It was born as a spin-off from his upcoming film, Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces), a four-way love story shot in film-noir style starring his Oscar-winning muse, Penelope Cruz as both a blonde and a brunette. The auteur from La Mancha said he was so impressed by the “extraordinary talent” of an actress who played a minor character in the film that he wrote the cannibal script for her “on a creative whim”.

1999 film by Pedro Almodóvar

Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.

2006 film directed by Pedro Almodóvar