Private Project

Manolo

Manolo is an eight-year-old boy who lives alone with his alcoholic grandmother. In adversity, he and his best friend José, due to lack of money, will have to steal the “medicine” that his grandmother needs to satisfy her addiction.

  • Dayra Piña Basto
    Director
  • Paulina Rivero
    Director’s Assistant
  • Dayra Piña Basto
    Writer
  • Damián Yael Cornejo Soto
    Script Editor
  • Damián Yael Cornejo Soto
    Producer
  • Dayra Piña Basto
    Producer
  • Sofía Correa Saurí
    Producer’s Assistant
  • Paulina Rivero Díaz
    Producer’s Assistant
  • Javier Méndez
    Producer’s Assistant
  • Elías C. Medina
    Director of photography
  • Roberto Jesús Mejía Gutiérrez
    Photography Assistant
  • Mildred Mitzi Hernández Hernández
    Arts & Costume Director
  • Yael Barragán Vélez
    Key Cast
    "Manolo"
  • Carlos Berlín López
    Key Cast
    "José"
  • Sara Guadalupe Ancona Ceballos
    Key Cast
    "Abuela Carmen Canul"
  • Alex Burgos
    Key Cast
    "Don Román"
  • Tara
    Key Cast
    "Don Román’s Dog"
  • Dayra Piña Basto
    Video Editor
  • Dayra Piña Basto
    Color Grading
  • Adriana Otero
    Color Advisor
  • Farrel Buenfilm
    Camera Assistant
  • Emmanuel Tatto
    Advisory
  • Cruz Alberto Euan Stevens
    Gaffer
  • Martín Alcalá
    Gaffer
  • José Francisco Estevez
    Best Boy
  • Renata Peña Escobar
    Bestboy
  • Jyarü Carmona
    Art’s Assistant
  • Ana Cristina Anguas
    Art’s Assistant
  • María Marissa Garza García
    Art’s Assistant
  • Victoria Guadalupe Sosa Cab
    Art’s & Photography Assistant
  • Paolo Tamayo
    Sound Assistant
  • Augusto Castillo
    Set Assistant
  • Javier Méndez
    Social Media Management
  • Roberto Jesús Mejía Gutiérrez
    Stills Photographer
  • Alietta Casellas Cervera
    Behind The Scenes
  • Diana Paola Basto Baños
    Cast Transportation
  • Johana Del Carmen Baños Eligio
    Cast Transportation
  • Paulina Rivero Díaz
    Film Equipment Transportation
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Manolo
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 47 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 26, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    525 USD
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Dayra Piña
  • Premier de Cortometrajes Yucatecos 2023
    Mérida
    Mexico
    October 26, 2023
    Muestra de Cortometrajes Yucatecos
    Official Selection
  • Séptima Edición Libre Cinema Festival
    Mérida
    Mexico
    December 1, 2023
    Libre Cinema Festival
    Official Shortfilm Selection
  • Segunda edición de Cortometrajes Yucatecos 2023
    Mérida
    Mexico
    December 7, 2023
    Muestra de Cortometrajes Yucatecos
    Official Selection
  • Super Fest Vol. II
    Mérida
    Mexico
    December 2, 2023
    Supert Fest
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Dayra Piña Basto

With a passion for the visual arts ignited since childhood, I was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico on December 17, 2003. From a young age, I gravitated towards artistic pursuits, with a particular fascination for the world of video production. I actively hone my skills by participating in personal projects, such as "Manolo". Equipped with a diploma in film production and filmmaking, where I specialized in direction, editing, and color grading, I bring a diverse skillset to my creative endeavors.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“It is always important to look at our roots Dary, see where we come from” -Dr. Víctor Manuel Basto Martín (papagrande)

I constantly reflect on what has brought us to where we are today, how each aspect is built and has formed the person we are. One of the life stories that I really enjoy reflecting on is my grandfather's, or as I call him: papagrande.

My favorite Papagrande story begins with him, approximately five years old, with his brothers and parents living in a very deteriorated house during cyclone and hurricane season.

Due to the time, they learned of the arrival of a hurricane with very little notice, and despite all their efforts with ropes tied by themselves to preserve their walls and roofs, the roof lifted with the wind and several walls were damaged. But he does not tell this in a sad or worried way, but in a way in which he explains how despite the situation, he and his brothers, being children, were the happiest to have such a beautiful, starry ceiling that no one else was going to have, completely ignoring his parents' concern about not having a roof over their heads for their family.

Manolo was born from certain similarities with Papagrande and the
idea of ​​how many of the changes in your person occur in childhood, usually being transcendental in the person of the future, in addition to how as children, assimilating those ruptures from what we know is totally different.

Manolo being an eight-year-old boy from one of the lowest-income areas in Yucatán, who due to several issues beyond his control, observes how a bond that he himself created based on necessity is destroyed.

I want Manolo's story to reach people's lives since it is very common to ignore the importance of childhood. I want to generate awareness and, above all, empathy towards people with young souls.