Dani de la Torre directs Mario Casas in ‘Zeta’, a Spanish spy thriller that will premiere on March 20 on Amazon Prime Video and in which the actor plays a retired CNI agent forced to return to action.
The Galician director has explained that his objective with the film is to demonstrate that in Spain great productions of the genre can also be made, although he recognizes that there is still a certain distrust towards what is local. In his opinion, “we have an inferiority complex with ourselves”, something that is noticeable when stories are presented with Spanish professionals —journalists, police officers or doctors— and part of the public tends to think that they cannot be as effective as in foreign fiction.
De la Torre believes that projects like ‘Zeta’ can help break that barrier within the industry and pave the way for new generations of filmmakers who want to shoot adventures, science fiction or big action films in Spain.
The director Dani de la Torre has regretted that the film will not be released in movie theaters despite being an action-packed film, with shootouts, chases, and explosions designed for the big screen. The filmmaker has acknowledged that he would have liked the public to be able to enjoy it in a cinema, although he has thanked Amazon Prime Video for its commitment to the project, since without the platform's support the film would not have been able to be made.
De la Torre has also defended that in the future there should be greater collaboration between streaming platforms, cinemas, and distributors. According to the director, both models can coexist and complement each other, allowing films to be released in theaters and subsequently be watched at home, thus leaving the decision of how to enjoy the content in the hands of the viewer.
The film also opts for a protagonist different from the typical hero of the genre: a secret agent more human, sensitive, and vulnerable, designed so that the viewer can identify with him. The film thus aims to bring the character closer to the public and move away from the stereotype of the invincible male protagonist that has dominated action thrillers for years.