Every month the Community of Madrid brings to Cine Estudio The best of current short films, both national and international, in carefully curated screenings with the filmmakers in attendance. This time, it joins the celebration of The Shortest Day, coinciding with the winter solstice, an annual event organized by the Spanish Short Film Coordinator.  

[df-subtitle]Great Adventurers. Screening of children's short films (ages 7 and up)[/df-subtitle]
21.12.18 · 17:00h
MACROPOLIS. Director: Joel Simon. United Kingdom, 2013. 7 min.
HEDGEHOGS AND THE CITY. Director: Evalds Lacis. Latvia, 2013. 10 min. DRIFTING CLOUD. Director: Yuta Sukegawa. Japan, 2014. 7 min.
THE PETITE POUSSE. Director: Chaïtane Conversat. France, 2015. 10 min.
JUAN AND THE CLOUD. Directed by Giovanni Maccelli. Spain, 2014. 14 min.
SEESAW. Director: Cha Yookyung. Korea, 2017. 10 min.

[df-subtitle]Pearls of Short Film 2018: Session 1[/df-subtitle]
21.12.18 · 18:15h
Session dedicated to short films that have been awarded at the most important national and international festivals during this year.

GLI ANNI
Nominated for the EFA Awards at the Venice Biennale. Director: Sara Fgaier. Screenplay: Annie Ernaux (novel). Production company: Dugong Production / RAI Cinema / Films Grand Huit / Cineteca Sarda. 2018. 20 min. Italy. Documentary.
A phantasmagoria of moments and echoes of the family's past. Fragments out of context, pieces of an unfinished memory, following one another like puzzle pieces that one tries to give meaning to. Faded images resonating like memories that confirm the fleeting nature of existence and its imprint on time.

THE BEETLE AT THE END OF THE STREET
Best Ibero-American Short Film. Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico). Directed and written by Joan Vives. Production company: ESCAC Films. 2017. 19 min. Spain
Amadeo lives in a quiet village in Valencia and, since his wife died, he has dedicated himself entirely to caring for his invalid father-in-law, Mr. Agustín. One day, Lolín, the fishmonger's daughter, has a premonition while decapitating an eel: Amadeo has seven days to live.

RAPACIOUS
Ibero-American Dancer "Cacho Pallero". Huesca International Film Festival. Directed by Felipe Gálvez. Screenplay by Antonia Girardi and Felipe Gálvez. 2018. 13 min. Chile
Ariel gets involved in the arrest of a teenager accused of stealing a cell phone. A crowd surrounds the young man; some blame him and beat him, while others defend him. The police don't arrive. Ariel must decide whose side he's on.

KAFENIO KASTELLO
First Prize "City of Alcalá". ALCINE 48. Directed and written by: Miguel Ángel Jiménez. Produced by: Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Gorka Gómez Andreu (Kinoskopik Film Produktion), Javier Arsuaga. 2018. 19 min. Spain. Documentary
Central Athens. Surrounded by a world in crisis and widespread destruction, a small group of characters resist the end that seems to befall them. We speak of brotherhood and the desire to never give up.

[df-subtitle]Pearls of Short Film 2018: Session 2[/df-subtitle]
21.12.18 · 20:00h
Session dedicated to short films that have been awarded at the most important national and international festivals during this year.

COWBOY DAVE
BAFTA Awards: Best Short Film. Directed and written by Colin O'Toole. Production company: Third Rail Films. 2017. 25 min. United Kingdom
The story of how a boy's life changes after a chance encounter with a down-on-his-luck musician. With moments of intense emotion and physical intensity, and touches of humor scattered throughout, this is a film about how inspiration can come from the most unexpected places.

THE LAST VIRGIN
Silver Biznaga Award for Best Short Fiction Film. Málaga Film Festival. Spanish Cinema. Director: Bàrbara Farré. Screenplay: Lucas Casanovas Skoubo, Bàrbara Farré. Production Company: ESCAC Films. 2017. 18 min. Spain
Sara, a 13-year-old girl, feels the need to abandon her innocence to enter the adult world and fit in with her group of friends. Enveloped in a world where appearances reign supreme, Sara will be forced to suppress her will, becoming yet another victim of society. A portrait of the generation of the 2000s, where cell phones, the internet, and precocious sexuality cannot go unnoticed.

ANTÓNIO AND CATARINA
Pardino d'Oro Best International Short Film. Locarno International Film Festival. Directed and written by Cristina Hanes. Production company: Terratreme Filmes. 2017. 40 min. Portugal. Documentary
A 70-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman maintain an innocent, complicated, and outdated relationship. Trapped in a room, Antonio and Catarina negotiate the terms of their bond.

EXQUISITE CORPSE
Golden Spike for Best Short Film. SEMINCI. Directed and written by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy. Produced by Je Suis Bien Content / arte France Cinéma. 2018. 13 min. France. Animation
A visual, acoustic, and olfactory ballad told through the eyes of a one-eyed stray dog. In the labyrinth of Old Hanoi's narrow streets, everyday life and legend intertwine to the syncopated rhythm of Hat Xam, the Vietnamese blues.