Canary Islands-based filmmaker Paula Bilbao, whose debut documentary “Inshallah,” about the Las Raíces migrant camp in Tenerife, won the Audience Award at the MiradasDoc festival this year,is turning to fiction in her upcoming dramedy “A Supermarket in Tigaday.”
Among the projects in the development showcase at MIA’s Spanish Screenings on Tour, “A Supermarket in Tigaday” focuses on Fer, a frustrated musician, who returns home after a 20-year absence to bury his estranged father.
He turns to the music of his past to deal with his grief but to his great surprise, he finds that his father is still alive and that he must prove himself to earn his inheritance, a tiny supermarket in the town of Tigaday.
“‘A Supermarket in Tigaday’ is a dramedy that explores the emotional threads of family, loss, loneliness, the past and the relentless pursuit of personal growth and acceptance. It is a love letter to those who are not here and those who never left,” said Bilbao.
To be produced by Canary Islands-based Amissus Prods, the film is currently seeking international co-producers in Europe and/or Latin America.
“From the small town of Tigaday, in El Hierro, this film not only traverses and dissects grief but essentially speaks to reconciling ourselves with the life we have and the one we never had. It will be a film that the audience will want to stay and live in,” said Daute Campos who, together with Rita Vera, executive produces the film.
Founded in 2020 by Daute and Wimar Campos, Amissus focuses on developing film and TV projects in the Canary Islands, which offer one of the highest deduction rates for film and TV shoots anywhere in the world: 54% for a first €1 million ($1.1 million) eligible expenditure and 45% on further spend.
Amissus is currently in pre-production on “Tal vez,” the directorial debut of Arima León, with the backing of pubcaster RTVE and regional network RTVC. They are also developing the documentary feature “Sicario,” selected in CreaDOC and with development support from the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.
Written by Javier Morala, principal photography for “A Supermarket in Tigaday” is slated for the first quarter of 2026 on the island of El Hierro and the south of Tenerife.
