Filmax Takes Ricardo Gómez's Directorial Debut 'A Family' to AFM

Spanish studio Filmax will introduce "A Family," the directorial debut of Ricardo Gómez, to international buyers at this week's American Film Market, with a theatrical release in Spain set for early 2027.

Gómez built a huge fanbase in Spain playing Carlitos Alcántara, the young son in family drama "Remember When," the longest-running TV series in Spanish history. "A Family," which he also wrote, world-premiered at Valladolid Film Festival last month and marked him out as a writer-director talent to track.

What is the film about?

"A Family" follows mother Clara, father Kike and young son Pablo through three milestone moments. It begins with Pablo's debut in early 2002 as a child actor on a TV family saga. Most time-jumping sagas run past to future; this one jumps back a decade or so to Clara and Kike's meet-cute in a club — Clara stars in a dance act, Kike is out of jail on a one-day permit to attend his father's funeral. Jump forward a couple of years to Pablo's baptism, where events force Clara to make a life-changing decision for herself, Pablo and Kike.

The cast:

• Claudia Traisac ("Escobar: Paradise Lost") as Clara
• Patrick Criado ("Bitter Christmas") as Kike
• Ana Wagener ("The Invisible Guest") as Kike's long-suffering mother
• Newcomer Víctor Lite as Pablo

The film is set in a modest Madrid district — an emotional portrayal of the neighbourhoods that shaped Gómez himself as an up-and-coming child actor, Filmax noted.

What does the director say?

"My aim is to show the complexities of family ties and, above all, to highlight the value of single mothers. You could call it a cinematic love letter to all those women who had to, and still have to, carry the burden all on their own," said Gómez.

He shot the film on 16mm with immersive long takes — among them a two-minute reaction shot of Clara through a car window, where she makes a milestone decision after a defining act from Kike.

Who produced it?

Three Spanish companies team with a Peruvian partner:

• El Desorden Crea, founded by "Élite" creator Carlos Montero
• Lágrimas Films, headed by Diego Betancor ("Élite," "Respira")
• Estela Films, led by Félix Tusell ("El Trono")
• Tondero ("Ramón y Ramón"), Peru's top producer, in its fifth co-production with Spain

"When Ricardo shared the script of 'A Family' with me in 2020, I knew that his desire to direct came from a deep need to tell his own stories and to be the driving force behind the narrative, rather than a tool at the service of others," said Betancor. "His talent and his unique vision were already evident in that first draft of the script and I didn't hesitate to join this adventure."

Why did Filmax board it?

"From the very first time that I read the script I was very touched by 'A Family,'" said Iván Díaz, head of international at Filmax, whose credits include "[REC]," "The Red Band Society" and the TV series "The Nameless."

"It felt real, emotional and healing. In a very interesting way I also found that the uncertainty about what is fiction and what was real creates a very stimulating film for the audience, that can interpretate it in different ways and that deeply resonates with every viewer, even if our lives were very different and we didn't grew up in front of a camera," Díaz added.

That ambiguity — a child actor's story told by a former child actor — is the film's sales pitch. Whether buyers at AFM buy it will show soon enough.