Facing the Wind (Con el Viento), directed by Meritxell Collell, will World Premiere at this year’s Berlinale.

Polar Star Films, established producer of international documentary, will compete with its first fiction feature in the Forum section of this world-famous festival.

Facing the Wind tells the story of Mónica and her reconciliation with a life she had left behind. She receives a call in Buenos Aires: her father is terminally ill. After 20 years, Mónica must return to the remote village in Burgos, Spain, where she was born. When she arrives, her father has already passed away and her mother decides to sell the family home, asking Mónica to stay to help her. Winter comes. The perpetual silence, extreme cold, and facing up to a dysfunctional family, prove tough for Mónica, who takes refuge in what she knows best: dance.

The film marries dance, documentary and cine d’auteur to create a singular tale of home ties and relationships. Facing the Wind stars Mónica Garcia, real-life choreographer and dancer, alongside Concha Canal a first-time actor at 87 years old.  Goya winner Ana Fernández (Solas, Historia de un beso, You’re the one) and Elena Martín (Júlia Ist, Les Amigues de l’Agata) complete the cast.

Director Meritxell Colell is regarded as one of a new generation of talented female directors in Spain who was selected for Cinéfondation L’Atelier at Cannes to develop Facing the Wind. Films she has edited have been selected at Thessaloniki Film Festival, IDFA Amsterdam, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata, DocumentaMadrid, Ventana Sur and Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival.  Since 2007, she combines teaching cinema with her work as a filmmaker. Currently she is preparing a new feature film as director: DÚO, recently selected for MIA Cinema Co-production Market in Rome.
Facing the Wind is a Spain-Argentina-France coproduction produced by Polar Star Films, Habitación 1520 and Paraiso Production, supported by Eurimages, ICAA, INCAA, Cinéfondation L’Atelier, REC and Sources 2.