Barcelona-based producer Montse Triola is the co-founder of Andergraun Films with Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra.
Over two decades, they have forged one of Europe’s most singular creative partnerships: Triola has produced or co-produced titles including Serra’s Honour Of The Knights, Birdsong, Story Of My Death, The Death Of Louis XIV and Pacifiction, which all premiered at leading festivals. Bullfighting documentary Afternoons Of Solitude won the Golden Shell at San Sebastian in 2024.
Additionally, Triola specialises in structuring European coproductions with international auteurs such as Lav Diaz (Magellan), Alain Giraude (Misericordia), and Dane Komljen (Afterwater).
Born in Girona, Triola studied drama in Spain and the UK and also taught acting in a prison for 10 years.
Out Of This World, her latest production and collaboration with Serra, has been postponed until 2027 and is now in the edit suite. The predominantly English-language film stars Riley Keough, F. Murray Abraham and Elizaveta Yankovskaya and centres on a US delegation sent to Russia amid the war in Ukraine to resolve a sanctions-driven standoff. Andergraun Films is producing with France’s Ideale Audience Group and Les Films du Losange, along with Germany’s Pandora Film, and Portugal’s Rosa Films.
Triola will receive the third Screen International Catalan Producer of the Year award at the Barcelona Sant Jordi International Film Festival (BCN Film Fest), which is taking place from April 16 to 24 in Spain.
She talks to Screen about the organically rich “chaos” of working with auteurs, the leap in scale of Out Of This World, and why she believes it is a good moment for risky filmmaking.
How do you view your role as a producer?
In my case, the producer is someone who wants something to exist and is involved throughout the entire process. We are now participating in minority co-productions with auteurs I admire, whose work I believe needs to exist and reach wider international audiences.
I’m very happy now, but we have always had to fight hard, always looking for fellow travellers so these films could exist, no matter what the cost. As a viewer, sometimes you can think, “Wow, but why did they make this film?” What is the point of making a film you have already seen a thousand times? The joy lies in making films that have a life of their own, and have never been seen before, that feel important and that make you want to watch them for the experience and because they are unique.
The streamers are looking for this, too. They call it “new content” rather than new films. That also plays in our favour. There is much more breadth now, and audiences are far more open to seeing everything. It’s also easier to reach places and audiences that were previously inaccessible.
Is it true that throughout Albert’s entire career, he has never done a single rehearsal or repeated a scene?
It’s true! It may sound strange, but it’s almost a methodology. We move very well in chaos, which is a spectacular form of order. It’s not easy, because people are usually afraid of not knowing, but it can lead to surprising results. You can create a certain safety net, but not knowing can produce a kind of magic and experimentation
Then comes editing, where everything is discovered. This happens with Albert, and also with Lav [Diaz] and other auteurs, and the result is very genuine. It’s beautiful because the screen reflects that process. It can be frightening at first, but it leads to something unexpected, strange and organically rich.
What can we expect from Out Of This World?
It is budgeted at around €5.5m, which is a significant leap for us. There are several countries involved. It has been intense, as the co-production involved several countries with demanding co-producers. This enabled us to secure very ambitious financing.
The film is at the very beginning of the editing process, and many months of work still lie ahead. But the material is excellent. I’ve seen some rushes that are very funny, and others that lean into political thriller territory. The visuals are stunning.
What moves you to come on board a project?
Unique projects, because of their radicalism [in terms of] their stories, and even their methodologies. You have to devote three or four years of your life to making a film, so I want to make something that has not been seen before, that goes a little further, because otherwise I might as well stay at home.
Whether it becomes a commercial product or not is secondary. If it does, perfect, but it’s not a sine qua non condition. This is a good moment, riskier films have more opportunities to exist and be seen. We have the support of public institutions, as well as of television companies and platforms
What are you working on next?
We hope to work on Ulrich Seidl’s next film, Distances. The most advanced title at the moment is Bruno Dumont’s new film, Les Roches Rouges, which is in post.
No comments yet