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16 DE DECEMBRO | 16 DECEMBER

[ENG]
Saturday. Nightfall. The ball travels quickly across the court as the players try to find gaps in the defense. Lucía, twenty-five, leaves handball training and sets off to pick up her brother under the lights of a city she thinks she knows.

[GAL]
Sábado. Cae a noite. O balón móvese rápido dun lado a outro. Os corpos buscan introducirse nos ocos que deixa a defensa. Lucía, vintecinco anos, sae de adestrar a balonmán e vai a buscar ao seu irmán baixo as luces dunha cidade que cree coñecer.

Digital | Color | 14 min. | Spain | 2019

Cast
Lucía Cris Iglesias
Chico 1 Javier Valcarce
Chico 2 Fran Pérez
Chico 3 Diego Abad
Amiga Ruth Boente
Irmán Martín Duplá

Crew
Written & Directed by Álvaro Gago

Produced by Mireia Graell, Álvaro Gago
Cinematographer: Lucia C. Pan
Art Director: Alba Aguiar
Editor: Ricardo Saraiva
Sound: Xavi Souto
Music: Xavier Bértolo
Distribution: Marvin&Wayne

Factsheet
Producción: Ringo Media & Sombriza Films
Country: Spain
Language of the original version: Galician & Spanish
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Shooting Format: Alexa mini 1.78:1
Sound Format: Dolby 5.1
Location: Galicia, Spain

WATCH TRAILER

WATCH BEHIND THE SCENES

Director's Statement

[ENG]
I found the strength to build this project on the chosen theme. It was burning inside me, full of urgency and anger. My stomach ached, stills does. I vomited the narrative outline. Then started to use reason, and found that ‘16 de decembro’ wasn’t just giving me the chance to actively be a part of what I believe in, but was also allowing me to travel through a wide range of filmic research paths opened in my previous projects.
 
With no intentions of finding any kind of perfection, I was able to further explore the effectiveness of suggesting instead of showing, the fruitfulness of bringing authenticity and poetry together as one formula to attract audiences without giving up on honesty, the idea that the true narrative is found within the faces and bodies of the characters and the power of the double relation ‘identification – distance’, to observe and be at the same time.
 
‘16 de decembro’ cannot happen, but it does and we have to continue to expose ourselves to it so as to reflect and act upon it. We build the essence with our actions, we are not determined by nature and we are responsible of our acts. I feel the duty to protest against all forms of oppression and making this film was my responsibility as a filmmaker and a citizen.
 
Integral to ‘16 de decembro’ is a desire for liberation.
 
[GAL]
Atopei a forza para erguer este proxecto no tema elixido. Queimábame dentro, cheo de urxencia e rabia. Doíame o estómago, aínda doe. E vomitei. So entón apareceu a razón e decateime de que '16 de decembro' non só me brindaba a oportunidade de participar activamente na defensa das miñas conviccións, senón que tamén me concedía o espazo para explorar diversas vías de investigación ligadas ao fílmico e ao humano abertas en anteriores proxectos. A inesgotable busca que nos move a todos.
 
Sen ánimo de atopar ningún tipo de perfección, ‘16 de decembro’ permitiume continuar indagando nas dificultades dos individuos para relacionarse cos espazos, na eficacia da suxestión no canto da exposición, na suma de autenticidade e poesía como fórmula para atraer ao espectador sen renunciar á honestidade, na idea de que a verdadeira narrativa está nos rostros e corpos dos personaxes, ou na dobre relación identificación - distancia, observar e estar ao mesmo tempo.
 
‘16 de Decembro’ non pode ser, pero é, e temos que seguir expoñéndonos a elo, mirarnos directamente aos ollos, reflexionar e actuar. Dixo Simone de Beauvoir que a existencia precede á esencia, porque a esencia a construímos coas nosas accións. Non estamos determinados por natureza. Somos responsables dos nosos actos. Sinto que teño a obrigación de protestar contra todas as formas de opresión. Facer esta película era a miña responsabilidade como cineasta e como cidadá. 
 
'16 Decembro' leva implícito un desexo de liberación.

Festivals & Awards

Locarno Film Festival, 2019
AFI FEST - Los Angeles, 2019
Clermont-Ferrand - International Short Film Festival, 2020
ABYCINE - Festival de Cine de Albacete, 2019 -
Best Short Film
Florida Film Festival, 2020
DOKUFEST - International Documentary and Short Film Festival, 2020
Festival de cine contemporáneo Black Canvas, 2020
Guanajuato International Film Festival, 2020
Reykjavík International Film Festival, 2019
Leeds International Film Festival, 2019
Galway Film Fleadh, 2020
MoliseCinema Film Festival -
Special Jury Mention
BOGOSHORTS - Bogotá Short Film Festival, 2019
ALCINE - Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares, 2019 -
Best Actress
Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid - SEMINCI, 2019
Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen Montpellier - CINEMED, 2019
Prague Short Film Festival -
Special Jury Mention
Cinéma Espagnol de Nantes, 2020
D'A Film Festival Barcelona, 2020
Brussels Short Film Festival, 2021
Festival Ibérico de Cine de Badajoz, 2020
Linz International Film Festival, 2021
MARTOVSKI Festival - Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival, 2020
​FICBE - Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Temática Social Berriozar, 2019 -
Best Short Film
Curtocircuito - Festival Int. de Cine De Santiago de Compostela, 2019 - Jury Mention (AGAG)
Cinema Jove - Festival Internacional de Cine de Valencia, 2019
Festival Nacional de Cortometrajes Ciudad de Ávila - AVILACINE, 2020
Certame de Curtametraxes Armadiña, 2019 -
Best Short Film
FASCURT - Festival de curtmetratges del Masnou, 2019
Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Pilar de la Horadada, 2019
Festival de Cine Inclusivo de Vigo, 2019 -
Audience Award & Best Directing
Cortogenia - Temporada de estrenos de cortometrajes, 2019 - Festhome Award
Festival Nacional de Cortometrajes de Puçol, 2019
Festival de Cine de Ponferrada, 2019
Cormorán Film Fest, 2019 -
Audience Award
IbizaCineFest, 2020
BUFF Malmö Film Festival, 2020
Semana de Cine de Medina del Campo, 2020
Festival de cine de l'Alfàs del Pi, 2020 -
Best Director

Goya Awards - Nominated Best Fiction Short Film
Mestre Mateo Awards (Galician Film Academy) - Best Live Action Short Film
Mediterranean Film Festival in Split, 2020
Cisterna Film Festival, 2020
Festival de cine de Cans, 2020 -
Best Director & Best Cinematography
Certamen Internacional de Curtmetratges de Cerdanya, 2020
Festival Internacional de Cine Invisible de Bilbao - Filme Sozialak, 2020 -
Special Jury Mention
Amsterdam Spanish Film Festival, 2020
Goa Short Film Festival, 2020
SHNIT - International Shortfilmfestival Berne & Cologne, 2020
International Film Festival for Young People, 2020
Minikino Film Week - Bali International Short Film Festival, 2020
Reggio Int. Short Film Festival, 2021
IKUSKA - Muestra de Cortometraje de Pasaia, 2019
El Gouna Film Festival, 2019 -
Special Jury Mention
​Festival de Cine de Sant Joan Alacant, 2020 - Best Social Short Film
SKYLINE - Benidorm Film Festival, 2020 - Best Director
Festival de cine de Madrid PNR - Plataforma de Nuevos Realizadores, 2019
SANTURZINE - Festival de Cortos de Santurtzi, 2020 -
Best Actress
Festival de Cortometrajes Diputación de Jaén contra la Violencia de Género, 2019 - Best Short Film
FICBUEU - Festival Internacional Cortometrajes, 2019
VIA XIV - Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Verín, 2019 -
Best Short Film 'A Raia'
Festival de cine de Cartagena, 2019
Festival Primavera do Cine, 2020
Semana de Cine de Lugo, 2020 -
Special Jury Mention
Festival Internacional de Cine Social de Castilla - La Mancha / FECISO, 2020 - Best Actress
Concurso Nacional de Cortometrajes CreatRivas, 2020
Festival de Cortometrajes "Cortada" de Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2019
Exground Filmfest, 2020
Le Temps Presse Film Festival, 2020
Enkarzine, 2020 -
Best Spanish Short Film
Certamen Internacional de Cortos Ciudad de Soria, 2020
Fescinab Festival De Cine Nacional De Berja, 2020 -
Best Fiction Short Film
Festival de Cine y Derechos Humanos de Donostia - San Sebastián, 2021
Requena y... ¡Acción!, 2021
Festival de Curtmetratges de Manlleu, 2021
Edinburgh Short Film Festival, 2021
Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes "Gines en Corto", 2021
Festival Internacional de Cine y Derechos Humanos de Valencia - HUMANS FEST, 2021

Other Screenings + Q/A

Cineclube Carballiño

Cineclube Valle Inclán  - Auditorio Vello Cárcere

Cineclube Cangas - Auditorio Municipal

Cineclube La Linterna - Viana do Bolo - Casa da Cultura

Cineclube Padre Feijoo - Casa da Cultura

Cineclube Lumière Vigo - Auditorio Municipal

Cineclube Os Papeiros – Cinema Palleiriso (Chantada, Lugo)

Minicines Central (A Estrada)

Numax (Compostela)

Duplex (Ferrol)

Cines Girona

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