A Perro Flaco is my thesis film from film school at ESCAC, Barcelona, Spain.

The synopsis : Leo is a loser and her life is chaos. She tries to hide it but everyone is aware of it. When her mother has no other option but to leave her dog Jana under her charge, Leo sees the opportunity to demonstrate she can be responsible.

Shot on 35 mm, director Laura Ferres and I went through a 4 month pre-production process to make sure we would find the perfect look and location working for that story.

We were telling a story that appears to be pretty simple but which is in fact profoundly deep and strong. We then needed a cinematography that elevates the story to the next level, without standing out too much, leaving space for the actors to breathe.

We aimed for a pretty naturalistic look, inspired by humanistic directors like the Dardenne Brothers, we wanted to find a smooth way to show the struggles and emotions Leo is going through, mixing a documentary style use of the camera for specific emotions and a more classical use of the camera for the rest of the emotional spectrum.

Shooting in 35mm was actually almost too clean for that type of story. Ideally I would have chosen super 16mm but the requirement of the school was to shoot the thesis on 35mm. I then chose to use Fuji 400 ISO, because it used to be a more soft and less saturated emulsion, and then I decided to go dirty on it. There is almost no lighting in this short. The main idea was to use as much natural lighting as possible and to plan the shooting schedule accordingly. Even the exteriors at night are not lit, we went location scouting to find the perfect spots in Barcelona where street light would give me enough even though I still needed to force my neg to 1.5. I was very pleased with the result and surprised how much the neg could handle.

The shoot took us 10 days, almost all guerilla style in Barcelona.
It was amazing to work with incredible director Laura Ferres and with such talented actors like Mar del Hoyo y Montse Alcoverro.

A Perro Flaco is definitely one of my most special production.

FESTIVALS & AWARDS
59º SEMINCI – VALLADOLID INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SPAIN)
2º MANZANA REC (SPAIN)
17º MECAL – BARCELONA INTERNATIONAL SHORT AND ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL (SPAIN)
55º FICCI – CARTAGENA DE INDIAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (COLOMBIA)
22º SAN DIEGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL (USA)
28º MEDINA DEL CAMPO FILM FESTIVAL (SPAIN)
42º ATHENS INTERNATIONAL FILM + VIDEO FESTIVAL (USA)
2º TLANCHANA FESTIVAL DE CINE Y ARTE DIGITAL (MÉXICO)
8º WAMMFEST (USA) — Winner Best Short Film
FILM FESTIVALS FROM EUROPE: FILMS FROM SEMINCI, BERLINALE, LOCARNO AND RIFF IN INSTITUTO CERVANTES OF NEW DELHI (INDIA)
20º FESTIMATGE (SPAIN) — Winner Best Short Film and Best Actress
7º FESTIVAL DE CINE UNIVERSITARIO INTRAVENOSA (COLOMBIA)
20º SACRAMENTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (USA)
7º RODINIA FILM FESTIVAL (SPAIN)
1º JUMPTHECUT (USA)
9º FESTIVAL CREANDO (SPAIN) — Winner Best Director and Best Actress
2º SORSICORTI FILM FESTIVAL (ITALY) — Winner Best Short Film
4º FESTIVAL NACIONAL DE CORTOS CIUDAD DE ÁVILA (SPAIN)
6º CINEMA DEL BASSO CASERTA INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL (ITALY)
15º FESTIVAL DE CINE DE SANT JOAN D’ALACANT (SPAIN) — Winner Best Student Short Film
9º LO CERCACURTS, FESTIVAL DE CURTMETRATGES DE MONTORNÈS DE SEGARRA (SPAIN)
8º ISLANTILLA CINEFORUM (SPAIN)
4º PREVIEW FESTIVAL (SPAIN) — Winner Jury Special Mention
39º MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL – FESTIVAL DES FILMS DU MONDE DE MONTRÉAL (CANADA)
BEST SHORTS OF SAN DIEGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL IN CRYSTAL BRIDGES: MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART IN ARKANSAS (USA)
2º FESTIVAL DE CINE UNIVERSITARIO DE PUEBLA (MEXICO)
8º LVIV INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL WIZ-ART (UKRAINE)
2º CINEMAFEST (MEXICO)
2º CINETEKTON! FILM FESTIVAL (MEXICO)
13º FESCIGU – FESTIVAL DE CINE SOLIDARIO DE GUADALAJARA (SPAIN)
20º TOULOUSE CINESPAÑA (FRANCE)
12º SEMANA DEL CORTOMETRAJE ESPAÑOL DE SALAMANCA (SPAIN)
4º SPANISCHES FILMFEST BERLIN (GERMANY) — Winner Second Best Short Film
16º CORTOGENIA (SPAIN)
6º FESTIVAL INFANCIA Y ADOLESCENCIA CIUDAD DE BOGOTÁ (COLOMBIA)
7º FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE PARA LA DIVERSIDAD ANDOENREDANDO (SPAIN)
5º MOST PENEDÈS – FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA (SPAIN)
41º FILMETS – BADALONA FILM FESTIVAL (SPAIN)
3º INTERNATIONAL BOSPHORUS FILM FESTIVAL (TURKEY)
1º CERTAME DE CRUTAMETRAXES ARMADIÑA (SPAIN)
CORTOS CON Ñ FILM FESTIVAL (SPAIN)
CINEMA LLIURE A LA PLATJA (SPAIN)
3º FRESCO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF MODERN ART AND SPIRITUAL FILMS (ARMENIA)
9º CINESEPTIEMBRE MAZATLÁN FILM FESTIVAL (MEXICO)