May 16, 2026 5:01am PT

‘Carte Blanche’ Director Gerardo Herrero Discusses Blowback of Spain’s War in Morocco and Rise of Franco

The film follows a Spanish Legion unit on a fateful mission during the bloody 1921 Rif War that resulted in the deaths of some 40,000 Spanish soldiers and an unknown but likely much higher number of Moroccan casualties

Ed Meza

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Ed Meza

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Ivan Pellicer in 'Carte Blanche' Courtesy of Latido Films

“Carte Blanche” is a harrowing thriller that explores Spain’s seemingly forgotten Rif War in Morocco, the innate dehumanization of conflict that spurs rampant killing and its impact on the country’s subsequent Civil War.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Gerardo Herrero and based on the novel by Lorenzo Silva, “Carte Blanche” follows an elite unit of the Spanish Legion in 1921 as they set out on an unauthorized mission of revenge. Seeking to eliminate Berber forces in the barren mountains of northern Morocco, seven soldiers obediently follow their fanatical sergeant (Víctor Clavijo) into barbarous depths of depravity.

'Carte Blanche' Director Gerardo Herrero Discusses Blowback of Spain's War in Morocco and Rise of Franco