Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Rights to Penelope Cruz-Starrer “Madres Paralelas” from Pedro Almodovar

Penelope Cruz’s latest film is going global…

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in North America, Australia and New Zealand to Parallel Mothers (Madres Paralelas), starring the 46-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actress.

Penelope Cruz

It’s the 13th collaboration between the distributor and director/producer Pedro Almodóvar’s production company El Deseo.

Production began in Madrid last month on the film, which reunites the Spanish filmmaker with longtime collaborators Cruz, Julieta Serrano and Rossy de Palma.

Parallel Mothers is a drama that centers on three mothers, portrayed by Cruz, Aitana Sánchez Gijón and Milena Smit.

The film expands Almodóvar’s previous depictions of womanhood by turning his focus on imperfect mothers, in a departure from his prior work exploring mothers and motherhood.

Written by Almodóvar, the film also stars Israel Elejalde.

The film is produced by Agustín Almodóvar and Esther García through El Deseo.

Sony Pictures Classics recently released Almodóvar’s short film The Human Voice, starring Tilda Swinton, in theaters alongside a digitally restored re-issue of Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. It will be available to stream on HBO Max starting on April 30.

Almodóvar won two Oscars for best foreign language film for All About My Mother and original screenplay for his 2002 title Talk to Her (Hable con Ella).

Cruz has starred in several of Almodovar’s films, including All About My Mother, I’m So Excited!, Volver, Broken Embraces, and Pain and Glory.

Almodovar’s “Julieta” Selected as Spain’s Official Best Foreign Language Film Entry

Spain is putting its Oscar bet on Pedro Almodovar

The Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has selected the 66-year-old Spanish filmmaker’s drama Julieta as its official submission in the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race, marking the sixth time the director has represented Spain in the category.

Pedro Almodovar

The film, which Sony Pictures Classics will release in the U.S. on December 21, was selected by the organization from a shortlist of three titles including Iciar Bollain’s The Olive Tree and Paula Ortiz’s The Bride.

Julieta, Almodovar’s 20th film, premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year and was welcomed by critics and festgoers.

Produced by Esther Garcia through brothers Pedro and Agustin Almodovar’s banner El Deseo, the film is based on three short stories by Canadian Nobel laureate Alice Munro.

It follows the story of a woman who lives in Madrid with her daughter Anita who both suffer in silence over the loss of Xoan, Anita’s father and Julieta’s husband. The grief eventually drives them apart, and Anita abandons her mother age 18 without an explanation.

Adriana Ugarte, Emma Suarez, Rossy de Palma and Michelle Jenner star in the film, which was released in Spain in April through Warner Bros. and grossed $2.4 million in the territory.

Spain has won the Foreign Language Oscar category four times with the most recent win in 2004 with Alejandro Amenabar’s The Sea Inside.

The last time an Almodovar title was selected by the Spanish Academy as the country’s Oscar submission was in 2006 with Volver.