Antonio Banderas Reunites With 'Official Competition' Directors Cohn and Duprat for Feature 'Mare Nostrum,' Filming in Bilbao in 2027

One of the more compelling international feature setups to emerge from recent market activity, Mare Nostrum is moving into active pre-production with principal photography scheduled to begin in March 2027 in Bilbao, Spain. The film reunites Argentine writer-directors Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat with actor and executive producer Antonio Banderas, a collaboration that previously yielded Official Competition, the sharp, widely celebrated satire that premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 and went on to considerable international theatrical success. That prior working relationship is a meaningful signal for anyone assessing what kind of set this will be: Cohn and Duprat are known for precise, actor-driven work with a strong emphasis on performance and tone, and their return to Banderas suggests a production built on genuine creative trust.

The film's premise is both timely and genuinely cinematic. A ship captain transporting a billion-euro cargo from Istanbul to Cape Town rescues migrants from a sinking vessel during a storm, only to find that no European country will allow the ship to dock, setting off an international political crisis. It is the kind of premise that demands visual scale, moral complexity, and multilingual performance, and the production reflects that ambition. The film will be shot in a mix of Spanish, English, and Arabic, which signals a diverse casting process and a strong potential for internationally recognized talent across all three language tracks. No cast beyond Banderas's executive producer role has been confirmed at this stage, but given the subject matter and the directors' international profile, the casting process is one to watch closely.

Cinematographer Xavi Giménez brings significant weight to the technical side of this production. Giménez has built a reputation over decades as one of Spain's most accomplished DPs, with credits spanning prestige international co-productions and Spanish-language genre work. His presence, alongside production designer Alain Bainée and VFX specialist Arturo López Iriarte, signals a production that takes its craft departments seriously. The maritime setting and the film's core dramatic premise will almost certainly demand extensive visual effects work, practical water and vessel shooting, and a production design scope that goes well beyond a standard dialogue-driven feature. Crew with experience in maritime production environments, large-scale practical sets, and VFX-integrated pipelines should take particular note.

On the business side, HanWay Films is handling international sales, having presented the project at the American Film Market. HanWay is a well-regarded London-based sales outfit with a strong track record in prestige independent and international co-productions, and their involvement lends the project real market credibility. Buena Vista International has already secured theatrical and all-media distribution rights across Latin America, which is a meaningful early commitment that speaks to the film's commercial viability in that territory. Jose Luis Escolar is producing, with an executive producer roster that includes Cohn and Duprat themselves alongside Alejandro Roemmers, Manu Fabeiro, Manuel Martí, Gonzalo Fried, and Carolina Krasñansky.

Bilbao is a smart location choice for a production of this nature, and the decision is likely driven by a combination of creative and logistical factors. The Basque Country offers generous Spanish regional film incentives that complement Spain's national tax rebate for international productions, which currently offers a 30 percent rebate on Spanish qualifying expenditure (rising to 35 percent for shoots on the Canary Islands, though Bilbao is on the mainland). The city itself has a well-developed production infrastructure, proximity to the Bay of Biscay for coastal and maritime shooting, and a local crew base that has supported numerous international and Spanish-language productions. That said, a project of this scale will almost certainly bring in department heads from Madrid, Barcelona, and potentially beyond, while drawing on the strong Basque local crew pool for broader hiring. Location managers with knowledge of northern Spain's coastline and port infrastructure will be particularly relevant here.

With a March 2027 start, there is significant runway before cameras roll, but that timeline is not as distant as it may sound for a production of this complexity. Films with extensive maritime sequences, multilingual casts, and meaningful VFX pipelines require long pre-production cycles, and department heads in art, locations, visual effects, and production design are typically among the first to be engaged, often a year or more in advance of a shoot of this scale. If you have relevant experience and want to get ahead of the hiring curve, now is the right time to make yourself known to the production. Full crew details, production office contact information, and scheduling updates are listed in the Mare Nostrum entry on ProductionList.com. Bookmark the listing and check back regularly as the production moves deeper into pre-production over the coming months.

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