SIC: World première of Juan Antonio Bayona's THE ORPHANAGE (EL ORFANATO)

FOR TRAILER, POSTERS, & STILLS, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage (El orfanato) is scheduled to have its world première at the 46th International Critics' Week (46e Semaine Internationale de la Critique - "SIC" for short) in Cannes, which runs from May 17th to 25th. (Like the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs), SIC is a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes).) Distribution rights for the movie are to be offered for sale by Wild Bunch (Exception Wild Bunch S.A.) at this year's Marché du Film in Cannes, which runs from May 16th to 26th. U.S. distribution rights for it have been acquired by Picturehouse Inc.. Warner Bros. Entertainment España S.L. is scheduled to release it theatrically in Spain on October 11th.

The screenplay for The Orphanage was written by Sergio G. Sánchez. The movie stars Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Mabel Rivera, Roger Príncep, Geraldine Chaplin, Montserrat Carulla, and Andrés Gertrúdix. Guillermo del Toro was one of its producers.

Here's a synopsis for The Orphanage from the production: "Laura spent the happiest years of her childhood growing up in an orphanage by the seaside, cared for by the staff and fellow orphans whom she loved as brothers and sisters. Now, thirty years later, she returns with her husband Carlos and Simon, their 7-year-old son, with a dream of restoring and reopening the long-abandoned orphanage as a home for disabled children. The new home and mysterious surroundings awaken Simon's imagination, and the boy starts to spin a web of fantastic tales and not-so-innocent games... a troubling web that begins to disturb Laura, drawing her into the child's strange universe which resonates with echoes of long-forgotten, deeply unsettling memories of her own childhood. As the opening day draws near, tension builds within the family. Carlos remains sceptical, believing that Simon is making everything up in a desperate bid for attention. But Laura slowly becomes convinced that something long-hidden and terrible is lurking in the old house, something waiting to emerge and inflict appalling damage on her family."

For more information on The Orphanage, see ScreenAnarchy's third, second, and first articles on it.

Those who are interested in The Orphanage may also wish to read the ScreenAnarchy articles on Paco Cabezas' Spanish-Argentine-Swedish horror The Appeared (Aparecidos) and Jorge Algora's Spanish-Argentine psychological thriller The Mudboy (El niño de barro).

The Orphanage large teaser trailer (downloadable 12 MB MOV file)

The Orphanage medium teaser trailer (downloadable 10 MB MOV file)

The Orphanage small teaser trailer (downloadable 9.2 MB MOV file)

The Orphanage official website

GOMORRAHY.com: The Orphanage (w/ posters, stills, etc.)