Summer Rain directed by Antonio Banderas at the Berlinale

Antonio Banderas returned to the southern Spain of his youth and found things much improved for "Summer Rain," his second film as a director.

"Summer Rain" is a coming-of-age tale set in Malaga in the late 1970s as Spain emerged from the decades-long dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco.

"The engine of what I have been for good or for bad in my life ... started there when I was 17, 18, 19," Banderas said Monday of his decision to return to Malaga for the Spanish-language movie, which was presented outside the main competition at the Berlin film festival.

The movie, based on a novel by his childhood friend Antonio Soler, follows the lives, loves and dreams of a group of teens growing up in the Mediterranean resort. Stars of the film include Maria Ruiz and Alberto Amarilla.

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Spanish Cinema

Interview with Antonio Banderas

Interview with Antonio Banderas' on his second experience as a director "El Camino de los Ingleses" (The English Path).

Antonio Banderas' second turn as a director is a far cry from cinematic romps like "The Mask of Zorro," "Spy Kids" or the other box-office hits which made him a household acting name.
Instead, he's created a chronicle about the bewildering path to manhood in Spain.
"It's my age!" one of Spain's biggest international film stars told a news conference. "I'm becoming more pensive and I can imagine myself better behind a camera than in front of it."
The Spanish language film tells the story of a group of teenage boys on the threshold of maturity, their loves and conflicts as they try to understand their transition to adults.
Banderas says the movie is an attempt to bring something more personal and risky to the big screen, but also to provide a springboard for a new generation of local actors in Malaga, his home city in southern Spain.

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