Penelope Cruz shoots in Lanzarote

Spain’s Oscar-winning film-maker Pedro Almodóvar has started filming scenes on the volcanic island this week for his new movie, Los Abrazos rotos (Broken Embraces), starring his favorite actress Penélope Cruz.

The Spanish director has turned his back on his signature bright lollypop colors, saying he was attracted by island of Lanzarote, an island in the Atlantic Ocean 79 miles off the west coast of Africa and its black, lava beaches and cactus deserts.

“The volcanic origin of the island makes being there an emotional interior journey,” he wrote in his blog. “When I first visited Lanzarote I found the landscape profoundly disturbing. I had never seen colors so dramatically dark. And I, so fond of brilliant, clashing colors, was fascinated by the subtle obscurity of the place. Black had never formed part of my palette.”

Cruz joined Almodóvar’s latest project within days of celebrating a triumph at Cannes film festival for Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

She had arrived in Cannes after holidaying on the Cote d’Azur with her Barcelona co-star Scarlett Johansson and current love interest, Javier Bardem, who won this year’s best actor Oscar for his play in No Country for Old Men.

Cruz’s loyalty to the Spanish director remains absolute. “Whenever Pedro calls me, not only am I available, he is my total priority,” she said. “He looks after us so well, we have months of rehearsal, which gives us a great sense of security.”