Pedro Almodovar and producer Agustin Almodovar haveconfirmed that Penelope Cruz and Carmen Maura will star in the director's newfilm, Volver, shooting from July in Spain.

"Volver is Michael Curtiz's Mildred Piercemeets Frank Capra's Arsenic And Old Lace, mixed with the surrealistnaturalism of my fourth film What Have I Done To Deserve This!!,"Almodovar said. Volver translates literally as "to come back" or"to go back."

"In other words," Almodovar added, the film explores"Madrid and its bubbly working class neighborhoods, where immigrants fromthe various provinces of Spain share dreams, life and fortune with a multitudeof foreign ethnicities and races. At the heart of this social network threegenerations of women survive wind, fire and even death, thanks to goodness,audacity and limitless vitality."

The project and Cruz's participation have been reported (seeScreenDaily.com, Feb 8) but this is the first time El Deseo hasconfirmed the details. Four other leads are to be announced soon.

Volver will mark the reunion of Almodovar with his earlymuse Maura, who starred in - among other of his films - What Have I Done ToDeserve This. The two have not worked together since 1989 international hitWomen On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, which co-starred AntonioBanderas.

Volver will shoot from July in Madrid and Castilla La Manchafor the Almodovars' Madrid-based production company El Deseo.

In February, Almodovar spoke about Volver to the Italian press: "I'm not saying it will be 100% comedy, but it will definitely have a lighter and funnier tone" than recent titles like the noir Bad Education (La Mala Educacion) or melodramas Talk To Her (Hable Con Ella) and All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madre). The director cited ghosts and tango as two key elements in the generational story about a grandmother, a daughter and a granddaughter.