25/08/2023 - Arturo Valls, Berta Vázquez, Andrea Duro, Pablo Molinero and Vitor Sanz star in the Spanish director's black comedy

Director Javier Polo (standing) with his cast led by Arturo Valls (on his left), during the filming of Pet Peeves (© Laia Lluch)

Pet Peeves (Pequeños calvarios), a black comedy starring the very popular Arturo Valls (whose last film première was Camera Café, la película [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Berta Vázquez (seen in the series Vis a vis), Andrea Duro (Con quién viajas [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Pablo Molinero (Unicorns [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and Vito Sanz (recently in You have to come and see it [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonás Trueba
film profile]), has recently finished the first part of its filming, which has been talking place in the cities of Valencia and Castellón for three weeks. Javier Polo (known for his documentaries Europe in 8 Bits and The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and a Cinemajove 2023 award winner for his short film Una terapia de mierda) is now directing from a script written by Enric Pardo, Guillermo Guerrero, and David Pascual.

"The film deals with the marvellous world of obsessions, manias and the most absurd torments of our society, in the form of black comedy, through different stories connected to each other by the waves of the radio programme called Pet Peeves", says the film’s production team. The second part of the filming is scheduled to start in a few months, once again on the east coast of Spain.

Javier Polo defines it as “very funny and absurd hooliganism that we have been working on for several years. We have starting shooting with a really enthusiastic team who are making life very easy for me, and an unbelievable cast, they're wonderful”, he admits. “So now I just hope I can give it my all and promise you a refreshing and therapeutic film for these crazy times we live in".

Producers Borja Aracil (Los Hermanos Polo) and Gerard Rodríguez (Japónica Films) say: "We are excited to see how Pet Peeves is taking shape thanks to our great technical and artistic team. We hope to reach audiences looking for get swept up in new kinds of comedy, playing with less commonly-seen languages in our country. We are going for on-screen colour, extravagance, and hyperrealism, but with high cinematographic quality, and both the photography and art departments are working with great care on each sequence"

The Pet Peeves project has been presented at national and international events such as MAFIZ Málaga 2022, Promercat Valencia 2022, and Atlántida Film Fest 2022, where it won the Abycine Lanza award, and at the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2023 with the support of ICEX. The film is produced by Pequeños Calvarios AIE, Los Hermanos Polo and Japónica Films, in association with the Mexican production company Paloma Negro Films and the German company MA Inge Films. It is backed by the Valencia Institute of Culture and the ICAA, in collaboration with the collaboration of Àpunt Televisió and will be released in Spain in 2024 distributed by Sideral.

(Translated from Spanish by Alexandra Stephens)