Spain

Synopsis

Simon, an aspiring young writer, has to device crosswords for a Seville newspaper to earn his living, while his flatmate, "Toad", gets by as a private English teacher. A threatening message on their answering machine instructs Simon to include the word "Adversary" in his next crossword, due to be published on Palm Sunday. its a sick joke, but Simon gives into the blackmail, inadvertently setting off a macabre terrorist attack on the fist day of the last Holy Week of the millennium.

The horror witnessed drives Simon to personally investigate the events. Maria, a reporter assigned by the newspaper to cover the story helps him gather clues, deep in a world of religious iconography, occult symbolism and wicked plots. Simon is gripped by terror, as he gradually discovers how a series of coincidences Eire pointing the finger of blame at him. But every step he tokes to escape unleashes more death.

He reaches a state of total confusion, as his world, as well as his beliefs begin to totter, since nothing and no one is what it seems to be. Simon ends up having doubts about everything, his talent, Maria, "Toad", even about himself...nothing seems to correspond to its appearance, nobody knows anybody.

Director's Statement

As a screenwriter, when it was suggested that 1 should adapt JUAN BONILLA's novel, NADIE CONOCE A NADIE, I broke out in a cold sweat. Not for any lack of cinematic quality in the novel, but because I felt incapable of doing justice to the marvellously rich picture it paints of Holy Week and Seville's culture ...

NADIE CONOCE A NADIE is the result of an enormous effort on the part of the crew and cast. The story was not only complicated because it required shooting on location in Seville actually during Holy Week, but also required shooting with special lenses, models and very particular Special Effects ...

As a director, the challenge for me was to be at the same level as the creative and technical crew and cast who were second-to-none.

Director's Biography

Born in 1972 in the Canary Islands, his career as a scriptwriter is short but very successful. With only two screenplays written together with Alejandro Amenäbar, Mateo Gil has won more that eight important awards and enjoyed an impressive 2,000 million pesetas combined box office gross.

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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Mateo Gil

Written by: Mateo Gil

Cinematography: Javier Salmones

Editing: Nacho Ruiz Capillas

Cast: Eduardo Noriega (Simon), Jordi Mollà (Sapo), Natalia Verbeke (Maria), Paz Vega (Ariadna)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2000