ORF-E
English
2 x 52 min
Worldwide except for Spain, Germany, France, Middle East and North Africa

In 1340 Granada, the last Muslim Al-Andalus kingdom, loses its biggest battle against the neighbouring Christian monarchs. Knowing their beleaguered kingdom is doomed, two sultans, Yusuf I and his son Muhammed V, embark on constructing a building in an attempt to reach for the stars: the Alhambra Palaces. Their vizier Ibn al-Khatib, a respected poet, writer and scholar, chronicles the struggle to condense and preserve the achievements of Al-Andalus in this unique work of art and architecture: for more than 700 years, Al-Andalus was the greatest centre for innovation and knowledge in Europe since Ancient Greece. The Alhambra still stands as a monument to this golden era. Following Ibn al-Khatib’s detailed descriptions of life in 14th-century Granada and aided by modern historians, celebrated writer-director Isabel Fernández takes viewers on a journey inside the walls of what she describes as “the most beautiful and mysterious building in the world”. The film recreates medieval Muslim Granada using emblematic art pieces constructed specifically for the shoot and produced as authentically as possible. The Alhambra is presented visually in a way never seen before, in a unique effort to bring life to the period and to explore the architectural, religious, and cultural significance of the complex.