Penélope Cruz and Pedro Almodóvar c Georges Biard

Source: Georges Biard

Penélope Cruz, Pedro Almodóvar

Aitana Sánchez Gijón (The Machinist) and Milena Smit (Cross The Line) have joined the previously announced Penélope Cruz as the leads in Pedro Almodóvar’s upcoming feature Madres Paralelas (loosely translated as Parallel Mothers)

The trio will play three mothers in the Madrid-set film, which is produced by Agustín Almodóvar and Esther García through their El Deseo banner. Shooting is set to start at the end of March.

Israel Elejalde (Magical Girl) - playing the main male character - and two other Almodóvar regulars, Julieta Serrano (Pain&Glory) and Rossy De Palma, have also joined the cast.

FilmNation reported a raft of international pre-sales on the project back in October.

In a statement, Almodóvar describes the film as an “intense drama”, adding: “Parallel Mothers marks my return to the feminine universe, maternity, family. I talk about the importance of ancestors and descendants. And the inevitable presence of memories. There are a lot of mothers in my filmography, but the ones in this story are very different. As a storyteller, at this moment, I’m drawn to imperfect mothers.”

Almodóvar, who has been busy writing during the lockdown, has set 20-30 minute western Strange Way Of Life (Extraña forma de vida) as his next project after Madres Paralelas.