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Here we go. #CinemaAtticCuarentena Week 2,
Here are the 7 Spanish Short Films for this week. The programme is pretty strong! Animated classics, Venice and Sundance winners and some of the most shocking short films shown across 10 years of CinemaAttic. Los Alenda, Chapero-Jackson, Herguera, Solanas & Riba… we are talking of some of the biggest directorial names of Spanish Short Film History together in one programme..
Watch? ➡Vote ?️? ➡ Vermouth?
1. Once you watched the films, vote your favourites and comment on the Facebook event.
2. Join the #CinemaAtticVermouth every Sunday 1pm for a live video chat with some of the directors with a drink and snack in hand.
Here are the 7 Spanish Short Films for this week:
La Gallina Ciega // Blindman’s Bluff
by Isabel Herguera
Synopsis: A blind man accidentally loses his guide-dog. Alone in the dark in a big city, he discovers that his strength lies in recognising his own vulnerability.
We Say: First the colours. Then the story. Then the sound. We were initially drawn to this film because of its colour scheme and for its reinterpretation of Mexican-Spanish novelist Max Aub’s essay on blindness La Gallina Ciega (The Blind Chicken). Isabel Herguera is one of the greatest Spanish directors alive. In 2018, we invited Isabel to present her oeuvre at Edinburgh College of Art.
Festival and Awards:
2006 Goya Awards – Best Animated Short Film, Nominee
Barcelona Independent Film Festival
Matria
by Álvaro Gago
Synopsis: Faced with the challenges presented by her daily routine, Ramona tries to take refuge in the relationship that unites her to her daughter and granddaughter.
We Say: Alvaro is a master of what in our minds, makes a brilliant film: time, mystery and a political statement. The film has been shown in town halls in small Galician villages to Sundance Film Festival – where Matria won the Grand Jury Prize -. Ninety-five per cent of the film is based on Francisca’s (and many other women workers around the world) personal experience. Why would you need a professional actress when you have Francisca? Her face (and gaze) tells the whole story. That final gaze…
Festivals and Awards:
Sundance Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize for Short Film, Winner
2019 Goya Awards – Best Short Fiction, Nominee
IndieLisboa International Independent Film – Best Fiction Short Film, Winner
Shorts México Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes – Best Iberoamerican Short Film, Winner
Sardinia Film Festival – Best International Fiction, Winner
Alumbramiento // Lightborne
by Eduardo Chapero-Jackson
Synopsis: A family faces the last night of its eldest member, showing their different ways of dealing with a life’s ending. In a surprising manner, overcoming fear and taboo, one of them will guide the passing.
We Say: Alumbramiento is a tough and real film – as real and tough as true life. It is one of those films that can create a new perception of time -silence lasts longer, the air becomes thicker-. Understandably, the film went on to win big in Venice Biennale and European Film Awards. Eduardo Chapero Jackson is one of the most important directors of Spanish Short Film history.
Festivals and Awards:
Venice Film Festival – Best European Short Film, Winner
European Film Academy Awards – Best European Short Film, Winner
Semana de Cine de Medina del Campo – Best Actor (Manolo Solo), Winner
Alcine Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares – Best Cinematography, Winner
Canis
by Anna Solanas / Marc Riba
Synopsis: Teo survives isolated in a house constantly besieged by a horde of stray dogs.
We Say: If we had to do a Top 5 Shorts of CinemaAttic history Canis would be there. Canis was a tipping point in the relation with our audience. A film that is dirty and noisy. You can taste the dust in it. Despite the dystopian disturbing animated world it presents, people loved this film when it was shown in Scotland. Brutal, original and handcrafted. Marc Riba and Anna Solanas are amongst CinemaAttic all time favourites. Marc was the first CinemaAttic guest speaker when he came to Edinburgh College of Art in 2016 with a suitcase full of puppets to talk about his and Anna Solanas’ creative process.
Festivals and Awards:
Alcine Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares – Canal+ Award, Winner
MECAL Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Barcelona – Best Cinematography, Winner
Asiana International Short Film Festival – Rock Award, Winner
Festival International du Film de Court Métrage d’Avignon – Special Award, Winner
El Equipaje Abierto // The Open Luggage
by Javier Rebollo
Synopsis: Amanda is a melancholic prostitute, in love with a regular client, a disenchanted doctor. Since the day she met this man, he has become, without knowing it, her only client. This explains why Amanda, since then, has been stealing a suitcase in a bus station in order to live. One day she steals a suitcase which is different from the other. Its content will change her life.
We Say: El Equipaje Abierto is another proper classic from 1999. Javier Rebollo encapsulated the CinemaAttic editorial line and philosophy of life in this interview for Festival Punto de Vista. In this film, Almodovar-regular Lola Duenas runs up and down the streets of Lisbon with a beauty and melancholia that is pretty touching. Love, death and serendipity. Javier Rebollo at the peak of his career.
To watch this film with English subtitles click here and support filmmakers
Festivals and Awards:
Alcine Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares – Best Actress (Lola Dueñas), Winner
Granada Young Filmmakers Festival – Canal+ Award, Winner
Matar a un Niño // The Child Will Die
by Alenda Brothers
Synopsis: It is Sunday. A beautiful dawn on a doomed day. At ten o’clock, a happy child is going to die.
We Say: Los Alenda/The Alenda Brothers. A master on Film theory in 9 minutes. Expectations, desire, mystery and drama. The Alenda Brothers are essential in order to understand contemporary Spanish Cinema. They brought forward some of the most ambitious short-film productions in Spain in the 00s, applying their knowledge of Architecture and Design, alongside an ambition to investigate humankind. Cinemaattic organised a Retrospective on their work in 2018. There will be more shorts by Los Alenda in upcoming weeks
Festivals & Awards:
2012 Goya Awards – Best Short Film, Nominee
BFI Future Film Festival – Best Dramatic Short Film, Winner
Festival de Málaga Cine Español – Audience Award, Winner
Naoussa International Film Festival – Best Short Film & Best Director, Winner
Morir Cada Dia // Dying Every Day
by Aitor Echevarria
Synopsis: Blanca is not willing to let her family enjoy a quiet dinner. The conversation is boring and she is irritated by the same old jokes. She knows that things could be different.
We Say: A Spanish family sits around a table. A drama about to explode. Like in any other family, conversations are silenced, problems are not faced and intergenerational tensions mingle on the table with bread and wine. Buen provecho!
Festivals and Awards:
New York City Short Film Festival – Audience Award, Winner
Alcine Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares – Best Actress (Andrea Trepat), Winner
Iberoamerican Festival of Short Films – Best Actress (Andrea Trepat), Winner
THE END
NOW IT’S TIME TO VOTE! Vote your favorites in our Facebook event poll . You can vote for more than one!
See you on Sunday for our #CinemaAtticVermouth / Un Vermut con CinemaAttic
CinemAttic Cuarentena | 90 Essential Spanish Short Films of the Last Decade.
