Email a FriendShare on Facebook

Stigmata (Estigmas)

Adán Aliaga
Spain / 2009 / 98 min / Spanish with English subtitles

Stigmata is a hauntingly beautiful and lyrical tale based in the Italian cult comic book by Mattotti and Piersant. Multiawarded Adán Aliaga’s (My Grandmother’s House) debut feature is a thoughtful journey into the intertwining realms of faith and character. 
The story is adapted from Lorenzo Mattotti and Claudio Piersanti’s acclaimed comic, and told through a hulking, gentle giant of a man, Bruno (played by Spanish shotput champion Manuel Martinez), whose sad life is on a downward spiral. He wakes up one morning bleeding from mysterious wounds on his hands, which he questions from a purely physical viewpoint, but which others see as divine signature. Hounded, Bruno flees the city and wanders through the countryside until he finds a traveling fair and falls in love. Ultimately, Bruno’s journey is one of universal ideas, which lead us to our own, larger than life questions—of love, expectation, and redemption.

Stigmata is one of the many films included in the catalogue of Spanish Film Club.

Adan Aliaga was born in Alicante, Spain, October 3rd 1969. He studied in the “Taller de imagen” of Alicante University. In April of 2006 sees the premiere of his first film as a director: My grandmother’s house which obtains numerous international prizes, among them one of the most prestigious: the Joris Ivens award in the IDFA Documentary Festival in Amsterdam. Other recognitions include the special prize of Jury in Toronto’s HotDoc, best prize in Documenta Madrid, first prize in the International Festival of Taiwan and nomination for Best Documentary by European Academy of Cinema. Stigmata is his first long feature film.