Private Project

The Debate

It’s a confrontation on the basic spectrum of birth, youth and life itself.

  • Ika Santamaria
    Director
  • Ika Santamaria
    Writer
  • Joseph Hammond
    Producer
  • Jeniffer Fernandez
    Key Cast
    "Jessica"
  • Marcel Paba
    Key Cast
    "Diego"
  • Mileydy Artiles
    Director of Photography
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 22 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 4, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ika Santamaria

As Filmmaker/Director and actor she has received awards given by the Women’s International Film Festival, LDUB Film Festival, Miami Life Awards; Ika recently won a competition at the Sundance Screenwriters Intensive, Miami 2015. She received the Achievement Award for Best Film Director at the Women in The Arts 2013 & was named the WITA 2013 Filmmaker of the Year as well. Awarded Best Actor at Miami Indie Film Club and Ika wrote, directed, and edited “Flea Market Finish Line” which was accepted at the Cannes Film Festival and won awards in many International Film Festivals.

More About Ika Santamaria:

With my father I got a deep curiosity about unveiling characters and stories. He is a stonemason, who is very serious about carving words into marble monuments that sum up a person’s life. Our family has a monument business in Colombia, I remember being five years old and getting trained by Dad in the art of selling headstones. He discovered that the strategy was to get the bereaved to remember the most sensitive memory of their lost one. Dad showed me how to grow different feelings and atmospheres at the shop. He taught me to listen with my heart and truly engage with our customers. Soon I was able to come up with the questions that would bring out that special story that defined the dead person.

Experiencing life and death so close made me value our lifetime on earth. Today, “to be alive” is central to my stories.

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Director Statement

John Smith and Maria Garcia sound like interesting people to me. They know they aren't a trendy subject of a sophisticated universe, neither do they have the time to care. Understanding how they mutate to face adversity to overcome their own challenges is my interest.  Since their process grounds me I want to study the depths of their presence and their actions.

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After embracing the spark of an idea, I embark with my whole being on a journey to run with my characters. My passion is to travel into their brains, hearts and souls by connecting all my senses, with them, using my tactics and acting skills. I search for tenacious fragments of a person’s grit, holding a world together that is falling apart as they restructure themselves to rebuild their universe. On my way out, I bring that material with me so that I can build my story with a vibrant, yet raw narrative.  

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I want comprehensive content for our audience to experience how people, with an unbreakable core make choices to prevail. I need to centre my work on revealing solutions.

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The DNA of Garcia, Smith, Anderson, Rodriguez, Johnson, Williams, Brown, Hernandez or Miller is resilient. That's why there are so many people with these last names, they are on the front line.