Bombs fall down while a mother sings to her daughters. Nature shivers. Houses become empty. 9-year-old Emilia is about to learn that the war around her is not a game anymore.
English Title The Idea of an Island Year of production 2024 Length 19' CountrySpain Shooting Format 16mm Aspect Ratio1.66:1 Dialogue Spanish Director Carmen Pedrero ProductionsEntre las piedras, Belino Production Producers Eva Bodas, Maribel Ruiz Pascual, Antonello Novellino Executive Producers Eva Bodas, Maribel Ruiz Pascual Writer Carmen Pedrero Production DesignerMarine Hercouët Cinematographer Sergio Garot Assistant DirectorEva Bodas EditorMiguel Ariza Sound DesignLaura Gantes Art Director Marine Hercouët Makeup and Hairstyling Karolina Yuste Production Manager Tina V. Mollá Colorist Noemi Lallave Poster Design Magdalena Orellan Cast Raquel Barrero Muñoz, Candela Martín Fernández, Lara Peloche Rodríguez, Leire Gómez Muñoz, Cristina Basallote, Agustín Mateo
Festival selections WAR ON SCREEN - Festival international de cinéma 2024, France - World Premiere Zagreb Film Festival 2024, Croatia - Nomination for The European Film Awards MedFilm Festival 2024, Italy Festival de Cine de Medina del Campo 2025, Spain Festival de Málaga 2025, Spain Akbank Short Film Festival 2025, Turkey CortoGijón 2025, Spain Cinema Jove - Festival Internacional de Valencia 2025, Spain Director's Statement My grandparents were from Logrosán, a village in Cáceres. They both lived through the Spanish Civil War when they were nine and ten years old. Their stories were varied. Some funny, some terrifying. But what always struck me was how my grandmother stressed that she and her siblings "played" at the war because they didn't quite understand it, and also, how most of the time, they didn't see the war; they only heard about it. I don't want to focus on that war, which will be in the background, but on the beauty and tenderness with which a restless girl lives her daily life and learns from it. I am interested in showing the other side of the coin; to pursue the light, to pay homage to the families, to the people who were left behind during those years, and to give them, in this way, a place where love has won. La idea de una isla is a lyrical, laughing and light drama; an unspoken story in which, above all, we listen, look and breathe. A poetic play told through the eyes and ears of a ten year old girl, who gradually unveils a day in her life. An open door to an optimistic family that laughs, sings, hugs and, despite fear, knows little of what the future will bring. With a nostalgic but joyful tone, I want to capture in The Idea of an Island the love of this family; of my own family.
