Madrid (EFE).- The highest grossing saga of Spanish cinema will have a third installment with “Ocho apellidos marroquís”, a new comedy about cultural topics, with a new director, Álvaro Fernández Armero, and a cast: Michelle Jenner, Julián López, Elena Irureta and Maria Ramos.
The film, which initially had the title “Almost family”, has the same producers as “Ocho apellidos vascos” (2014) and “Ocho apellidos catalanes” (2015), Telecinco Cinema and La Zona.
Ghislain Barrois, CEO of Telecinco Cinema, explained that they had been looking for the third installment for some time when they received a story that met the three elements they considered essential: overcoming cultural prejudices through humor, the tenderness of a romantic comedy and the presence of a certain political dimension.
“We started by calling it ‘Almost family’, waiting for the final result and the great work directed by Álvaro Fernández Armero, a master of comedy, and the interpretation of the new cast have more than confirmed that we are before the heir to the saga”, Barrois said.
Fernández Armero is the creator of the series “Shame” and director of films such as “If I were rich” (2019), “The game of truth” (2004) or “Everything is a lie” (1994).
Filmed last summer on locations in Morocco, Cantabria and Madrid, the plot of the new film begins when Carmen (Irureta) decides to fulfill the last wish of José María, her husband and family patriarch: to recover the Sardinete, the first fishing boat in his fleet, which is anchored in a Moroccan port.
On her trip from Cantabria to Morocco, she will be accompanied by her daughter Begoña (Michelle Jenner) and her ex, Guillermo (Julián López), desperate to win back his love. Between cultural shocks, they will also discover José María’s great secret: Hamida (María Ramos), his other daughter.
“Ocho apellidos vascos” is the most viewed and highest-grossing Spanish film in history with almost 9.5 million viewers and 56 million euros in revenue, and its continuation, “Ocho apellidos catalanes”, occupies third place in the same classification, with more than 31 million euros and 5.1 million viewers.
The premiere of “Eight Moroccan surnames” is scheduled for December 1, 2023.
