He perdido a Marseille

The Story

Marseille, early morning. It’s 2 April 1939, the day after Francisco Franco proclaimed the “end” of the Spanish Civil War. María Luisa, a Spanish refugee in France, is at the Vieux Port looking for her cat Marseille, who has not been home for a few days. First a young man approaches her: his name is François and he tries to give her a flyer of the Communist Party, to no avail. Then an Italian girl, Elena, comes up to her and tells her how she left Italy and why she’s in France now.

Both François and Elena seem to have a very important reason to talk to María Luisa… will she listen? Will she help them? And, more importantly, will she finally find her cat Marseille?

This short is the third chapter in the #Europe21 trilogy – a trilogy of short films shot in a theatre and whose main theme is today’s Europe (its languages, its society, its past and its future.) Set in April 1939, it highlights Europe’s dramatic situation in that year, in between the “end” of a war in Spain and the feeling that another, bigger war was going to break out soon.

“He perdido a Marseille” also explores the situation of refugees, and the most profound meaning of social and political commitment, between fight against totalitarianism and personal survival.

Available in one version: français, español, italiano.

With Mayil Georgi, Maxence Dinant & Carolina Gonnelli

Written by Francesco Baj

Directed by Flavio Marigliani

Shot by Marco Aquilanti

Sound Editor Edoardo Saolini

Edited by Nuvole Rapide Produzioni

Produced by Teatro Multilingue®

Set Photos by Violetta Canitano