Polar Star Films’ feature debut, Facing the Wind by Meritxell Colell, received rave reviews at the 68th Berlinale last week.

Showing to packed theatres at all 5 shows, this tender tale of return and reconciliation struck a chord amongst critics and general public alike.

The subtle yet profound portrayal of family situations moved Alfonso Rivera from Cineeuropa who noted how: “the smallest gestures end up making a dent in the armour of those who left their world behind“.

Luis Martinéz from El Mundo also lauded the transparent emotion of reality that the film depicts, calling it “a debut worthy of comparison to Summer 1993”.

“Film that dances while hardly moving” is how Salvador Llopart from La Vanguardia described Facing the Wind, touched by the serene images and the emotion of the dance.

Interviews with Meritxell Colell were extremely sought after during the festival, with the director giving more than twenty interviews to international and national press.

The director’s connection to the successful Spanish women’s filmmaking scene was also a popular topic, Emilio Mayorga from Variety Magazine noted how Meritxell Colell and her peers are spearheading a comeback for Catalan and Spanish cinema since funding was slashed due to cutbacks during the economic crisis, commenting that “more than half of the [Catalan] auteurist movies and debuts — about 15 features — are directed by women, nearly all from a new generation of filmmakers.”
Facing the Wind’s distribution since the world premiere at Berlin is looking good as several festivals are on the horizon, and Numax Distribution (Mimosas) has snapped up the film for cinema theatres in Spain.

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