By Variety | Created at 2025-03-17 09:56:17 | Updated at 2025-03-17 17:50:46
9 hours ago
Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has swooped on the worldwide rights to “Virgins” (“Virgenes”) the latest comedy by Álvaro Díaz Lorenzo (“Lord, Give Me Patience”) ahead of its premiere at the Malaga Film Festival on March 17. Powerhouse indie studio Filmax will release the film theatrically on June 20 this year.
With a stellar cast led by César Vicente Romero (“Pain and Glory”), Xavi Caudevilla (“Los Protegidos ADN”) and Carlos Scholz (“Awareness”), “Virgins” is set in 1960s tourist haven Torremolinos in Southern Spain where Northern Europeans have escaped to in the winter months.
Its teaser, which debuts in Variety, opens on three young men in their hapless attempts to get it on with women.
Best pals Honorio, Rafa, and Vicente, about to turn 20, dream of escaping their monotonous lives. Inspired by a newsreel showcasing the tourist boom and newfound freedom on the Costa del Sol, they set their sights on Torremolinos, determined to change their fate – and, above all, lose their virginity to Swedish tourists. Armed with well-crafted excuses and a packed Seat 600, they set out on a trip that will challenge everything they thought they knew about life, love, and themselves.
For Díaz Lorenzo, his new pic is a tribute to the transformation of the Costa del Sol during that era. “I’ve always been fascinated by the impact of tourism on Málaga and the stories my parents, uncles and grandparents shared about those years. I wanted to capture that cultural revolution through the eyes of young people experiencing a completely new world for the first time,” he explained.
“We are delighted to reunite with one of Spain’s most acclaimed directors for this bold and irreverent comedy. The film brilliantly reintroduces classic comedic elements with a fresh and hilarious twist. With Málaga as the premier showcase for Spain’s most beloved films, we are confident this project will find a strong home across all windows,” said Federico Pascua, head of International Sales & Acquisitions at FilmSharks.
Díaz Lorenzo’s ties to Malaga run deep. He grew up in Fuengirola (Málaga) and made his feature debut with a similarly themed romcom about young men’s fixations on scoring with women, “Café solo o con ellas” (2007), which won the Audience Award at the Málaga Film Fest that same year.
Testament to the broad appeal of his comedies: U.S. remake rights to his second film, “La Despedida” (2014) were sold to Paramount Players, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, and Monarch Media snapped up the remake rights to his 2020 comedy “Wishlist.”
“Lord, Give me Patience” (2017), his most renowned pic, lured more than a million admissions in Spain, followed by “Los Japón” (2019).
“Virgins” is co-produced by Antonio P. Pérez of Spal Films, winner of multiple Goyas, Vaca Films (“Celda 21, “El Desconocido”) and Volf Entertainment, with the collaboration of the ICAA Spanish Film Institute, Andalucía’s agency of cultural institutions AAIICC and public broadcasters RTVE and Andalucía’s RTVA.
“Virgins” screens out of competition in the official section of the Malaga Film Festival, which runs March 14-23.
