“The Whistlers” is the feature film that was awarded the Palme d’Or on Saturday 18th May during the 2019 Cannes Festival. The film starts with the words: “Welcome to La Gomera, the pearl of the Canary Islands”; and is an engaging and witty thriller that shows how its main character, a corrupt policeman called Cristi (played by Vlad Ivanov), arrives on La Gomera to learn the ancestral language of the island, the Gomeran whistle, in an attempt to get a gangster out of prison.
To do this, the main actors had to carefully learn and practise the essentials of the whistle language, which would not have been possible without the help of the director of whistle teaching on the island, Kiko Correa, who taught the language to the actors: “We were working for two weeks before filming, for four to six hours a day, and on the recording itself, and their willingness and commitment were surprising.”
The company Fred. Olsen S.A. was a partner in the recording of the film in La Gomera and was present at the Festival as a guest of the producer Patricia Poienaru (ARSIA PRODUCTION) for the premiere in the Gran Theatre Lumière, where it was fascinating to see the unique landscapes of the island on the screen with the plot linked to the Gomeran whistle language. The Tourism Board of La Gomera´s Island Government was also involved with this production, both in selecting locations and coordinating the filming.
This film is undoubtedly going to make the unique characteristics of La Gomera and its people known worldwide.
- Cast: Vlad Ivanov, Catrinel Marlon, Rodica Lazar, Antonio Bui, Agusti Villaronga, Sabin Tambrea.