North American Premiere
Amparo lives in an old abandoned haberdashery in the centre of Madrid. Her only companion is Carmela, a plastic bag whom she considers her daughter. This is a truly black comedy, a delightful combination of absurdity and satire with a dash of slapstick violence thrown in for good measure, and a witty subtext about the use of plastics in our society. Terrific performances highlight this original tale where a woman’s life is suddenly turned into a clash of ideologies. The film is set up as a drama, which only enhances the comedy—just twisted and over-the-top enough to make the humour really work without being ridiculous, while hitting on important themes like environmentalism, loneliness, and mental health.
Community Partner
Jose Mota, Laura Gómez-Lacueva, Elisabet Terri
Andorra/Spain
2022
In Spanish with English subtitles
Featured in:
International Shorts: Having a Bad Day
Misadventures, bad choices, and a series of unfortunate events are all present in this program of short films. There is some serious drama and a bit of comedy on display in these exhilarating, thoughtful, and unpredictable tales.
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Calle Málaga
Seventy-nine-year-old María Ángeles lives independently in Tangier's Spanish quarter. When her daughter pressures her into selling her apartment, she refuses to give in, finding in her old age a new resilience and an unexpected romantic connection.
Two Prosecutors
In the midst of Stalin’s purges, a naïve prosecutor sets out to investigate a prisoner’s innocence, unaware of the labyrinthine bureaucracy awaiting him. A Kafkaesque procedural thriller about the pursuit of justice in the face of corruption.
Image: © SBS Productions
Victims of Sin
This movie is a hot scramble of piety and passion, sentimentality and sleaze. Ninón Sevilla plays Violeta, a rumba sensation who oversteps when she rescues a newborn from the trash. This gets her fired and wins the enmity of the pimp who fathered the kid.
The Blue Trail
77-year-old Tereza makes a break for the Brazilian jungle in this trippy septuagenarian fantasy, the latest from Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro is a quirky picaresque, lushly photographed and filled with mordant humour.
Credits
Producer
David Ortiz, Jose Pozo
Screenwriter
Jose Pozo
Cinematography
Luis Ángel Pérez
Editor
Pep Carrique
Original Music
Óscar Araujo
Director
Jose Pozo
A producer, screenwriter, and director of animated films, Jose Pozo won awards for the feature film El Cid, La leyenda (2004). He wrote and directed the feature film Nick (2017), which won 14 international awards. He is preparing his fifth feature film, Unusual Cowboys (2022). The script was a finalist in the drama category of the 2020 Big Break Festival’s Final Draft.
Filmography: El Cid, La leyenda (2004); Donkey Xote (2007); Nick (2017)