Last weekend, a new screening of the short film Aquel no era yo took place in Gijón, with its director, Esteban Crespo, in attendance. In addition, his first feature film as a director is already in post-production.
Aquel no era yo was his second-to-last short, which we distributed as part of the Madrid en corto programme in the 2012 edition. It has been four years since its premiere, but to this day it remains the most recent nomination for the Hollywood Academy Awards for a Spanish short film.
In this post I have taken some notes on the evolution of this short film’s festival distribution, which can serve as a reference, above all to see the calendar and the most important milestones of the year.
The short film premiered in Medina del Campo in March 2012 and also took part in the Málaga Spanish Film Festival in April. From May onwards it joined Madrid en corto, after its run at the Community of Madrid Short Film Week; from here we began the distribution strategy both nationally and internationally.
I have prepared a chart that includes all selections, both in competition and out of competition, over 3 full years, from 2012 to 2014 (you can click on the image to enlarge it):
Festival success was immediate, as we can see in the evolution of selections in September, October and November 2012, with a peak of 16 selections in November. One of the advantages of starting distribution before the summer is being able to submit to most festivals held in those months, which are the strongest on the calendar.
In Málaga it won the Silver Biznaga for Best Short Film, and in Medina the Special Jury Prize. In October it was able to qualify for the Goya Awards. It ultimately received the nomination and won the Goya Award in February 2013.
This is how we began the second year of distribution.
The Goya Award is not decisive for a short film’s festival run, but it certainly does not hurt. In March it achieved a strong figure, with 15 selections, a pace it maintained until the summer, by which time it had been just over a year of more intensive distribution.
Despite being in its second year, performance in the last quarter was really good, with 13 selections in November. Around that time we learned it was on the Oscars short list and, finally, received the nomination.
Festival submissions through Madrid en corto lasted just over a year; the rest of the 2014 selections were mainly thanks to the Oscars, which do influence the short’s trajectory. We came across festivals that had initially rejected it, but brought it back in 2014.
In addition to the numbers, here is a small selection of some of the international festivals where it screened:
- Shnit International Film Festival, Bern (Switzerland) -October 2012- Best Short Film.
- Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico) – March 2013-
- Tiburon International Film Festival (USA) -April 2013- Best Short Film.
- Brussels Short Film Festival (Belgium) -April 2013-.
- Cleveland International Film Festival (USA) – April 2013-
- Palm Springs Festival (USA) – June 2013- won the Bridging the Borders Award.
- London Film Festival BFI (United Kingdom) -October 2013-.
- Brest European Short Film Festival (France) -November 2013- Young Jury Prize.
In total it has achieved 180 selections and screenings in 33 different countries (171 from 2012 to 2014) and no fewer than 95 awards.
Here are some links with information about Aquel no era yo:
- Official website: http://aquelnoerayo.com/language/es/
- Review in Cortosfera magazine: http://cortosfera.es/cortometrajes/festivales/ficha/25/
- Listing on the Madrid en corto website: http://www.madridencorto.es/2012/aquel-no-era-yo