Actors Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo headline a new RTVE and Á Punt series about the 2006 Valletta harbor landing of 51 sub-Saharan migrants rescued off the Libyan coast. The narrative follows the Santa Pola fishing boat Francisco and Catalina, blending documentary precision with dramatic storytelling about the law of the sea and the humanitarian ordeal that unfolded that year.
The three-part production, guided by Alberto Ruiz Rojo, revisits the voyage of the Francisco and Catalina and was shot over two months in authentic locations across Madrid, Alicante, the City of Light, and Santa Pola, with on-sea sequences included to reproduce the real voyage as closely as possible.
To recreate the July 21, 2006 landing at Valletta and the western docks of the Alicante port, a large Red Cross tent was erected near the fish market and a dry pond, with numerous extras portraying volunteers and security personnel, according to reports from Efe.
In the morning, Tosar portrays the fishing boat captain José Durá, while Portillo appears as the Spanish ambassador to Malta. The scene captures her character bidding farewell to the immigrants as they step ashore on the rehabilitated Maltese shoreline set at the Alicante docks for the day.
Filming continues with the moment the migrants are counted, Red Cross staff present, and the immigrants boarded onto a bus bound for their destination.
Blanca Portillo, ambassador
During a presentation at the Alicante Film Festival, Portillo spoke about giving life to the Malta ambassador Andrea de Velasco and emphasized the aim of depicting the humanity behind the headlines. The office managed political and public relations affairs to ensure that the events of Francisco and Catalina were portrayed with responsibility and sensitivity.
The production team sought to convey a message beyond a simple tale of migration, focusing on the human angles and the choices faced by those involved in the rescue and relocation process.
Portillo notes that the series, inspired by true events, invites viewers to imagine the experiences of the people on board and the consequences of policies that shape the arrival of migrants in Europe. It aims to offer emotional insight that complements what is seen in daily news coverage.
On set, Tosar plays the captain while Portillo’s portrayal anchors the human diplomacy at the heart of the story. Lara Alfonso portrays the cook on the Francisco y Catalina, a maternal figure who tends to crew and newcomers alike, lending a sense of steadiness to the crew under pressure.
real situation
From July 14 to 21, 2006, humanitarian operations aboard the Francisco y Catalina were watched with growing concern across Spain and Europe. The vessel carried 51 Eritrean migrants, including a two-year-old and a pregnant woman, sharing space with the crew under tense conditions tens of miles from Malta.
As the European Union debated who would accept the migrants and Maltese authorities initially refused entry, the crew and evacuees faced uncertainty before the immigrants finally landed on July 21 and were distributed among three countries, with most going to Spain.
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The production budget stood at about 3.8 million euros, with filming beginning May 15 in Santa Pola. Local production expenses reach roughly 2.3 million euros over the two-month schedule. Some sequences were planned for City of Light studios in Alicante, and additional location footage was scheduled to capture the atmosphere of European decisions on public aid and migration policy as the shoot progressed.