Silvia Pérez Cruz Voices Carmen in Spanish ‘Viva Carmen’ Version

“Viva Carmen” has completed its Spanish-language version ahead of its North American premiere in TIFF’s Centerpiece section on Friday, Sept. 11, according to Variety’s report.

Flamenco singer Silvia Pérez Cruz voices Carmen and performs new songs written for the Spanish edition. The report also features a clip and a brand-new song from the film. Pérez Cruz recently collaborated with Rosalía on “La Rumba del Perdón,” from Rosalía’s album “Lux.”

Directed by Sébastien Laudenbach, the Seville-set animated film reimagines Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” as a feminist story about a woman whose priority is freedom rather than romance. Set in 1845, it follows Carmen, teenage Salvador and a group of street children who try to defy a prophecy that she will die at the hands of a soldier named José.

Filmin and Elástica Films will release “Viva Carmen” in Spain, where it will also screen at the Seville Film Festival. U.S. distribution rights remain under negotiation. The French-language version, starring Camélia Jordana, will be released in France by Haut et Court.

For global film and music audiences, the project connects a classic opera adaptation with new work from a prominent flamenco vocalist, while presenting Carmen through an animated format aimed in part at younger viewers.