CERDITA 2018 Director CARLOTA PEREDA

CERDITA (2018) is a dramatic short film of horror fiction, written and directed by Spanish director CARLOTA PEREDA, with Laura Galán as the protagonist. It examines bullying and the pain of being different and how hate can generate more hate and worse. It won the coveted 2019 GOYA Award for Best Short Fiction Film in Spain, has qualified to be put forward for the Oscars, and picked up a large number of nominations and awards on the way. Corina J Poore catches up with the director and the lead actress to learn more.

by Corina J Poore

CERDITA premiered in the UK at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival. The captivating originality of the storyline and film craft helped it to stand out from a host of other films. Among the many awards, Best Short Film and Best Actress prizes were awarded at film festivals in Zaragoza, Tapiales, Molins, Palencia, Sin City Horror Fest to name a few, as well as the Goya, for Best Short Fiction Film.

Carlota Pereda and Galán have been overwhelmed by the unexpected enthusiastic reception to the film, and it has led to plans to develop it into a full- length feature film. CERDITA was reviewed by Latino Life last year (http://www.latinolife.co.uk/articles/three-short-films-madre-piggy-and-…) as part of a selection of three shorts that had stood out at that BFI London Film Festival.

CERDITA is a powerful indictment of the cruelty of bullying, with a twist. Sara is an adolescent with problems of obesity, who is tormented by her school friends as she tries to cool off in a river ‘pool’ during the holidays. She specially chooses the quietest time, in the heat of midday when there is no one around. Her friends from the village discover her there and she is relentlessly taunted and not even her best friend from school, Claudia, comes to her defence. They steal her clothes and leave her to her fate. An ‘avenging angel’ unexpectedly comes to her aid taking her to a very dark place in her psyche, so in the end, the edges are blurred between who is the victim and who is the monster. Meanwhile in her earphones, she plays ‘Night of the Living Dead’ by Agoraphobia. There is more to these tantalizing scenes that anyone had bargained for, so, totally fraught and terrified, she attempts to flee in her skimpy bikini along the rural motorway.

Paco Hidalgo

Without uttering a word throughout, Laura Galán pulls us into her anguished world. Vulnerable and almost naked, she effectively manages to engage our empathy, so much so, that we become willing participants in her situation, which generates profound discomfort. We are all drawn in, and the motto ‘be careful what you wish for’ takes on a new meaning. Galán come across as an adolescent, although she is, in fact, an accomplished actress of 31 years of age. Her facial expressions and body language are so astonishingly accurate, that it is impossible to believe she could be any older than the character the plays.

Carlota Pereda is a director, a post -production coordinator, producer and perhaps, primarily a screenwriter and superb storyteller. She is known for her work on a previous short that also attracted attention as a little thriller: LAS NIÑAS RUBIAS (The Blonde Girls) 2016. She has also been involved in television productions like EL SECRETO DEL PUENTE VIEJO (The Secret of the Old Bridge), LALOLA and LOS HOMBRES DE PACO (Paco’s Men). Pereda has a passion for thrillers and horror movies, she teases that she has dark thoughts, proved by the storyline for CERDITA, that arose from a fairly innocuous event that captured her imagination, as she explains: -

“I had recently had a baby and was full of all the anxieties of bringing a daughter into the world, knowing that a child has to experience everything around her and any suffering that will happen in her infancy. Initially, I thought about making a film about homophobia and that form of bullying, as way to cry out against these fears. One day, in the early afternoon, while my baby was sleeping her siesta with her grandmother, I was in a [natural river] pool in Villabuena de la Vera in Extremadura, where this short was eventually filmed. I noticed that during the very hottest time of day, the same young [fat] adolescent girl would go to the pool, probably because there was no one else there. So, I asked myself: why would she do this?... I found that I sympathized with that girl, as I felt an echo with my own personal history and so the idea for the short emerged… I feel that this idea of a short film about bullying will reach many people, and the horror genre also opens doors to the public and provokes a reaction.”

This is a particularly relevant theme in these times of growing obesity and, with ever expanding social media, growing levels of bullying and torment, so many will empathize with the character of Sara. CERDITA is a totally original screenplay. By contrast, LAS NIÑAS RUBIAS (The Blonde Girls) Pereda’s first short, was based on a gang of blonde girls in São Paulo, Brazil: -

“Las Niñas Rubias (2016) is a short film based on true events that took place in São Paulo. A band of blonde women kidnapped other women to steal their credit cards and impersonate them. They had sussed that most of the high class ‘blondes’ looked much the same … so in the end, it’s a comedy about identity. I love thrillers, the truth is I like to combine genres, so comedy with thriller, or with terror. [This is also why] I love Korean cinema with film makers like Yeon Sang- Ho, who never lose sight of the real situation in their countries… for them it’s Korea, but for me it’s Spain.”

Cerdita more.jpg Cerdita

These stories touch on economic anxieties, social alienation and above all the startling capacity for violence that lurks beneath the surface in societies… or underwater as in CERDITA. These are all themes that Pereda is sensitive to. When she was a child, she always thought that it was the actors who made up their own scripts, when she realized it was not the case and that she could make up her own stories, her passion for film took off.

Pereda admits that finding her lead actress, Laura Galán was very difficult. As she was completing the post-production of The Blonde Girls, she began to look for a young protagonist. She saw many adolescents and young girls from various agencies but was unable to find an actress that combined personal strength with the necessary talent.

“I didn't want to take a [any] girl who could act out the character of Sara who, in the end, would be unable to communicate the personal cost [and the real issues] of the story I wanted to tell. Also, I didn’t want it to be an unpleasant experience for the actress because it would still be a bullying experience for her. Then I had the good fortune to see Laura Galán on stage in a theatre. Laura is in fact, a fully–grown woman, she is 31 years old, so I was also relieved as it mitigated my fears for these issues. She is such a good actress that she’s able to appear to be an adolescent. My producer, Luis Ángel Ramírez insisted I go to see her in a play because she was playing a character so much younger than herself with ease… and we were able to go ahead, because Laura is a woman that is so sure of herself, with such an incredible talent and intelligence, that it’s been an amazing experience for me.”

For the award-winning LAURA GALÁN, the filming experience was also extremely rewarding. Until now, she had been performing primarily in the theatre. She always felt that acting was her goal in life: -

Laura Galán: -

“I don’t remember ever thinking about anything else. I always dreamed of spectacles and since I was a child, I loved to present little shows at home, singing, dancing and acting. When I was 18 years old, I realized I needed to make a decision whether to take it more seriously so I decided to try, by going to study Dramatic Arts. In Spain, I’ve done more theatre than film or TV because it’s been so hard for me to get my foot in the door…. now, I couldn’t tell you what I prefer, theatre or film.”

Galán was particularly moved by the character of Sara, and it has been an amazing experience for her to experience the reaction of the public.

“[The character of] Sara is very dark in herself! When people see this short, they always back her character… this is part of what Carlota Pereda wanted to express, the spiral of violence, because in the end, she is also a monster. She is dark because of everything that has happened to her, she is introverted and it’s only when she finds herself experiencing an horrific day in her life, that that darkness within her emerges… a darkness that perhaps… we all have… no?”

It was a very physical role for Laura Galán to play and it was not entirely without consequences. She continues: -

“Even thought it might look as if I was having an awful time, in fact, I was enjoying myself. I must have a bit of ‘kamikaze’ in my character because I loved it. Often, when we would finish shooting a scene, I would realise I had scratches and bruises… but it was so enthralling that although the pool was freezing and the water was green… I remember it all with fondness. Everyone in the crew was extremely supportive. [The most challenging aspects of the role] were Sara’s vulnerability, because this is a character who cracks when she’s bullied by her village friends. When she breaks down and is running along the motorway scared to death… it was very difficult on an emotional level… that is what affected me the most: to feel that character’s vulnerability, to see what bullying can do! In the end, I even swallowed some of that disgusting green water when the girls were taunting me! The pool is part of a natural river but [in the dry season] it becomes stagnant, green and full of insects, and on top of everything it was freezing! I think I have had to conclude that I’m really an exhibitionist, because everyone was being very understanding and timid with me because I had to play the role almost naked, which should have made me feel even more vulnerable… but in reality, I didn’t care! I love my work and after all, my body is my most important tool and I feel proud of it!"

Laura Galán and the pool at Villabuena de la Vera Extremadura.

This profound self-confidence of Laura’s gave her character Sara, an emotional depth that pervaded every scene she was in. She swayed the audiences effortlessly, so that they empathized with her on every level. When CERDITA was screened in a woman’s jail, the response was very emotive, even if everyone [dutifully] agreed that self-administered justice in not a good thing! Galá describes the experience: -

“I didn’t know the individual stories of the incarcerated women that were there, but they empathized profoundly with the character of Sara. It was truly overwhelming … but what my character does is not really justified, however much violence she was subjected to, violence becomes a spiral and Sara became a monster.”

Carlota Pereda has now completed a script to develop this powerful tale into a feature-length movie and shooting is expected to start next summer 2020. Moreno Films are involved, which bodes well for the production. Moreno Films are known for excellent films like Asghar Farhadi’s “Everyone Knows”2018 (Todos lo Saben ), Iciar Bollaín’s “Yuli” 2018 , Alfredo Montero’s La Cueva ( 2014) ( In Darkness we Fall) , Pablo Trapero’s The White Elephant 2012 (El Elefante Blanco) and the list continues.

We shall await this exciting development from Carlota Pereda. Watch this space.