The Beloved () is an upcoming drama film directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and co-written by Isabel Peña. It stars Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo in a father-daughter relationship.
The plot follows the father-daughter relationship between an acclaimed film director and a middling actress, as they reunite on set after several years of estrangement, exploring a film crew shooting a motion picture in Fuerteventura titled Desierto, in turn set in 1930s Western Sahara.
Titled El ser querido, the project, set to be directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and co-written in tandem with usual collaborator Isabel Peña, was pitched by Movistar Plus+ on 18 January 2024 at a meeting at the Palacio de Santa Bárbara, providing no cast nor synopsis. Sorogoyen simply described the production as stepping out of his comfort zone. Lead cast members Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo were first announced by Bardem himself during his reception of the Donostia Award at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2024. The film is a Spanish-French co-production by Movistar Plus+, Caballo Films, and El Ser Querido AIE alongside Le Pacte, with the association of Canal+, the funding from ICAA and Creative Europe Media and backing from ICEC and the Madrid regional administration.
Additional cast members Raúl Arévalo, Marina Foïs, Mourad Ouani, Raúl Prieto, Melina Matthews, Núria Prims, Pablo Gómez Pando, and Malena Villa were announced in January 2025 during another Movistar Plus+ presentation event. In the event, Sorogoyen joked about Bardem's role saying that "it is funny because Javier Bardem plays a film director, yesterday we did a rehearsal and he does it better than me. He starts directing and says things that I would not have thought of".
In February 2025, filming was reported to have started. ÃÂlex de Pablo worked as cinematographer and Alberto del Campo was the film editor. Shooting locations included the island of Fuerteventura. Some footage was also shot in Madrid. The first 18 minutes involving the two lead characters meeting in a restaurant of Madrid were shot in a single take in the first day of filming, involving no prior face-to-face meeting of Bardem and Luengo, seeking to convey better the context of two people who had not heard from each other for 13 years.
A Contracorriente Films is set to release the film in theatres in Spain, while Le Pacte is handling French distribution. Movistar Plus+ is set to release the film on streaming after the theatrical window in Spain. Goodfellas acquired international sales. The film's release in Spanish theatres is scheduled for 28 August 2026.