Barça Studios premieres ‘The Awakening’, a sentimental story set against the background of the 2015 treble

Barça Studios is proud to present its latest fictional release, El despertar (The Awakening), an emotional story about human sentiments and relationships, in which football and passion for Barça serve to draw the characters together. The movie takes the audience back to February 2015, as it shows just how far people are willing to go to for the sake of their loved ones, all set against the background of the club’s second treble-winning season.

El despertar (The Awakening) is being premiered on Sunday 2 August at 10.00pm CEST on Barça TV+ streaming service, and is in Catalan with subtitles in Spanish and English.

The movie tells the story of a 21-year-old lady called Martina who lives with her grandfather Pau, They look after each other, and also share their passion for FC Barcelona. But on the night of February 21, just after the Barça v Málaga game, everything changes when Pau has a stroke and goes into a coma, which he comes out of months later having suffered partial loss of recent memory. Inspired by the movie Good Bye, Lenin!, Martina decides to fill Pau’s days with happy feelings and memories. And what better way to do that than get him to enjoy all the wonderful sporting triumphs that happened while he was in a coma, which ended with Barça making history yet again with another treble. Martina seeks the help of her friends, acquaintances and workmates at Barça TV, and most especially Quim, a somewhat eccentric musician who lives in the same apartment block.

These initial events put the different characters to the test, and the plot advances by connecting different moments in their lives with the values of sport, such as effort and determination in the face of adversity, while also showing how difficult situations tend to bring out the best in people. It is a universal product for all audiences, but which also reflects the traditions associated to Barça, and families for whom the club is a source of unity and a meeting point between different generations. 

A new milestone in the creation of original content

With El despertar (The Awakening), Barça Studios has further advanced with its creation of original entertainment products embracing everything from documentaries to fiction, and even cartoons. It is all part of the plan to take the club and its values closer to the fans, offering a unique perspective on the club, while connecting with new audiences around the world. 

Once again the club’s audiovisual factory has teamed up with the very best partners. This production has been supported by Brutal Media, which has been consolidated in the sector by such movies as Te quiero, imbécil and the award winning mini-series Tornarem, as well as the involvement of Televisión de Catalunya. The distinctive element of such an ambitious project is the way it combines a fictional storyline with footage from real games and interviews with the heroes of the 2014/15 season, masterfully directed by Kiko Ruiz Claverol, the man behind such successful TV series as Les de l’hoquei and Sin Identidad, and scriptwriter David Castillo, who has worked on such productions as Ventdelplà and La memòria dels Cargols by Dagoll Dagom.

The original idea and screenplay for El despertar (The Awakening) were developed before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the whole series was produced in four weeks, following the easing of lockdown measures. The production schedule strictly observed all safety regulations issued by the health authorities.

Statement by Dídac Lee, Director and Head of FC Barcelona Digital Area

“We are proud to be able to present a movie like El despertar (The Awakening), a production for all audiences that describes sentiments and the way people react to certain situations. It is also a story that allows us to connect moments in our lives with the values of sport.

With the 2015 treble as the setting, we are sure that a lot of Culers will be able to identify with the characters, as the film depicts traditions that are so closely associated to the club, such as the way it brings together different generations of the same family. But we are also convinced that as a movie it achieves much more than that, presenting a universal storyline that all audiences can connect with, even those who are not particularly big fans of football.

We should stress that with El despertar Barça Studios is continuing to consolidate its content catalogue, furthering the club’s commitment to creating premium quality audiovisual products as part of its new digital strategy”.