The tape was commissioned by Foment de Turisme 40 years ago, but was not used
The Council of Mallorca has a surprise prepared for this spring: the screening of an unreleased film by Majorcan filmmaker Agustí Villaronga, coinciding with his birthday. It is a promotional tape of the island that was requested by Foment de Turisme four decades ago, but was forgotten because it did not meet expectations. The Vice-President of the Council of Mallorca and Minister of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, has announced that the process of digitizing the tape has begun and that on the day of the screening there will be the testimony of some people who collaborated in the shooting
Mallorca, a 20-minute short film with music by Philip Glass and Win Mertens
The film is called Mallorca, it lasts about 20 minutes and is a copy enlarged to the standard format for projection in theaters from the original shooting, which was in 16 mm. Roca explained that the tape is kept in the Archive of Sound and Image of the Council of Mallorca and that it was discovered by the journalist Cati Moyà a few months ago.
This Monday, January 22, marks one year since the death of Majorcan director Agustí Villaronga (Palma, 1953-2023) and, precisely, to honor one of the most universal creators the island has given, the Council of Mallorca announces the projection of the film and its digitization in high definition, which will be carried out in a specialized laboratory in Barcelona or Madrid, since this format cannot be digitized in Mallorca.
An order that he did not like and that ended up in a drawer
The film was commissioned by Foment de Turisme, with the sponsorship of the Mallorca Council, around 1985. It was part of a series of commissions given to film directors to offer a new or different view of the island. The film that Agustí Villaronga devised was a montage of images with a soundtrack by the composers Philip Glass and Win Mertens.
The short film begins with the image of a ship crossing the sea. At the same time, a voice-over says that “all Mediterranean routes lead to Mallorca, where tranquility welcomes travelers at the end of all odysseys”. Afterwards, games of light and shadow in the Serra de Tramuntana, Bellver Castle or the Dragon Caves.
The film did not please the people in charge of Foment de Turisme de Mallorca, who decided to commission the writer Valentí Puig to write a script to add a voice-over, with a more explicitly touristic message. Villaronga did not agree and, moreover, this second version was also not liked by the tourist organization and was kept in a drawer.
