Bendita Film Sales has acquired international rights to “The Fortunate Isles” (“Las islas afortunadas”), a 15th-century period drama directed by Helena Girón and Samuel Delgado, ahead of its world premiere in Toronto’s Discovery section.
“The Fortunate Isles” marks the second feature from Girón and Delgado, whose debut, “They Carry Death” (“Eles transportan a morte”), premiered at Venice International Critics’ Week in 2021 before receiving a Special Jury Mention at San Sebastián’s Zabaltegi-Tabakalera sidebar.
The Spanish-Greek co-production is produced by Spain’s El Viaje Films and La Banda Negra, with Greece’s Asterisk* as co-producer.
Set in the Canary Islands following the French-Norman conquest of the archipelago’s eastern islands, the film unfolds as a new colonial order takes root under the Spanish Crown.
Fátima, an enslaved woman, lives under an elderly, decadent French marquis who controls the island’s only source of fresh water. When villagers rebel and the well runs dry, she sets out across the barren landscape in search of water — and a chance of survival for the entire community.
‘The Fortunate Isles’ Courtesy of Bendita Film Sales
“Set in a forgotten corner of our colonial history, which Greek mythology once placed Paradise, ‘The Fortunate Isles’ evokes a world of drought and conquest, where the fates of enslaved people, settlers and survivors converged in the violent birth of a new social order whose legacy continues to shape our present,” Girón and Delgado said.
Newcomer Luisa Ahl Laabiad leads the cast as Fátima. Lou Castel, known for Marco Bellocchio’s “Fists in the Pocket,” and longtime Claire Denis collaborator Grégoire Colin (“Beau Travail”) co-star.
“We were immediately drawn to the singular world Helena and Samuel have created,” said Bendita Film Sales CEO Luis Renart. “Rooted in a little-known chapter of Canary Islands history, the film turns scarcity, conquest and rebellion into a striking and deeply contemporary story about power, solidarity and collective survival.”
“‘The Fortunate Isles’ speaks powerfully to the present moment, exploring urgent questions of resource scarcity, power and exploitation while offering a deeply humane vision of another possible future, one grounded in solidarity, collective care and resistance, all within the directors’ most narrative-driven film to date,” said Marina Alberti at Santa Cruz de Tenerife-based El Viaje Films.
The film is produced by José Alayón, Jairo López, José Miguel Viña and Jamie Weiss at El Viaje, alongside La Banda Negra’s Samuel Delgado. Alberti serves as an executive producer with Asterisk*’s Vicky Miha and La Banda Negra’s Helena Girón.
Shot in the Canary Islands and post-produced in Athens by Greek co-producer Asterisk*, “The Fortunate Isles” is spoken in Spanish, French and Arabic.
The project received public backing from Spain’s ICAA, the Canary Islands government, the Greek Film Institute and Creative Europe MEDIA slate funding. During development, it was selected for Mexico’s Catapulta Ficunam, Greece’s Oxbelly Screenwriters Program, Spain’s ECAM Forum and the D’A Film Lab.
Girón and Delgado have collaborated for more than a decade on films exploring history, mythology and materialism. Their shorts “Neither God Nor Santa María” and “Burning Mountains That Spew Flame” both screened at Toronto, while “Plus Ultra” premiered at Locarno.
Samuel Delgado and Helena Girón Courtesy of Bendita Film Sales
