In 1652, Spanish artist Diego Velázquez painted the portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain. “Infanta” was a royal title given to the daughters of a monarch who were not the direct heir to the throne. A few weeks later, the painting reached the court of Louis XIV, who was still a child, sealing the union of the French and Spanish monarchies, as well as peace after the Thirty Years’ War.
The episode is the inspiration behind The Indies (Les Indes), the fiction feature debut of writers-directors Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier, which will world-premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate Degli Autori, or Venice Days, competition lineup on Sat, Sept. 5.
Théo Urtubey, Raphaël Thiéry and Lazare Minoungou star in the movie. “Alejandro, a young Spanish nobleman, is tasked with delivering the portrait of the Infanta of Spain to Louis XIV,” reads a synopsis for The Indies. “Fascinated by the promises of the New World, lands to be conquered and new trade routes to be opened, he is escorted by two French soldiers. As the portrait advances, the three men move deeper into a Europe ravaged by wars and uprisings. The journey to the French court is long and arduous, and the path back to civilization and the modern world emerging remains uncertain.”
Sylvain Verdet was in charge of cinematography for The Indies, which Anita Roth edited. MoreThan Films is handling world sales.
“In our own time, when images circulate instantaneously, imagining the creation and transport of this painting, and its political significance, struck us as a powerful dramatic engine,” the co-directors share in a directors’ note. “It is the 17th century: the medieval era is fading in the face of the rise of science, rationalism, and commerce. The world is no longer merely to be explored – it is to be conquered.”
‘The Indies’
Courtesy of Venice Days
They continue: “Galileo opens new horizons, while mercantilism lays the foundations of capitalism. In this context, popular uprisings erupt under the pressure of taxation and poverty. It is along these roads, marked by tensions between the old world and the new order, that Les Indes unfolds. Between the extreme refinement of the two courts, between the exchanged glances of two adolescents, the heart of the film lies in the journey of the three men and the painting through the wildness of nature – at a moment when it becomes an object to be observed, mastered, and shaped.”
Julier and Chapoulier also see parallels to today’s world. “As we today witness the signs of exhaustion in a system driven by relentless modernization and growth, we felt compelled to tell the story of one of its beginnings,” they explain. “To tell the story of human beings separating themselves from nature at a time when we are coming to understand – had we forgotten? – that we are intimately connected to it.”
THR can now exclusively premiere the trailer for The Indies. Get a first glimpse of the young royals and the travelers on their arduous journey right here. And look towards the horizon, forget countries and watch out for rebels… or learn about all that in the trailer.
