Menina Casilda

Éric du Bellay / Spain / 2023 / 85 min
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  • Silver State Film Festival

    Best Thriller Award

  • Weyauwega International Film Festival

    Best Narrative Feature

  • Zamora International Film Festival

    Best Actress Nomination

  • Sydney Australian Film Festival

    Honorable Mention

  • Fargo Film Festival

  • Lighthouse International Film Festival

Spanish Film Club
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Synopsis

Spanish with English subtitles

With Álvaro de Paz, Paula Varela, Luisa Fernández, Juanjo Sanjosé

During the strict lockdown during the COVID pandemic in Madrid, Diego, a 35-year-old unemployed actor, kidnaps Sara, a 20-year-old law student. She will be his audience.

Directed by Éric du Bellay, Menina Casilda is a twisted comedy about loneliness and the art of acting.

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About the Director

“I paint flowers, so they don’t die” (quote from Frida Khalo) is how Éric du Bellay defines his work as a filmmaker and photographer. He learned directing by being an assistant for 15 years in France. He directed six short films, always trying to capture human feelings: love, rejection, mourning. He does it in different genres: from drama to comedy, and according to different methods: classically produced or self-produced.

His short films travel to festivals around the world. Blanche and The Wait were acquired by France Télévisions. He created a film workshop in a psychiatric hospital for adolescents. He taught screenwriting and directing in Djibouti. He also worked as a bellboy to finance his writing.

Arriving in Madrid in September 2020, he attended the assistant director workshop at ECAM school of filmmaking. He wrote, directed, and produced Menina Casilda, his debut film, with Álvaro de Paz and Paula Varela. This human adventure took him beyond his expectations.

Press

“Menina Casilda is an exemplary example of independent filmmaking. It was one of the most creative kidnapping stories we have ever seen.” – Christine Hoper, Fargo Film Festival

“We found Menina Casilda to be very smart, cynical, funny but also full of emotions, and very well acted.” – Amir Bogen, Lighthouse Film Festival

Notes on the Film

“Menina Casilda was born after my recent arrival in Madrid. I was leaving the confinement due to the COVID pandemic in Paris with stories and sensations I had never experienced before. The loneliness of single people, the electric shock of having a new perspective on your own life, and its usefulness.

What is my purpose, what gives me meaning?

My wife and producer, Gwladys Bernard, says I have antennas: I hear stories and compile them in my mind. Suddenly, characters and situations emerge that I need to film. Filming and storytelling are a necessity. My way of working is instinctive. Over the years, I learned to trust myself. I love the human adventure, the unexpected, and, therefore, working with actors.

Part of Diego’s character in Menina Casilda comes from the actor Álvaro de Paz. Álvaro has an encyclopedic knowledge of cinema. Paula Varela had not seen any of the films in the script, and she didn’t care. I used who they were to enrich the story. I invented scenes from one day to the next. I turned the constraints of a small budget into a creative advantage: having light material and a light and daring crew. My director of photography, Nicole J. Gallo, had no more than 15 minutes to create light, and I operated the camera. She accepted the challenge. Menina Casilda has been a gamble for everyone and a miracle. I believe there is a god of cinema.”

– Éric du Bellay, Director

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