The Silence of Princess Midas (El silencio de la princesa Midas)

After the murder of his daughter at the hands of her husband, Manuel takes in his two grandchildren and embarks on a difficult journey of emotional reconstruction with them, marked by grief and the hope of healing. A deeply moving drama by a promising author.

Manuel, an elderly man, receives the devastating news of the murder of his daughter Leire at the hands of her ex-partner, who then takes his own life. He travels to the city to bring back his grandchildren: Unai, a seventeen-year-old teenager, and Ainara, a seven-year-old girl who has become mute after witnessing the crime. Together, they move to Manuel’s village, where they try to rebuild their lives.

Ainara retreats into silence and into magical stories such as that of King Midas, who represents her father: someone who seemed special, but whose “magic” turned out to be destructive. Unai, for his part, struggles with guilt for not having protected his mother. He recalls how Leire sent him away to keep him safe from the violence, and how, upon returning, he found a broken mother.

At school, Unai finds support in two classmates: Victoria, kind and empathetic, and Paulo, a Brazilian boy who has also experienced domestic violence. With them, and with Guille, an artist who expresses his pain through graffiti, Unai forms a group that helps him channel his anger and hope. Meanwhile, Manuel faces bureaucracy in order to protect his grandchildren, remove the aggressor’s surname, and seek psychological support for them. Through walks in the forest, he shares stories of resilience with Unai, such as that of trees that survive wildfires.

The story reaches a crucial point when Ainara disappears. Paulo finds her in the forest, beside a spring. There, the girl breaks down in tears and regains her voice. It is a moment of catharsis that marks the beginning of her healing.

Guille paints a mural in tribute to the mothers of Unai and Paulo, turning his art into a collective act of memory. The epilogue shows Unai determined to study Social Work, inspired by his experience. With hope, he plans a future in which Ainara receives psychological support and Manuel can grow old in peace. The story closes on a luminous note: the “Princess Midas” has spoken again, pain has begun to transform, and the family sets out on a new path.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Alba Quintas Garciandia is a young author of novels, poetry, and theatre. Her first young adult novel won the Jordi Sierra i Fabra Prize for Young Writers when she was only 17 years old. Since then, she has published several middle grade and young adult books.

The Silence of Princess Midas, finalist for the Gran Angular Prize 2025, sensitively and profoundly addresses the emotional consequences of gender-based violence in childhood from an intergenerational perspective, shaping a story full of twists.

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Film, TV Film.

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish.