Six young students met at the famous Pompeufabra University in Barcelona and found that they were working well together. The result of that synergistic effect is the colllextiuvigília, formed by Clara Serrano Rollens, Gerald Simo Guimenos, Laura Colominas Esperto, Ariadna Uldomolins Abado, Laura Serra Sole and Poe Val Capdette. Contrary to the industry’s usual glacial pace for debuts, the collective will be out the first feature on the graduation project that was hit with “The Ementing Age.”
“Immediate Age,” performing in the sidebar of a Spanish maid at the San Sebastian Film Festival, brings an intimate look at the life of 18-year-old Bruno (Michelmas Martinez). The film was nominated for Best New Director at the Gaudi Awards, won the Spanish Screenplay Best at the John Festival and received special mention at the Cork Festival. The film is produced by Ringo Media. Outplay film handles sales.
Speaking to capdet San Sebastian, the film producer and cinematographer, before he speaks of diversity, he says working as a group has come “naturally.” “The film was originally a university project and later produced by a number of traditional means with the production company, but it came from that environment. It wasn’t a path for roses to come, but we have always embraced this collaborative process of giving each other feedback and sharing this collective creativity between us.”
In terms of how it worked logistically during filming, the decision was to “share some of the creativity that belongs to the entire group” and divide the roles so that all duties could be “performed effectively.” “This was a balanced process between taking a common approach to films and having their own effective methodology to ensure that films function in the long run.”
When asked if he was planning on continuing his work on the same model, Capdet says he still doesn’t know because it wasn’t a consideration he had in mind while making the film. “What we definitely know is that we continue to work together because we know we’re working well together. I don’t know if we’ll continue to produce the film the same way we did this.”
Signing the instructions, Llorens emphasized how their way of working allowed films to be produced very quickly within a year. “This was only possible because our funding strategy was very simple. We only had one fund, a regional fund.
“We thought the film would be made with or without a traditional funding structure,” Capdet says. “When we got the funds, we were already starting to film despite our already low resources. I don’t think most filmmakers have this luxury. We’re a group so we’ve just left university and we didn’t face the same pressure.
The creative emphasized to highlight the great moments of Catalan and Spanish films today, saying that universities like Pompeu Fabra allow for creative freedom to develop real talent. The two also believe that access to local funding is facilitating as a great propeller. “People who hadn’t previously provided funding are more likely to fund the film,” adds Capdet.
In the process of making the film itself, Capdet says that one of the major challenges was to work with the non-actors of Fernandez, as they had to navigate the complexities of that relationship on both sides. Fernandez was one of the members of the group and was chosen for that part due to his similarities with NATI. When the initial conversation went out of his way, the elder said, “the direction was very open and very flexible.” “She also wanted to be with the young people and make the most of it.”
From a “immediate era” tone perspective, both Capdet and Llorens say they wanted it to have a certain “subtlety.” The producer explained that he wanted the audience to have a distance to have their own opinions about what was going on.
When filming a more intimate scene depicting a caring process between Bruno and Natty, Llorens says it’s “difficult.” “I didn’t want to feel taboo because my body is, but at the same time I wanted to feel comfortable with Antonia. I only showed what I had shown to the camera. There was no intimate coordinator, but there was a lot of conversation and the final decision was her.”
Directors are categorical when it comes to what she learns from creating an “immediate age.” “Just because a film is made by a group doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a soul or a good direction. It can be a different voice and become an interesting tool.”
