It has been a successful week for Basque directors Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi , who, together with Jose Mari Goenaga, debuted “Marco” at the Venice Film Festival and were selected as a potential candidate for Spain’s Oscar entry.

Sold by Film Factory Entertainment, with market screenings in Toronto and upcoming stops at San Sebastian, London and Vancouver, “Marco” is generating significant buzz. Based on real events, it centers on Enric Marco, an imposter who gained sympathy, fame, and respect by falsely claiming to be a concentration camp survivor while serving as chairman of the leading Spanish association for deportees. His story was a lie.

The filmmakers initially intended to chronicle Marco’s downfall as a documentary, but as with everything he was involved in, the truth proved elusive. He told them he was going to Germany to obtain documents from a prison he had been incarcerated in. The filmmakers expressed a desire to accompany him and capture significant footage. “He told us ‘no,’ because it was too personal for him, too intimate.” Jon Garaño recalls. “We understood his hesitation. But upon his return, it became clear he had collaborated with other filmmakers on a movie. This came as a surprise to us.” He had been deceiving them.

Marco's fabricated life was exposed in 2005 by historian Benito Bermejo, but the void he left behind – never fully explaining himself, never offering a sincere apology – became fertile ground for a story that refuses to be straightforward. “It took us a long time to realize that perhaps the best approach was to create a fictional film,” says Garaño. “The movie delves into the representation of reality and fiction, and how the two can be intertwined. The notion of truth is in danger because people can blend facts and create illusions that are easily believed.”
Blending reality and fiction, the film incorporates documentary footage, capturing the essence of the era. The lead role is a challenging gift for multi-award-winning actor Eduard Fernández (“Smoke & Mirrors,” “While at War,” “Smoking Room”), who embodies the essence of a man with opaque motives and creates a captivating character, driven by a deep-seated need for attention.

“The real Marco was a very enigmatic character. He was incredibly charming and a gifted storyteller, but at the same time, interacting with him was unsettling because you knew he had lied about something so significant. Eduard Fernández perfectly captured the character by not simply imitating him but by creating his own interpretation. It was crucial because we’re telling our story about Marco,” says Arregi.

The directors incorporated the construction of a lie into their filmmaking approach: “We blend different formats to remind the audience that they’re watching a film, a carefully crafted work. This manipulation is inherent in every film, whether it’s a documentary or fiction, and we wanted to explore this concept directly,” Garaño explained.

The ambiguity surrounding Marco's true intentions leaves us with a question: ‘Why do we lie?’ “Marco would often defend himself by saying, ‘I’m a liar, but who isn’t?’ And he’s right to some extent. Everyone strives to present their best self, and filmmaking is also a form of manipulation. We wanted to portray this by blending different formats and blurring the line between fiction and documentary.” says Garaño.

Having previously achieved success with films like “Giant,” “Flowers,” and “The Endless Trench,” the trio has developed a unique collaborative style that relies heavily on mutual trust. “We have this unusual way of working that enables us to rotate and support one another. Having three directors means we can keep moving forward even when one of us is feeling overwhelmed. It’s not without its challenges – we have our share of disagreements and discussions – but it also ensures that there’s always someone ready to step up when needed,” says Arregi.

The film was a collaborative effort, with production credits going to Spain’s Irusoin, Moriarti Produkzioak, Atresmedia Cine, and La Verdad Inventada AIE.