02/05/2024 - The director of [REC], Verónica and The Grandmother will showcase the creative process of chef Andoni Luis Aduriz's Basque restaurant in this original Movistar Plus+ film

Director Paco Plaza and chef Andoni Luis Aduriz on the set of Mugaritz (© Jorge Fuembuena)

According to its creators, the audience will become an exceptional witness to the reinvention process in the restaurant that gives the film its title. Located in Rentería (Gipuzkoa), it is considered one of the best restaurants (with two Michelin stars) and headed by Andoni Luis Aduriz, one of the most creative and influential chefs in the world. This is Mugaritz, the Movistar Plus+ documentary directed by Paco Plaza, responsible for horror and suspense films such as almost the entire [REC] [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza
interview: Julio Fernández
film profile] saga, Verónica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile], Eye for an Eye [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile], The Grandmother [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Plaza
film profile] (premiered at San Sebastian Film Festival) and his most recent Sister Death, which opened the last Sitges Film Festival and can be seen on Netflix.

But this is not the filmmaker’s first foray into non-fiction, as back in 2002 he directed (with Jaume Balagueró)  OT: The Film, based on the famous musical talent search programme. Now with Mugaritz, the Valencian will document what happens behind closed doors in this restaurant and record the creation process, conceptualisation and commentary of the dishes, but not the making of the dishes themselves. Because the creation of Mugaritz is more to do with expressing ideas through food than with the cuisine itself, according to its creators.

"For me, as a filmmaker and as a citizen, it is a privilege to be able to witness their work in such an unusual space," said Paco Plaza. "The bewilderment begins when you discover that a restaurant closes its doors to the public in the middle of the year to dedicate itself to creating a different experience each season from scratch, to compose a different and new menu each year without embracing the achievements made up until that moment, always looking forward with no repetitions, expanding the limits of what we call haute cuisine", he comments.

"As I always say, it’s the Fallas spirit that attracts me to Mugaritz; creating without the desire for posterity, without the need to perpetuate itself over time in order to be validated, makes the creative process itself take on a value independent of the result; like the famous poem by the Greek Konstantínos Kaváfis, the work of Aduriz and Mugaritz’s creative team emphasises the value of the journey beyond the destination, which is by definition uncertain", Plaza continues. "There is something adventurous, risk-taking, daring that makes this creative space (the word restaurant omits many of the interesting aspects of this place) an inspiring and stimulating sanctuary. And also, it's a great place to eat," he concludes.

Mugaritz is a Movistar Plus+ original film, produced in collaboration with Fonte Films, which will soon be available on this platform.

(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)