The story of the Scottish warlord who died in Malaga reaches the cinema

Scottish independence has been a subject addressed by influential films such as Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning 'Braveheart'. Now comes the story in the form of a documentary by James Douglas, a famous warlord who fought side by side with King Robert the Bruce of the British country during the first war of independence. Indeed, and held in such high esteem by Robert I, that he entrusted him with his heart (embalmed) after his death to carry it to the Holy Land, something that Douglas carried in a silver container hanging on his chest, until his death in battle against the Muslims at the Castle of the Star, in the village of Teba, Málaga.

Kike Mesa, from Málaga, is the director of 'James Douglas. The Man with Two Hearts', a project that was born after being strongly attracted to the story of the 'Douglas' Days', a celebration held for three days every August in the town of Teba. "When I discovered it, I found it incredible; if this happened in the United States, there would be 70 movies," the filmmaker commented, adding: "It's a story with unique singularity." In this local festival, the medieval atmosphere of the time is recreated with markets, theatrical activities, street decorations, or the characterization of its residents, in addition to having a large Scottish representation.

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This is Mesa's third feature film as a director, although he has been a one-man band in audiovisuals for years, mainly as a producer. Precisely for this work, he was awarded the Golden Latino Award for Best International Producer in 2016, following the success of the feature film 'Maniac Tales', which was presented at the 20th Málaga Film Festival. Additionally, the filmmaker has presented another project at this edition of the Malaga festival, 'Rainbow in Black and White'. The delay in the release of 'James Douglas. The Man with Two Hearts' is because Mesa has been immersed in discovering how to incorporate Artificial Intelligence into the documentary: "The images in the credits are all AI, the Douglas that appears is created with a special program."

'James Douglas. The Man with Two Hearts' presents a trailer with a clear documentary structure with investigative overtones, following the trail of many films with a high level of learning for viewers who dare to discover this fascinating story with a legendary air that takes place in a small town in the province of Málaga. Mesa perfectly defined what this project seeks: "I want that, when a cruise ship docks in Málaga, the Scots on board say they want to go to Teba."