Short Films
Program 2 – “Thursday Night Shorties”
Join us for a collection of short films made by some of the brightest and upcoming filmmakers.
Tundra
Cuba / 2021 / Science Fiction / 29 min / Houston Premiere
Synopsis
Walfrido, a lonely electrical inspector, dreams of the Red Woman, whose image persists and becomes an obsession. Something tells him that she is close to her. Over the course of a day, Walfrido will follow her trail as he wanders the suburbs of an infested city.
About the Director
José Luis Aparicio Ferrera, independent filmmaker, critic and curator. B.A. in Film and Television Directing from Cuba’s University of the Arts (ISA). His graduation short-film El Secadero / Dryland (2019) won the Best Fiction Award at Panamá’s BannabáFest and Honorable Mention at Cinema Ciudad de México, as well as the Audience and Best Production Awards in Cuba’s Muestra Joven. It was also selected for several film festivals in Latin America and the U.S., including Seattle Latino Film Festival, Guatemala’s Festival Ícaro and Chile’s BioBioCine. His latest fiction short-film Tundra (2021) had its world premiere in Curta Cinema – Río de Janeiro International Short Film Festival and its North American premiere in the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
Cartagena Boy
Colombia / 2021 / Documentary / 17 min / Texas Premiere
Synopsis
Five Venezuelan boys leave their country in search of opportunities and means to support their families. They travel to hostile streets in Cartagena facing a reality far different from their hopes and dreams.
About the Director
José André Sibaja and Ibai Vigil-Escalera are two Spanish filmmakers that found each other in New York City, back in 2014, and have worked together ever since to tell the stories of those who live in oblivion.
Living All of Life
Vivir Toda La Vida
Mexico / 2021 / Dramedy / 28 min / Texas Premiere
Synopsis
After a lifetime together, Susana has been abandoned by her husband. She is in denial and holds on to the past. One day, she needs the help of her neighbor, Gloria, a free-spirited woman who Susana can’t stand. But the friendship that emerges between them arises in Susana the desire to live in the present.
About the Director
Marlén Ríos-Farjat was born in Mexico City, on March 2nd, 1984. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Film Directing at Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (Film Training Center) in Mexico City. She also finished her Master in Film Editing at the Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia in Terrassa, Spain. As a writer and director, her previous short film “Rosario” was selected in over 80 international film festivals. Ríos-Farjat has directed projects in Italy as well as in Cuba. She has been the editor of numerous programs, documentaries and fiction short films, as well as of the feature length films “Massacre in Teques”, “The inhabitants” and “All of the fires” currently in post production. “Living All of Life”, her most recent short film as director and screenwriter, continues its festival run.
Twakana Yagán
Argentina / 2020 / Documentary / 15 min / Texas Premiere
Synopsis
The Yagan Paiakoala community resides in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. They are the descendants of the first people who inhabited the southernmost islands of our planet for more than 8.000 years. Catalina Yagan is 89 years old. She still remembers how her grandfather Asenewensis sang to her. Victor and Roberto Vargas are her sons. They both start a horse ride, from the indigenous reserve that they currently occupy through the coasts of the Onashaga Canal in search of their ancestral reflection. Twankana means teaching in Yagan and as they travel, the two sons have a connection with the ritual songs of Asenewensis. The Yagan language floats in the air and dances with the harsh nature of the region and the sensibility of an ancestral community that is truly alive.
About the Director
Rodrigo Tenuta (Producer and Director) and Ignacio Leonidas (Director and photographer) work in the Audiovisual Development Directorate of Tierra del Fuego generating content, lines of promotion for cinema and series and as active members of the Film Commission. They have developed and produced different short and feature film content, as well as fictional and feature series with national funding.
The Treatment
Spain / 2019 / Comedy / 9 min / Houston Premiere
Synopsis
A clinic offers what you’ve always wanted… for a low price.
About the Director
Álvaro Carmona (Utrera, Seville province, April 29, 1984) is a Spanish director, screenwriter, musician, comedian and artist.
