Fiction, Short, 2009)

★★★★★

"Stunning drama...brilliantly realised...miraculous child performances...a jewel. In its subtlety,  richness and warmth it is entirely beguiling - complex and simple at the same time.

It is also very moving...What a lovely film it is."

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

★★★★★

"An utterly beguiling debut feature from Spanish writer-director Carla Simón."

‘Eloquent…a finely crafted portrait of personal upheaval...It’s such a sad, wise insight into the way children process grief, the way happiness and mourning can coexist. It destroyed me."

Wendy Ide, The Observer

★★★★★

"Carla Simón’s debut feature Summer 1993 is a gem of a film by any standards, but when you learn that its story is based closely on the thirtysomething Catalan director’s own early life, its intimacy becomes almost overwhelming. It has at its heart a simply terrific performance from Laia Artigas as Simón’s six-year-old heroine Frida, the intonations of her face conveying variations of emotion that are powerful beyond anything words could achieve.

It's a profoundly humanistic film, bringing home powerfully the sheer achievement of parenthood, as well as how the surrounding society comes through to show its implicit tolerance...A small, but very special film."

Tom Birchenough, The ArtsDesk

★★★★★

"Simón is building to something here, but she does so in such an unobtrusive manner, allowing small moments to unfold and build in a way that, despite a running time only a little over 90 minutes, has a languorous approach that contributes to the summery feel of the film. Even when the emotional crux of the film comes, Simón never overplays her hand.

A hugely impressive directorial debut."

Sam Inglis, The London Economic

★★★★★

"A fantastic debut...Summer 1993 burns slowly across the screen"

Victor Fraga, DMovies

★★★★★

“A stunning debut… A gorgeous, wistful remembrance of a troubled childhood, whose beguiling naturalism mines a deep vein of emotion…heartbreaking.”

Simon Kinnear, Total Film

★★★★★

'Frida’s discovery of the world is depicted with crystal clarity and extraordinary delicacy in a movie that conveys all the mysteries of childhood and a fair few of its pains. A talent to watch Simón has crafted something special. '

Sergi Sanchez, Time Out

'As Sean Baker did in The Florida Project, Simón allows us, as sentient adults, to intuit a situation while preserving the blithe innocence of the youngsters corralled centre frame.'

Mike McCahill, Cinesthesia

'Rather than revelling in blind nostalgia, Simón reminisces in atmospheres and moods – that which is perceptible to a child...(Simón) presents a humbled reflection on the impact of the AIDS crisis in Catalonia, and further on the extent to which youth predetermines the rest of our lives.  In the case of Simón, we are sure to expect wonderful things.'

Lillian Crawford, LITTLE WHITE LIES

"Spain has produced some of cinema’s most resonant child protagonists and there is something of the spirit of Saura’s Cría Cuervos and Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive in Carla Simón’s beautifully crafted film. Balancing an acute sense of place and time with a broader autobiographical slant, Summer 1993 is a distinctive film realised with heartfelt sensitivity and a keen sense of visual poetry."

Maria Delgado, BFI London Film Festival

'Simón foregoes the bells and whistles of many other family melodramas, crafting instead an extraordinary and beautiful work of grief and memory.'

Kyle Turner, Village Voice

'Movingly understated and beautifully acted.'

Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times

'Uniquely vivid and evocative kind of storytelling reminiscent of The Spirit of the Beehive.'

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

Interview with Carla Simón in VARIETY