Escanyapobres / The Usurer

Revisiting a great classic

2024

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Feature film based on the novel L’escanyapobres (The Usurer) by Narcís Oller. Directed by Ibai Abad and starring Àlex Brendemühl and Mireia Vilapuig.

For Cinemas, TV3, Àpunt, ICEC, IVC

A CATALAN CLASSIC WITH A CURRENT PERSPECTIVE

L’escanyapobres (The Usurer) by Narcís Oller, brought to the big screen by the young director Ibai Abad.

L’escanyapobres (The Usurer) is a 19th century Catalan novel representative of the noucentista movement written by Narcís Oller. We here at Abacus have wanted to bring this story to the present day through a young and unapologetic perspective directed by Ibai Abad. Based on the original text, Abad has emboldened the female characters and brought the film closer to the revisionist western genre. The story takes place in a town that could be any town in the world that is faced with the impact of the arrival of the railroad and everything that entails.

A CAST WITH BIG NAMES FROM THE CATALAN SCENE

Àlex Brendemühl and Mireia Vilapuig star as the two key names in the story.

Ibai Abad has also made the film more expansive through casting. For L’escanyapobres (The Usurer), the director chose one of the main actors of the Catalan scene, Àlex Brendemühl, and for the role of Cileta, he tabbed the young Mireia Vilapuig.

UNA COPRODUCCIÓ CATALANOVALENCIANA

Abacus has co-produced this film with the production companies Mayo (Catalonia) and Nakamura (Valencia), as well as CCMA (Catalonia) and À Punt (Valencia).

To make this period film a reality, we joined forces with several production companies in the region along with the main television networks. The Barcelona Film Fest hosted the film’s premiere, thus launching a journey through various festivals, both in Spain and abroad.