“We wanted to make a series around a family sect”

A Catholic pop group, an overwhelmed mother who goes bad, and traumatized children, that's the theme of this beautiful and distressing Spanish series “La Mesias” which received two awards this year at the Seriesmania festival. The series is available on Arte.TV.

We remember the phenomenal Marisa Paredes, who died this week, in Pedro Almodovar's melodrama All about my mother. An incredible portrait of a woman who has just lost her son. This is another portrait of a strong woman, striking, but darker, that the descendants of Pedro Almodovar sign in the series The Messiah, available on the Arte platform.

The Messiah means the messiahs. It's the story of a woman who takes her children away from her husband, lugs them around as best she can, while engaging in prostitution to survive, and ends up as a cult leader. The story also of his children, now traumatized adults, who are trying to get through it. A fresco in seven one-hour episodes, with, at the center of the story, a Catholic pop group, popular on YouTube, which spreads the word of Jesus Christ.

The series won two awards this year at the Seriesmania festival. Its two authors wanted from the start to tell a sect story. Javier Calvo is one of them: “We wanted to make a series about people trapped in a house, in a sect. We wanted to show how a person comes to become the leader of a sect, of a family sect.”

The series is inspired by an evangelical pop group that actually existed 15 years ago in Spain. Javier Calvo: “We were fascinated when it came out. It was pop, but it was a little sinister. Sometimes the group sounded like hard techno, and it contrasted sharply with religion, but they were singing about the Virgin and it sounded like a rave party.”

The Messiah also has an autobiographical side. And is inspired by the real life of co-author Javier Ambrosi. Javier Calvo says: “Javier Ambrosi had a difficult childhood. He had a history with his family: he had very young parents, parents who tried to do their best. But it's not easy when you're 17.”

The directors claim the legacy of Pedro Almodovar. Javier Calvo: “We grew up with his cinema, and what we took from him were these powerful female characters, and also the ability to combine drama, pop, sometimes comedy, and not stick to one only kind.”

The Messiah7 episodes to discover on the Arte platform.