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The Short Film

A day in the life of a trans actress, as she juggles her home life, her depressed brother and an amateur and somewhat transphobic short film shoot.

  • José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena
    Director
  • Luisa Almaguer Zavala
    Writer
  • José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena
    Writer
  • Pía Gómez Escalante
    Producer
  • Gonzalo Romero
    Producer
  • Luisa Almaguer Zavala
    Key Cast
    "Lucía"
  • Rafael Martínez Sánchez
    Key Cast
    "Gonzalo"
  • Rodrigo Murillo
    Key Cast
    "Rogelio"
  • Rafael Amador
    Key Cast
    "Carlos"
  • Camila Acosta
    Key Cast
    "Actriz"
  • Andrés Tirado
    Key Cast
    "Sonidista"
  • Akaash Mora
    DP
  • José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena
    Editor
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    El cortometraje
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, comedy
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 17, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Mexico
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Festival Mix, Cine y Diversidad Sexual
    CDMX
    Mexico
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Festival Visible
    Panamá
    Panama
    August 22, 2022
    Winner
  • Shorts México
    CDMX
    Mexico
    September 1, 2022
    Official Selection
  • FICM, Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia
    Morelia
    Mexico
    October 22, 2022
    Special Prize from the jury
  • Reel Q: Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ Film Festival
    Pittsburgh
    United States
    October 10, 2022
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Festival Internacional de Cine Animal y Ambiental
    CDMX
    Mexico
    October 4, 2022
    Winner
  • Festival Internacional Cinema Imaginarios
    Queretaro
    Mexico
    December 4, 2022
  • 24 Risas x segundo, festival de comedia de CDMX
    CDMX
    Mexico
    May 17, 2023
    Selección oficial
  • Semaine de la critique, Cannes
    Cannes
    France
    May 25, 2023
    European premiere
    Special screening
  • Festival de Cine Independiente de la CDMX
    CDMX
    Mexico
    July 29, 2023
    Official Selection
  • Nahui Ollin Festival de Cine
    Durango
    Mexico
    June 15, 2023
    Selección oficial
  • MIRA Latin American Independent Filmfestival
    Bonn
    Germany
    October 1, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena

Jose Luis Isoard Arrubarrena was born in Mexico City in 1988. He studied Political Science and learnt filmmaking by practice.

In 2015 he was one of five finalists on the National Screenplay Contest organized by GIFF. In 2017 he was selected to participate at the 13th Coproduction Meeting at the FICG, and on the Screenwriters Residency “Algo En Común”, in Cali, Colombia. In 2020 he was part of Labguión, organized by Cinefilia with IBERMEDIA’s support.

"Padre Pablo", his first feature film, received funding from Mexico’s state of Guanajuato and premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in autumn of 2021.

With his short films he has been selected at festivals and showcases such as Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, where he won the jury prize, Shorts México, Guanajuato International Film Festival, among others.

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Director Statement

Luisa and I wrote this after discussing the limited opportunities trans actresses have. Most roles they can get is acting as sex workers, which can be nice if the character is well written and because it's nice enough to be able to excersize their craft, but on a systemic basis, it's pretty poor for representation and perception of trans women. So we decided to make a short where both of our worlds met: her being a struggling trans actress and me being a white cis amateur filmmaker with a limited but evolving worldview.