Seminci premieres GOLPES, the first feature film directed by Rafael Cobos, worldwide

Golpes, Rafael Cobos’s first feature film as a director, will be part of the Official Selection at the 70th edition of the Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), where it will have its world premiere. The film, which will compete for the Golden Spike alongside the latest works by the Dardenne brothers, Bi Gan, Lav Diaz, Isabel Coixet, and Fernando Franco, marks the promising feature film directorial debut of screenwriter and creator Rafael Cobos, winner of two Goya Awards for La isla mínima and El hombre de las mil caras, two projects resulting from his collaboration with director Alberto Rodriguez.

Golpes tells the story of Migueli, a criminal who is released from prison in the changing Spain of the early 1980s. Determined to look to the future, he must first heal the wounds of the past. To do so, he needs a lot of money, and he needs it fast. When he arrives in Seville, he reunites his old gang to carry out a series of robberies at bank branches, jewelry stores, and even the first casino in the area. But the police have assigned the case to Sabino, his own brother, who knows exactly how he thinks. Despite this, Migueli is determined to see it through to the end.

The film combines the vertigo and denunciation of 1980s quinqui cinema with a reflection on family ties and a portrait of a country striving to heal old wounds while embracing hope. In the words of Rafael Cobos, Golpes seeks to revitalize this type of cinema, delving into its essence but seeking to make a difference. The director explains: “If quinqui cinema is upfront, explicit, and talks about things in an obvious and stark way, ‘Golpes’ is a subtle fable that aims to talk about a country in transition, contradictory, disoriented, and unable to come to terms with its past; a heist thriller about blood ties and memory.”

Award-winning career in film and television

In 2023, Rafael Cobos made the leap to directing with the series El hijo zurdo, starring María León and awarded at Canneseries, combining his work as a creator with that of a filmmaker. The filmmaker has a solid and renowned career as a screenwriter, closely linked to director Alberto Rodríguez. Together they have created stories that combine narrative depth with a keen sense of Spanish social and cultural reality, such as Grupo 7, La isla mínima, El hombre de las mil caras, Modelo 77 and, most recently, Los Tigres, which premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival.

In television, Cobos has participated in the writing of an episode of the series Apagón and as co-creator and showrunner of La peste. In his latest work in this field, he has adapted, together with Fran Araújo and Alberto Rodríguez, Javier Cercas’ book Anatomía de un instante, which will be released soon.

Luis Tosar and Jesús Carroza take part in a game of cops and robbers

The film stars Luis Tosar (Goya winner for “Los lunes al sol,” “Te doy mis ojos” and “Celda 211”), who plays Sabino, the police officer brother, and Jesús Carroza (Goya for Best New Actor for “7 vírgenes”), who plays Migueli, the other brother. The cast is rounded out by Teresa Garzón (Las noches de Tefía), Cristina Alcázar, Carlos Bernardino, Mafo, and Cristalino.

In addition to taking the reins as director, Rafael Cobos wrote the screenplay alongside Fernando Navarro (‘Segundo premio’, ‘Verónica’), twice nominated for a Goya award. The technical team includes Sergi Vilanova Claudín as director of photography, Gigia Pellegrini as art director, and Bronquio as composer of the original score.

Golpes is produced by Borja Pena and Emma Lustres for Vaca Films and Daniel Pérez Astiárraga for Grupo Tranquilo, in co-production with Playtime (France), with the participation of Movistar Plus+, RTVE, Canal Sur, and Canal + France, and the support of the ICAA-Ministry of Culture, the Regional Government of Andalusia, and the European Union’s Creative Europe Program.

Vaca Films thus returns with another thriller to add to its extensive filmography in the genre, which includes notable titles such as “ Celda 211,” “El Niño,” “El Desconocido,” “Cien Años de Perdón,” “Quien a Hierro Mata,” and “Hasta el Cielo.”

The film, which was shot over seven weeks on location in Seville and Huelva, will be distributed in cinemas by A Contracorriente Films.