In the late 1980s, Bilbao’s working-class suburbs were a microcosm of newly democratic Spain’s broader socio-economic transformation. Amidst this, Borja Cobeaga‘s upcoming comedy, “Breaking Walls” (“Los Aitas”), heads comedically into the evolution of fatherhood during this pivotal era. “Breaking Walls” is produced by Sayaka Producciones (“Colossal”), in collaboration with Inicia Films (“Glimmers”), Bteam Prods (“Schoolgirls”), and Despadres AIE.  It follows a group of young gymnasts, all girls, whose fathers are “forced” to chaperone them on a trip to Berlin – a journey that coincides with the historic fall of the Berlin Wall. This road trip becomes a catalyst for these men to discover and redefine their roles as parents.

Cobeaga, collaborating with co-writer Valentina Viso (“Salve Maria”), grounds the film in the political, cultural and economic climate of the time. The opening features industrial stills of Bilbao, interspersed with references to the Pact of Ajuria Enea and the leadership of José Antonio Ardanza. There’s also VCR as a possible tech on the rise! 

“The subject of the film is change. The main change is the transformation of fatherhood but I think a father became more responsible for his kids because male unemployment grew in that era. Everything is connected. If you lose your job, you spend more time at home and someone has to sustain the familiar economy. Most of their wives began to work at that time and fathers had to take children to school, help with their homework. It’s an era I know because I was the age of the children in the film in 1989.” Cobeaga tells Variety. 

The ensemble cast, featuring Quim Gutiérrez, Juan Diego Botto, Mikel Losada, Iñaki Ardanaz, Laura Weissmahr, and Ramón Barea, brings authenticity to the film. 

“Every father in the film is an actual dad in real life. Of course an actor can play a father if he has no kids, but I think they get a more precise vision of being a father… and a son too.” Cobeaga said. 

“Breaking Walls” employs comedy as a lens to address its topics be they class, or the parental role of provider vs. carer. The director views humor as a means to process challenges, “I’m not sure if the comedy has the power of change but I think it’s the way to cope with problems in an easy way. Comedy is for me a revenge against reality.” he explained.

Always drawing from personal experiences, Cobeaga’s journey to becoming the storyteller was influenced by his mother, who nurtured his passion early.

 “My mother is my major influence. Because she loves cinema and built a home where films were all,” he recalled, “I wanted to be a director since seven years old because my home is a place where we talked about Hawks, Minnelli, Tourneur or Cukor.  At the time we didn’t own a VHS, my mother used to record films on cassette from the TV, so we listened to the movies after watching them.” Her efforts paid off.

“Spanish Affair,” which he co-wrote, was a huge hit and remains one of the most successful Spanish films of all time. As Spanish films and series gain global traction, Cobeaga acknowledges the expanding opportunities for storytellers. 

“I think global streamers has got something cinema from Spain and Latin America was trying over decades. We’re so many million people talking the same language and we had to wait for ‘La Casa De Papel’ to have a global success.” he says, adding “The opportunity is there and genres like thriller or horror got that kind of worldwide win. I hope comedy is next. Now a local success is remade in Mexico, Argentina or France with their language or cultural references. I hope new generations can appreciate original projects, no need to remake them.”

Success on streaming is one thing but his anticipation for the theatrical release is palpable, “This is my first feature film as director that is shown in theatres in 10 years. I made ‘Bomb Scared’ in 2017 but it went direct to Netflix. I’m very excited about this. Because I made a lot of TV shows, I enjoyed making them. They were personal projects, but the feeling of an opening weekend of a film is very special.” He adds, “I take my kid a lot to the movies. We watch together two-to-three films a month and he always tells me (he’s eight): ‘Dad, movies are better here.’”