El XXIII Tarazona and El Moncayo Comedy Film Festival ‘Paco Martínez Soria’ has faced its last film day this Friday with the screening of ‘Nuda propiedad’, directed by Alberto Utrera and starring Susana Abaitua and Maxi Iglesias, and with Salva Reina, who brings her show ‘Forbidden to throw peanuts at the monkey’, just a few hours before receiving tomorrow the recognition as Comedy Talent during the Closing Gala.
The day culminated with the screening of ‘Nuda propiedad’, directed by Alberto Utrera, which puts the finishing touch to the I Official Section of Ibero-American Comedy Feature Films. The film is attended by its director, Alberto Utrera; the screenwriter Carlos Soria; the producer Fede Pájaro; the distributor Guillermo Velasco, and part of his cast, with Susana Abaitua and Maxi Iglesias.
The film stars both actors already mentioned, as well as David Lorente, Pepe Viyuela and Paco Churruca. As for its story, it is based on the life of Vera and Lucas, a forty-year-old couple who cannot access decent housing. Although they find a spacious, bright and apparently perfect apartment at an irresistible price, the problem arises when they discover that its owner, an elderly and sick man, continues to live there until his death.
For Utrera, the project was born from a story about a couple who try to access a home and find themselves in a seemingly impossible situation. The director explains that the team incorporates several twists into the script and finds in the approach of the ‘bare ownership’ an interesting starting point to build the film.
The director also claims a look away from labels between genres: «When people talk to me about comedy or drama, I don’t really distinguish, because for me life is like a seesaw all the time.» Utrera highlights the work of Susana Abaitua, capable of moving between suffering and comedy without directly seeking laughter.
«She makes you laugh, but she doesn’t want to make you laugh. You’re suffering, but you’re laughing because the character is suffering. And then she suffers and makes you cry,» says the director about the performance of Abaitua, whom he had in mind since the writing of the project.
The actress, who has a previous professional relationship and friendship with Utrera, agrees that ‘Nuda propiedad’ does not approach the comedy from a succession of gags, but from the situations and the characters themselves. «My character is suffering throughout the film,» says Abaitua, who highlights the conversations held with the director to find a way to enter Vera’s «paranoia» and build the truth of each situation.
The screening in Tarazona is also an important moment for the team, since is the first time that the film faces the public. «It’s a film that we love very much and we want to see how it breathes with people,» explains Abaitua. Utrera shares that expectation and considers that this screening constitutes «our first test with an audience»: «Until you see it for the first time with an audience, you don’t know how pulse-on» it is.»
Beyond the awards, the director claims the festival tour itself as a fundamental part of the project. «Just being at festivals and having people see it seem impressive to me,» says Utrera, who believes that this screening allows us to see for the first time how the film works for viewers who do not previously know the story or its creation process.
For its part, Maxi Iglesias highlights the balance between humor and reflection that the film poses. «When you see the film you either think a lot or laugh a lot,» says the actor, who remarks that the team seeks to represent, from Utrera’s comedy, the situation of a couple like so many others, but without losing sight of the fact that access to housing is «a complex situation for the vast majority of people in Spain».
Iglesias adds that, although there was the possibility of presenting the film at other festivals, the team was clear that Tarazona was «the best place» to do it.
On the other hand, the presence of Susana Abaitua also has a special meaning within the festival, since the actress receives this Saturday the Young Talent award during the Closing Gala, in a ceremony that will also distinguish Salva Reina and Toni Acosta as Comedy Talents and Mariona Terés as Revelation Talent.
With this screening, the new feature film section completes its first edition after bringing together seven films from Spain, Mexico and Puerto Rico, consolidating the festival’s commitment to expanding its programming towards Ibero-American comedy.
This Friday’s program also highlights the show by Salva Reina, ‘Prohibido echar cacahuetes al mono’, which arrives at the Teatro Bellas Artes within the ‘Off Festival’. The actor and comedian, who also presents the short film ‘Inquilinos’, puts himself in the shoes of his alter ego Chuki to offer a monologue in which current affairs, everyday situations taken to the extreme, improvisation and interaction with the audience have a place.
SHORT FILM COMPETITION COMES TO AN END
The Teatro Bellas Artes has also hosted the sixth and final session of the Official Short Film Section, which closes this edition’s competition. The seven works projected have been ‘Inquilinos’, by Adrián Ordóñez; ‘Montecarlo 67’, by Rubén Guindo; ‘Condolenc-ias’, by Rubén Bautista; ‘Sopitas’, by Aragonese Luis Larrodera; ‘Sota el sol’, by Marc Riba and Anna Solanas; ‘El revisor’, by Jandro, and ‘In memoriam’, by Teresa Bellón and César F. Calvillo.
The session was attended by Rubén Guindo, director and screenwriter of ‘Monte carlo 67’, together with Gerardo Mateo de las Morenas, producer, and Veki Velilla, actress; Rubén Bautista, director of ‘Condolenc-ias’, and Natsha Nejla, actress; Luis Larrodera, director and screenwriter of ‘Sopitas’, together with Marina Larrodera and Raquel Romero, actresses; Jandro López, director, screenwriter and producer of ‘El revisor’; and Teresa Bellón and César F. Calvillo, directors and screenwriters of ‘In memoriam’, together with Cristina Soria and Toni Acosta, actresses.
In this way, the 44 short films selected from the 361 works received have already been screened at the festival over six sessions held between August 16 and 21.
Likewise, this morning the Children’s Morning Program in Grisel, where the focus has been on cinema as an educational tool and on issues such as equality, coexistence, interculturality, emotional health, the environment or the protection of heritage thanks to the collaboration of Embou and the Region of Tarazona and El Moncayo.
A VERY SPECIAL SATURDAY: TRIBUTES, VERMOUTH AND CLOSING GALA
The festival will say goodbye this Saturday with a day that will begin at 13.00 hours with ‘A vermouth with… Luis Larrodera’, on the terrace of the El Itury Cafeteria. The meeting, presented by the journalist Camino Ivars and developed in collaboration with the Association of Merchants of Tarazona, will allow the public to share a relaxed space with one of the faces most linked to the festival, presenter of its Closing Gala for approximately 15 years.
The big moment will come at 7:00 p.m., with the Closing Gala at the Teatro Bellas Artes. During the ceremony, the short film made by the participants of the Short Film Making Workshop will be premiered and the prizes of the Official Sections will be awarded.
In addition, the festival will put the finishing touch to this XXIII edition with four recognitions to performers linked to cinema and comedy. Salva Reina and Toni Acosta will receive the Comedy Talent award, while Susana Abaitua will collect the Young Talent award and Mariona Terés will receive the Revelation Talent award.
The farewell will continue with the Closing Party at the Palacio de Eguarás, which will extend the celebration until the early hours of the morning. The live show will be performed by The William Miller Band, led by actor and singer William Miller, who will offer a tour of some of the great anthems in the history of rock.
The night will also feature the performance of Roberta Fauteck, actress, singer and composer who has participated in ‘La Voz Kids’ both in Spain and Germany, and will conclude with a session of DJ Easy Rider, alter ego of the director and screenwriter from Zaragoza Pablo Aragüés, who will mix rock, funk, disco, soul, postpunk and electronica.
The event is also one of the qualifying festivals for the Goya Awards and the José María Forqué Awards for Best Short Film Awards, and is also part of the qualifying festivals for the Fugaz Awards.
