Private Project

Dear Juan Manuel

In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Juan, a seventy-year-old man with senile dementia, shares a room in a nursing home with Manuel, a young sparrow, whom he has been trying to set free for weeks.

  • José Luis López Ortiz
    Director
  • José Luis López Ortiz
    Writer
  • Jesús Puchol Cañadas
    Writer
  • Alejandro López Giménez
    Producer
    Producer director
  • Arturo Dueñas
    Producer
    producer assistant
  • Miguel Angel Jenner Redondo
    Key Cast
    "Juan"
  • Maria Molins Raich
    Key Cast
    "Elena"
  • Michelle Jenner Husson
    Key Cast
    "Marina"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Mi querido Juan Manuel
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 5, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    28,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Spain
  • Country of Filming:
    Spain
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • FILMETS Badalona Short Film Festival
    Badalona
    Spain
    October 22, 2021
    Spain
    Special Jury Mention - Best Actress
  • Golden Wheat Awards
    Istambul
    Turkey
    December 31, 2021
    Winner Best International Short
  • The Gladiator Film Festival
    Istambul
    Turkey
    December 10, 2021
    Official Selection
  • FILMETS
    BADALONA
    Spain
    October 30, 2021
    Winner: HONOR JURY MENTION Best actress
  • Madrid Indie Film Festival • MADRIFF
    Madrid
    Spain
    November 25, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Reale Film Festival
    Milano
    Italy
    October 31, 2021
    Winner Best Actor
  • Niagara Falls International Short Festival
    Niagara
    United States
    November 19, 2021
    Finalist
  • MLC Awards
    Wisconsin
    United States
    January 16, 2022
    FINALIST
  • Hummingbird awards
    Kolkata
    India
    November 19, 2021
    Official Selection
  • The Gladiator Film Festival
    Istambul
    Turkey
    December 10, 2021
    Best Short
  • The Gladiator Film Festival
    Istambul
    Turkey
    December 10, 2021
    Best Cinematography
  • 6Th International Short Film Festival Pune India 2021
    Pune
    India
    December 6, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Ooty Film Festival
    The Nilgiris
    India
    December 5, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Monza Film Festival
    Monza
    Italy
    November 30, 2021
    WINNER Best Actor
  • Sweet Democracy Awards
    Roma
    Italy
    November 30, 2021
    Best Latino Short
  • Rome Independent Prisma Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    December 5, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Vegas Shorts
    Las Vegas
    United States
    December 7, 2021
    Official Selection
  • OIFF Award
    Rome
    Italy
    December 5, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Andromeda Film Festival
    Istambul
    Turkey
    February 28, 2022
    Winner Best Director
  • Dubai Independent Film Festival
    Dubai
    United Arab Emirates
    January 31, 2022
    FINALIST
  • Super Short Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    January 31, 2022
    FINALIST
  • Sessions By Lift-Off Global Network

    United Kingdom
    February 28, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Auchy Film Awards
    Lausanne
    Switzerland
    February 10, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Stand Alone Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    June 30, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Impacte Festival de Drets Humans
    Barcelona
    Spain
    April 7, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival
    Ramsgate
    United Kingdom
    June 9, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Elipsis
    Hidalgo
    Mexico
    July 26, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Thinking Hat Fiction Challenge
    Punjab
    India
    April 26, 2022
    Honorable Jury Mention
  • Venus Community Awards
    Istambul
    Turkey
    April 30, 2022
    WINNER
  • Milan Gold Awards
    Milan
    Italy
    June 5, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Ouchy Film Awards
    Lausanne
    Switzerland
    July 14, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Near Nazareth Film Festival
    Nazareth
    Israel
    June 6, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Certamen Internacional de Cortos de Murchante
    Murchante
    Spain
    June 11, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Dea Open Air International Film Festival
    Tirana
    Albania
    June 28, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Festival of Cinema NYC
    New York
    United States
    August 5, 2022
    Official Selection
  • International Tour Film Festival
    Civitavecchia (ROME)
    Italy
    October 4, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Montelupo Fiorentino International FF
    Montelupo Fiorentino
    Italy
    July 19, 2022
    BEST DIRECTION
  • Daroca & Prisión Film Fest
    Daroca
    Spain
    November 19, 2022
    OFFICIAL SELECTION
  • Nashville Film Festival
    Nashville
    United States
    July 11, 2022
    BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM
  • CINEMAFOST
    Sant Fost de Campsentelles
    Spain
    September 17, 2022
    OFFICIAL SELECTION
  • ME FILM FESTIVAL
    GEORGIA
    United States
    September 22, 2022
    Georgia
    OFFICIAL SELECTION
  • Indian International Short Film Festival Awards
    Kolkata
    India
    February 22, 2023
    OFFICIAL SELECTION
  • DRB FILMS PRODUCTION Khandesh International Short Film Festival
    Maharashtra
    India
    October 2, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Festival De Cine De Támesis
    Támesis
    Colombia
    October 5, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Mumba Short Film Festival INDIA
    Pune
    India
    September 29, 2022
    Official Selection
  • VIII Premio Fausto Rossano
    Nápoles
    Italy
    October 19, 2022
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • PUNTO & APARTE FILMS
    Distributor
    Country: Spain
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - José Luis López Ortiz

While other children played ball and ran along the streets, Jose Luis Lopez was a child who liked to observe everything that happened inside and outside his world.
Drawing, coloring, painting, constructing and photographing, from time to time, with his father's "Werlisa Mat" camera, were part of the everyday doing that would somehow mark the rest of his career as an artist.
A degree in Fine Arts, a degree in audiovisual production and a Master's degree in marketing and communication, José Luis has developed his entire career as an advertising creative, audiovisual producer and press editor. José Luis is nowadays member of the Catalonia Film Academy and Gaudí Awards.
Many years ago José Luis lay aside the brushes and the color palette, but these have accompanied in silent for the rest of his life. The lights, the cameras, the publicity and the publishing world have been able to fill the void all these years. But there is always something inside the artist people that keeps him expectant, attentive to the dictates of his heart.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“Dear Juan Manuel" is a short film with a verité cinema aesthetic. A work that emphasizes the treatment of storytelling, metaphor, analogy, rhythm, careful interpretation and photographic experimentation.

The intention of this film is not to point out the guilty or the innocent. The circumstances are what they are and it is here where ethical issues appear difficult to manage but necessary to tackle with all their consequences. At this point a debate open to hundreds of interpretations begins.

The references for the development of the aesthetics and the rhythm of the film have been many. Among them I can mention the great master Guillermo del Toro, Álvaro Gago, Meritxell Colell, Chloé Zhao and documentary makers such as Óliver Laxe or Àlex Lora.
References related to photographic aesthetics are based on the line of work of Charles William