Third prize with 'Física II' in 2004, second prize with 'La culpa del alpinista' in 2005 and now first place with 'Traumalogía'. You are on a run.
I have been at ALCINE for seven years on the trot, and have always won something. Winning this prize comes at the end of a long road, although it was never an objective I set for myself. I'll never forget that ALCINE was the first festival I ever sent a short film to. It is like being at home, the most important festival in my life. The desire to win prizes has slowly subsided over the seven years. But the thrill of winning is comparable to the first time.
'Traumalogía' was shot during the catharsis of 'AzulOscuroCasiNegro'. Did it work as therapy?
It was a way of recovering complete freedom in my work, to continue experimenting and learning. Some people read the script and asked me why I wasn't making a feature length film, since the depth was there. There were twenty pages, and I thought the story should be of this length. I will always defend the short film format, and I don't care if the media response is not as great. Returning to short films was like going back to my own little citadel, where I can do what I want with whoever I want.
You wrote the script in one go. What inspired you?
I had been at a wedding while I was still shooting 'AzulOscuroCasiNegro'. I remember coming back on a train. I was thinking about that moment in which everything ought to be happiness and perfection. I sat down, distanced myself and looked at it with perspective. And I started to fantasize and reflect on what was behind that happiness, and what would happen if at that precise moment, in which everything should be perfect, all the traumas and misery of the family suddenly came to the surface. I liked the contrast.
The development of the plot is somewhere between drama and comedy. The best comedies have a strong dramatic base, and I feel very comfortable with that, setting up a dramatic situation and adding brushstrokes of humour. It is question of looking for contrasts through humour, making the spectator uncomfortable because they don't know whether to feel happy or sad.
It is the thirteenth short film of your career. Will there be a fourteenth? Not for the moment, I am preparing my second feature film. During the next two years I am going to be devoted to that. So for now there will be a break, but I am sure I will return to short films in the future.
Raúl Arévalo, best actor. Is that shoot with Sean Penn still in the pipeline?
Oh yes, it is one of my future projects. I would like to make a film with Raúl Arévalo and Sean Penn as son and father. It is one of the dreams I'll fight for, for the rest of my life.
