The La Meseta Short Film Development Lab kicks off in April with eight projects selected from more than 140 projects submitted

• This initiative is promoted by the Castilla y León Regional Government, Miguel de Cervantes European University and the Valladolid City Council through SEMINCI
• Those selected will receive intensive training and personalized mentoring from a team of renowned professionals and two sessions open to the public will be scheduled with the directors of the films in attendance
• The projects registered present a wide variety of origins and film genres, with a predominance of young filmmakers under 35 years of age

The La Meseta Short Film Development Lab has selected the eight projects that will participate in its first edition, which will take place from April 11 to 13, 2025 in Valladolid. This laboratory aims to strengthen emerging talent in film and offer filmmakers key tools to develop and present their film projects to the industry. This initiative is promoted by the Castilla y León Regional Ministry of Culture, and with EU funds for the promotion of laboratories and incubators for the creation and development of audiovisual projects transferred by the Ministry of Culture, the Valladolid City Council through the Valladolid International Film Festival (SEMINCI) along with the Miguel de Cervantes European University (UEMC).

The more than 140 projects registered in this open call have been presented, for the most part, by filmmakers under 35 years of age. The projects are also characterized by a great geographic and thematic diversity, as well as a large participation of female filmmakers among those submitted. Regarding their origin, projects have come from all over Spain, from Madrid, Catalonia, the Basque Country, the Valencian Region, Castilla y León, Andalusia, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Aragon, Murcia and Cantabria, in Spanish, Catalan, Valencian, Galician and Basque. In addition, international proposals have been received on behalf of filmmakers from Colombia, Italy, Argentina and Portugal.

“The response to this call has exceeded our expectations due to the number of proposals that have arrived and their quality despite being a laboratory of new creation,” says Garbiñe Ortega, artistic director of Dirdira Lab. In terms of themes, both fiction and non-fiction, mockumentary and experimental projects have been presented. In fiction, horror, drama, suspense and fantasy genre proposals coexist, with an outstanding presence of short films set in the rural world, exploring family issues and the recent past from different angles and coming of age stories in different contexts.

Selected projects

The selection committee has valued the narrative quality, originality and aesthetic proposal of the projects, as well as the trajectory of their creators. According to Garbiñe Ortega, “the decision has been complicated because, in addition to the qualities of each project, they have taken into account how it could work as a group of projects so that the selected ones could enhance each other during their development process in the laboratory”.

The final selection reveals a varied and balanced panorama of genres, origins and languages (Spanish, Galician, Valencian and Portuguese), and parity in direction, although no gender quotas have been sought or applied. “The result shows that many types of cinema are currently being developed, and that innovative languages are being used,” adds the coordinator of the selection committee.

The eight selected to participate in this project are:

• Un encuentro (Madrid, Benidorm, Seville). Director: Roberto Pintre. Production: Esmeralda Bravo.
• La virgen negra (Andalusia). Direction: Fany de la Chica.
• Mar à noite (Madrid). Directed by: Pablo Garví. Production: Gabriela Isabel.
• From NASA to Merceditas (Galicia). Directed by: Clara Coira and Miguel Casaseca. Produced by: Laura Pazienza.
• Oh mono adiós (Italy). Directed by: Paula Buentempo. Production: Ana Apontes and Paola Buentempo.
• Bakala (Valencia). Director: Andrea Alborch Martínez.
• Los caminos del deseo (Valladolid). Directed by: Roco Gómez Magaña and Lucía Sampedro. Production: Rocío Gómez.
• 22 (Valladolid). Directed by: Javier Cortijo. Producer: Elsa Hidalgo.

Some reserve finalists have also been designated, in case any of those selected cannot participate in the laboratory.

Lab Program

The creators of the short films will live together in an atmosphere of closeness and trust and will receive advice from prominent film professionals, such as director, screenwriter and producer Rocío Mesa (Secaderos), director Eugenio Mira (Grand Piano, El cumpleaños), producer Leire Apellaniz (Ventajas de viajar en tren, Samsara), director of photography Ion de Sosa (La Parra, Mamántula), screenwriter and director Chema García Ibarra (Espíritu sagrado) and film curator and editor Garbiñe Ortega.

During the three-day lab, coordinated by Dirdira Lab, participants will receive intensive training in key areas such as directing, executive and creative production, cinematography, screenwriting and project presentation, in order to strengthen their short films and prepare them for future production.

Activities open to the public

In addition to the group training activities and personalized tutorials, there will be screenings open to the public in the Espacio SEMINCI, where attendees will be able to enjoy short films by renowned filmmakers, including some of the mentors of the laboratory.

On Friday, April 11, at 8 p.m., a selection of short films will be screened made up of Un viento roza tu puerta (2021) by Jorge Castrillo and Pablo Paloma; El ataque de los robots de Nebulosa-5 (2008), Protopartículas (2011) and Misterio (2013), by Chema García Ibarra, and Leyenda dorada (2019), by Chema García Ibarra and Ion de Sosa. On Saturday, April 12, also at 8 p.m., the medium-length film Mamántula (2023), by Ion de Sosa, a title nominated for the Goya Awards 2025 in the category of Best Fiction Short Film, will be offered.