Guarrazar

THE STORY

More than 150 years ago, the inhabitants of a small village in Toledo were the protagonists in the discovery of the most important Visigothic treasure in the world. This is the beginning of an exciting story that continues to give meaning to the lives of several families in different parts of Spain and France.

On an August afternoon in 1858, a young girl returning with her parents to the small village of Guadamur from Toledo, felt the need to stop on the road to pee, next to a fountain called Guarrazar. When she finished, she noticed something glistening on the ground. Believing it to be a gold ring, he began to pull on it, realising that the ring was part of a long chain at the end of which was held a large crown full of jewels. This was how he accidentally discovered the largest Visigothic treasure ever found, hidden underground for more than 1000 years. This discovery would initiate an exciting and tragic story.

The treasure was sold off in Toledo until the news reached the ears of Adolfo de Hérouart, a French military professor. Together with José Navarro, who was once the Queen's jeweller, they bought most of the treasure and took it to France to sell it to the French government. When the sale was publicised in the press, an institutional conflict began that would threaten international relations between Spain and France.

In 1941, Franco's government, thanks to its collaboration with the Nazis and the Vichy regime, brought the treasure back to our country. However, despite its importance, it was not until the present day that the findings, which so wounded the pride of many, began to be rescued from oblivion, and scientific and archaeological research began to revalue the treasure. In 2014, during a new excavation, the mayoress of Guadamur would accidentally discover in the fountain of the site, where 160 years ago the Morales family hastily washed the treasure, a large blue stone, thus demonstrating that Guarrazar continues to hide more treasures that continue to affect many anonymous lives in Spain and France.

The most attractive aspect of the project is the intention to uncover a hidden history that in its essence contains the history of Spain since the creation of the first peninsular kingdom. The narrative of the film will be characterised by showing a choral story of several anonymous lives linked to the treasure, in parallel to the main story. As the story progresses, we will gradually reveal that the parallel stories are linked by the treasure. Guarrazar is not only a story of treasure, it is a story that reflects on the legacy of historical events on human beings and gives prominence to that forgotten mass of Unamunian intrahistory.

WHO SUPPORTS US?

INSTITUTIONS

• Universidad Francisco de Vitoria - Support from the university's communication department to its alumni.

• Asociación Montes de Toledo - is an association that promotes activities to foster knowledge of the local culture.

• Guadamur Town Hall - The town where most of the events took place and which explains the need for this documentary film.

• Canon Spain - Company specialised in filming material and that is going to lend part of it for the making of the documentary.

• Real Fundación de Toledo - Cultural institution that contributes to the conservation and revitalisation of the historic city of Toledo.

• Guarrazar Foundation - Advocates to encourage, disseminate and promote research on the site, where the treasure was found, and the Visigothic period.

PROTAGONISTS

• Pedro Antonio Alonso Revenga - Writer of Guarrazar, el tesoro escondido.

• Sagrario Gutiérrez - Mayoress of Guadamur, the village where most of the events in the story take place.

• Juan Manuel Rojas - Archaeologist in charge of the Guarrazar site, where the treasure was discovered.

• Sergio Vidal Álvarez - Dr. in art and archaeology of the Visigothic period.

• Alicia Perea Caveda - Archaeologist, researcher at CSIC and expert in the history of treasure.

• José Antonio García Escribano - Direct descendant of Escolástica Velasco-Calderón, discoverer of the treasure.

• Carmen Díaz Morales - Direct descendant of the Morales family and heir to the history of the treasure.

• José Soto Chica - D. in medieval history, writer and popularizer.

WHO ARE WE?

The film's technical team is made up of members of the production company Aladelta Films, as well as other professionals who are experts in audiovisual and artistic fields such as musicians, illustrators, animators...

Aladelta Films is a small emerging production company formed by three graduates in Audiovisual Communication and Film from the Francisco de Vitoria University. We met during our studies and, after making several documentary and corporate projects, we decided to go one step further: the production of our first feature film, the documentary film Guarrazar.

• Javier Palomo del Rey: Director and scriptwriter. A lover of history and art, ever since I first heard the story of the treasure on a tourist route in Toledo, I have been fascinated by it, dreaming of making it happen one day.

• Sandra Latorre Fernández: Producer. I'm the one who has to deal with time, order, Excel and administrative procedures. I like the hard stuff, what can you do.

• Andrés Lobo Denia: Head of sound. Between cables and devices, my job is more about making sure that what you hear transports you to what the stories tell.

You can consult more projects on our website.

• The soundtrack is in the hands of Álvaro Díaz García, a graduate in Composition from the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias. He has composed the music for several video games and short films in collaboration with CESUR and the Instituto del Cine Canarias, as well as the music for the performance of the play Don Juan Tenorio.

• The illustrations are the work of the artist Marco Palacios, an emerging illustrator with a degree in Fine Arts and a love of anthropology and traditional techniques.

• The animations of the documentary film will be made by Judit Carrera, an expert in 3D art and a graduate in Audiovisual Communication.

BUDGET

ITINERARY

CONTRIBUTIONS

The names of the rewards correspond to the names of the Visigothic kings of greatest historical relevance and also of the Guarrazar plot itself, with the lowest rewards being the names of the most controversial or less popular kings and the most risky ones being the names of the most important kings.

The value of the rewards will be proportional to the value of the donations. All rewards will include a Vimeo link with exclusive access to view the film once it is released.

• WITIZA (700-710): The reward is the Vimeo link to watch the film.

• RODRIGO (710-711): In addition to the Vimeo link, it will include the appearance in the patron's credits.

• ÉGICA (687-702): Vimeo link, appearance in the credits and film poster.

• WAMBA (672-680): Vimeo link, appearance in the credits and T-shirt of the film with illustrations inspired by the treasure, made by Marco Palacios.

• CHINDASVINTO (642-653): Vimeo link, appearance in the credits, poster and T-shirt of the film with illustrations inspired by the treasure, made by Marco Palacios.

• SISEBUTO (612-621): In addition to the Vimeo link, appearance in the credits and a T-shirt of the film, a Tote Bag of the film with illustrations inspired by the treasure, made by Marco Palacios, will also be given away.

• LEOVIGILDO (568-586): Vimeo link, appearance in the credits, tote bag, film T-shirt and also the movie poster signed and dedicated by the team.

• RECAREDO (586-601): Rewards will consist of a double ticket to the preview and an individual credit in the film, in addition to the Vimeo link and a t-shirt.

• SUINTILA (621-631): The reward will include a guided tour of Guadamur and Guarrazar, in addition to the Vimeo link, a Tote Bag, a T-shirt, the film poster signed and dedicated by the team, a double ticket for the preview and an individual credit.

• RECESVINTO (653-672): The great rewards of this donation will be the appearance in the credits as executive producer and the appearance of the patron as a cameo in the initial animation of the documentary. All this in addition to the Vimeo link, a Tote Bag, a T-shirt, the poster of the film signed and dedicated by the team, a double ticket for the preview, and a guided tour of Guadamur and Guarrazar.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What social issues does the documentary address?

This film seeks the activation of consciousness through the screen, and like the plot, it seeks to unearth from oblivion certain issues that go unnoticed.

For this very reason, we want Guarrazar to be a microphone that allows us to collect the testimonies of rural Castile, which today is bleeding to death for two main reasons: depopulation and oblivion. The story we will tell will be a great loudspeaker that projects these testimonies and extols the cultural and social richness of this region, reminding us that it is here that a large part of what many of us are was forged and that more than ever, it needs the incredible stories that have taken place in this land and that are buried by oblivion, to be brought to light.

In addition, we seek to highlight the heritage and historical value of our country, showing unknown facets of our history or tasks that are usually out of the spotlight, such as archaeology or the individual work of many researchers and history lovers.

What will characterise the film aesthetically?

Guarrazar wants to pay homage to the aesthetics of rural Spain, specifically Castile, and link it with the Visigoth aesthetics, to confront it with the cosmopolitan aesthetics of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The tones that will paint our image will be earthy, with touches of gold and certain intense reds, greens and blues, joining with the colours of the Castilian land, and with the colours of the treasure itself. We want to create a soundtrack that fuses the most classical Castilian sounds with the most evolved Castilian and Spanish sounds, and to which are added reminiscences of Visigothic music. The rhythm of the editing and the camera movements, daring but solid, will have an important role, since thanks to them we will constantly keep the interest in the story.

Why crowdfunding? Will I get anything in return?

We believe that the crowdfunding system is a great opportunity to finance our project in the short term and to demonstrate our worth as filmmakers, taking into account the difficulty of obtaining this sum through other means, as we have barely had any professional experience as creators.

Depending on the chosen donation, the backer will receive rewards described next to the name of the donation.

How long will the campaign last and when will Guarrazar be released?

40 days from its start. After that, pre-production of the film will begin. Our aim is to release the film in mid-2024. You can see it in more detail in the Itinerary section.

+ INFO

For more information about the project or to get to know the team better:

• Instagram Aladelta Films

• Instagram Guarrazar

• Vimeo

Some of our most important projects include:

• Mencas - Corporate Videos (2020 - 2021)

• Sans Toi - Fashion Film (2021)

• Sueño - VFX Short Film (2020)

• Informative documentaries - Relatos Invasores (2019) / Cirilo Marcos (2019) / El corazón de Madrid (2019) / Caminos el comienzo (2019)