La Tregua: A Bridge Across Wars and Worlds – An Interview with Director Miguel Ángel Vivas
In the misty green heart of Bizkaia, where mountains rise like ancient sentinels and the air carries the scent of rain and earth, a remarkable filmmaking journey unfurled. This is where director Miguel Ángel Vivas Moreno, known for Money Heist (La Casa de Papel), Cicatriz, Desaparecidos, and Secuestrados, reconstructed one of the most haunting landscapes of the twentieth century: a Soviet gulag on the distant Kazakh steppe. His new film, La Tregua (The Truce), invites viewers into a story based on actual events that unfolded far from Spain, but holds deep ties to its history. It traces the ordeal of Spanish prisoners during World War II who fell into Soviet hands and were compelled to endure the harsh, frozen conditions of a labor camp. Their struggle becomes a bridge between past and present, between countries and cultures, and between two men who must learn to recognize each other beyond the uniforms that once made them enemies. [caption id="attachment_40358" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] All images courtesy of the production[/caption] The project is an unprecedented Spanish-Kazakh co-production from Spassk 99, AIE, Amanat Capital, LTD, and Umaifilm, LLP. This partnership gives the film a reach that feels genuinely cross-continental. It is a motion picture passport that opens a window onto a forgotten corner of global history. At the center of the story are Miguel Herrán and Arón Piper, who step into the roles of Reyes and Salgado. The characters appear as ideological enemies; having fought on opposing sides during the Spanish Civil War, both carry heavy psychological baggage. Inside the camp, their former certainties fall away. What begins as uneasy coexistence becomes an inward journey shaped by hunger, fear, and the starkness of their new reality. Executive producer César Benítez recalls searching for two actors capable of expressing both the physical exhaustion of imprisonment and the spark of hope that keeps a person standing. He says that the moment he saw Miguel and Arón together, he recognized that rare blend of fragility and fire. Miguel Ángel Vivas talked to TCA to break down the challenges and highlights behind the production. [caption id="attachment_40356" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] All images courtesy of the production[/caption] TCA: The story is fictional, but it is based on real events in Kazakhstan. Can you explain the historical context and how it inspired La Tregua? Miguel: The story begins with a documentary about Spaniards in the Soviet gulags. That’s where we discovered that republicans and fascists shared the same prison two years after the Spanish Civil War ended. It struck us as a fascinating starting point for a human story about the relationships that formed between them. [caption id="attachment_40357" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] All images courtesy of the production[/caption] TCA: The premise is intriguing: how two fighters on opposite sides of the Spanish Civil War end up in a gulag in Kazakhstan. In an increasingly polarized world, is there a lesson in the film to help heal the wounds that divide Spain, or even the world in general? Miguel: That was the idea! In such a...
