The Santa Bárbara Castle in Amenábar's New Film

The Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante will be featured in cinemas across Spain from October 17. The fortress is set to appear in 'The Captive', the latest film by acclaimed director Alejandro Amenábar, shot in the city last May.

This week, the first trailer for 'The Captive' was released, heightening anticipation for this eagerly awaited film by Amenábar, who chose the city of Alicante to recreate part of the captivity of writer Miguel de Cervantes in 1575.

This preview of Amenábar's 'The Captive' showcases various locations in the province of Alicante, beyond the fortress, such as the Santa Pola Castle and the Ciudad de la Luz studios, where several scenes of the film were also shot.

Filming at the Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante hosted over 300 people on set, along with hundreds of extras who participated in a casting in the city, which attracted thousands hoping to join the cast of 'The Captive'.

The main cast of this new Amenábar film shot in Alicante includes Julio Peña, known for the series 'Berlin', Alessandro Borghi, Miguel Rellán, Fernando Tejero, José Manuel Poga, Luis Callejo, Roberto Álamo, Albert Salazar, César Sarachu, and Luna Berroa.

During the filming in Alicante, a municipal delegation visited the Santa Bárbara Castle, which underwent an "impressive transformation" to resemble Algiers in 1575, along with meticulous characterisation of the characters.

The film 'The Captive' narrates the capture of young soldier Miguel de Cervantes in its various sequences. He was seized at sea by Arab corsairs and taken to Algiers as a hostage. It was in this Maghreb city that he found refuge to develop his passion for storytelling.

Amenábar himself explains that during that episode, "the doors of freedom closed for Miguel de Cervantes, but in return, the doors of his imagination and humanity opened." "Entering the mind and heart of one of literature's greatest talents has become the most intense and personal task of my career."