Rehearsals were crucial to get Estiu 1993 under way and quite fascinating. They were done in two Anaphases: along two months in Barcelona and, just before filming, two weeks in La Garrotxa.

Between April and May Carla met the actors in Barcelona and tried out several character combinations. Sometimes it’d be Esteve and Marga and then Anna joined in to form a family. Other times it’d be Frida and auntie Lola whom Frida loves so much. Thereafter Esteve was joined by his sisters Lola and Angie prior to the impending death of their sister Neus. They’d meet in the afternoons and weekends at Carla’s or somewhere in the city streets.

It wasn’t a matter of rehearsing what was actually to be shot since the aim was to create a common memory, build up ties and relationships among the characters and share experiences. Those mock rehearsals preceded the filming and refer to the time lived before the actual summer of 1993, i.e.: their life prior to the film itself coming alive.

“To me it was very relevant to build up those common memories. If you want a child to believe what they do, their universe has to become part of the experience.” The wonderful thing was that those previous rehearsals didn’t merely concern the girls Frida (Laia) and Anna (Paula) but also all the adult characters. It is plain obvious in each scene of the film that they had shared those experiences, that earlier vital journey.

During those rehearsals they got to know each other, letting the characters/actors become acquainted as well as allowing the director to know them, discover their body language, their ways of looking, their potential. Quite literally it was a rehearsal about how to work together and direct them.

Rehearsals in Barcelona prior to the shoot

Normality in Esteve’s family and the way they react when finding out Neus has got AIDS.

Esteve and Anna spend time with Frida who would like to be with her mother

Esteve and Marga explain to Frida that she’s going to stay with them. Anna doesn’t seem to have any qualms about it.

Rehearsal of film sequences at La Garrotxa

Once in La Garrotxa, two weeks prior to the shooting, Carla and the actors shared rehearsals, both morning and afternoon, as well as meals, snacks and life in general. First of all they picked up the rehearsal of previous times in the life of Frida and her family.

Later on all the scenes of the film were rehearsed and the actors learnt about the scenes which were about to be filmed.

The girls learn about nuances, repetition, concentration, listening without looking… while Carla Simon observes, searches, discovers body language, glances… and reviews and redefines ideas for the sequences. Soon the whole technical team is going to join them. That means being surrounded by movement, voices, time pressure. However the months preceding have given them all, particularly Paula and Laia, the confidence and self-assurance required to establish a bond with their characters in general as well as with their own.

The 9-minute edit includes brief excerpts meant to be an appraisal of the whole film through the rehearsals.

When viewing the film it’s particularly nice to recognize some lively traits (Frida’s looks when she watches Anna and Esteve dancing, her worries about Marga…), and some changes (arrangements of the one before last sequence when Frida asks Marga about her mother’s death), or even some specific task when actors are being directed. In the scene inside the car on the way to the paediatrician, Frida is upset and Carla instructs Laia: say “I don’t want to go to hospital” and then: without a tantrum… now don’t talk, just think, and when the doctor asks, don’t answer, just think.