Chico & Rita
Chico & Rita is a vivid picture of Havana at the end of the 1940s – exuberant and thick with cigarette smoke, where in the streets the jazz beat is heard. This is the background for a story about tragic love mistakes and misunderstandings. The production by Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando is an extraordinary film due to its sincere simplicity and exceptional rendition of the fever of the two main characters’ affection and the sensuality of Latin music. The film form perfectly matches its theme. The suggestive thick line of animation and slow contemplative narration follows the rhythm imposed by notes played by Bebo Valdés and make up a truly retro style Cuban show, dense with emotions. It is easy to imagine that Chico & Rita is watched in some airless Cuban bar instead of an air-conditioned cinema room.
Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba
Fernando Trueba is a multi-award-winning writer, director and producer, with a career spanning more than three decades in film, television, documentaries, theatre and music. Belle Epoque, starring ingénue Penelope Cruz, won both the Oscar and BAFTA for Foreign Language Film. Trueba enjoyed a brief flirtation with Hollywood with romantic comedy Two Much, starring Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and Daryl Hannah, but he returned to his native Spain with films such as La Niña De Tus Ojos (The Girl Of Your Dreams), also starring Cruz, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and netted seven Goya awards. Trueba’s Latin jazz documentary Calle 54 saw the birth of his collaboration and friendship with Javier Mariscal. Trueba’s published works include his Dictionary Of Cinema. He began his career as the film critic of leading Spanish newspaper 'El Pais.'
The Valencian-born Javier Mariscal is an artist and designer, working in multiple fields including illustration, graphics, comic-books, paintings, animation, interiors, product design, furniture and web design.
After a long stint as director of adverts and music videos (Radio Futura, Los Rodriguez, Duncan Dhu, Luz Casal, Compay Segundo, La Oreja de Van Gogh), in 1998 Tono Errando joined his brothers at Estudio Mariscal to direct the animated TV series Twipsy, based on a character originally created by Javier Mariscal as mascot of the Hanover 2000 Expo. Since then, he has been responsible for the audio-visual output of the Mariscal studio, developing projects of all kinds.
Filmography
2010 Chico i Rita / Chico & Rita