From left to right: Juan Carlos Mostaza, Alejandro Renedo, Juan Carrascal, Bernabé Rico, María Guerra and Estrella Asensio
10/29/2020.- One more year the Valladolid Film Festival renews its support for its short film sidebar “Castile and León in Short”, a showcase of some of the region’s relevant filmic output over the past 12 months. The section features six entries competing for the Best Short Film Award at the 65th edition of Seminci: Cosplay: más que disfrazarse, De Perfil, Intermedio, Nacional 106, Reflejo and Un viaje inesperado are the titles selected to compete for the award as Best Short Film at the 65th edition of Seminci.
Valladolid-born director Estrella Asensio provides in Cosplay… her view of this fashionable form of costumed role-playing where participants wear clothes, accessories and suits that represent a specific character or idea. “We have tried to show how cosplay is experienced from inside, since from the point of view of the outside viewer we are aware that it can cause rejection. We would like the audience to see it through the eyes of the cosplay fans and enjoy the experience from within”, explained Estrella Asensio, the short film’s director, during its public presentation.
De perfil, by Valladolid’s director, Alejandro Renedo, “is a documentary that I owe to Ana, the actress who stars in it, and to her experience in the world of casting”, Alejandro explained during the presentation. “I hope that the documentary will help make people aware of the poor deal that we sometimes give to one of the most important assets in filmmaking: the actors”, said the director minutes before the start of the screening.
Bernabé Rico‘s Intermedio, on the other hand, is a short film shot in Medina del Campo that deals with the connection between Spain’s Civil War and football. “This short reflects the motif of the ‘two Spains’, which eventually end up being one, and I think this makes a lot of sense at the present time”, said the film’s director.
Nacional 106, by Juan Carrascal, provides a portrait of Spain against the backdrop of the roads and highways that cross the country from north to south. “I have been forbidden to say anything about film, because one things lead to another… But I would like to recall the shooting of this documentary short in the Valladolid pine forests and the special bond that was created among the entire crew”, said Rosalinda Galán, the short’s the lead actress.
Un viaje inesperado, by Leonese director María Guerra Villadangos, invites us to join two musicians along “an unexpected trip (somewhat tough, but wonderful too) that the film’s crew also shared. It is an honour to present a documentary shot in León and whose protagonists are two musicians from Valladolid in this festival section”, said María Guerra.
Reflejo, directed by Valladolid-born and León-raised director Juan Carlos Mostaza, deals with “a subject that is not talked about much in the audiovisual media, and about which I prefer not to reveal anything so that our audience can enjoy the film without preconceptions”, Juan Carlos claimed jokingly at the end of the short’s presentation: “Thank you for being in a movie theatre… especially at siesta time!”.
