The giant and the mermaid

In middle of the night, Marcos begins his adventure: get room No. 23 without anyone seeing, with the sole intention of reading a story to a woman who is in a deep coma.
But the task is not easy for an eight-year-old leukemia patient with an amputated leg and wheelchair.

  • Roberto Chinet
    Director
  • Roberto Chinet
    Writer
  • Roberto Chinet
    Producer
  • Rumen Justo Reyes
    Producer
  • Aïda Ballmann
    Key Cast
  • Leo Ramal
    Key Cast
  • Antonio de la Cruz
    Key Cast
  • Francisco Vera
    Key Cast
  • Omar Caballero
    Director of photography
  • Iván Capillas
    Composer
  • Roberto Chinet
    Film Editing
  • Nacho Arenas
    Sound editor
  • Miguel "Maiki" Calvo
    Sound editor
  • Kilian González
    Visual Effects
  • Chema Hernández
    Visual Effects
  • Anatael Pérez
    Art Direction
  • Dailos González
    Makeup departament
  • Annie Rodriguez
    Makeup departament
  • Miguel J. Aguilera
    Boom operador/Sound
  • Eva Gara Delgado
    Production manager
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Fantastic, Drama, Thriller, Social
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 26 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 14, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    34,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Spain
  • Country of Filming:
    Spain
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2,35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Novilunio Music and Films
    Country: Spain
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Roberto Chinet

Roberto Chinet graduated in directing and screenwriting by the CECC. He completed his studies with a postgraduate degree in film postproduction. With extensive experience in the audiovisual sector, he has directed the children's program Golobica TV (TVC Channel 33) and has made several video clips for prominent national artists such as Amparanoia. He has also developed his work as a camera and assembler working on a score of projects led by prestigious performers such as Tom Tykwer, Santiago Zannou, Ventura Pons, Isaki Lacuesta or Mercedes Afonso. In addition, he has written several feature-length scripts, obtaining twice the LEAC development grant from the Government of the Canary Islands. In the last twelve years, he has directed, written and produced a dozen short fiction and documentary films that have been selected in many national and international festivals, notably: "Novilunio" (2009), short in 35mm subsidized by ICAA, RTVE, selected in more than thirty international festivals (Montreal World Film Festival 2009, International Festival of Court Métrage à Clermont-Ferrand 2010); "Estrella" (2014), special mention of the jury in the 5th Ibero-American Short Film Festival ABC and public award "San Rafael in short 2014"; And "The giant and the siren" (2017), short film subsidized by TEA Cabildo de Tenerife, Best project of the Co-production Forum of the 16th Week of the Short Film of Madrid, will be premiered in October 2017 at the 50th International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia - Sitges 2017.

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Director Statement

A magical tale on that thin line that separates life from death. "The giant and the mermaid" is the synthesis of the fantastic imaginary that accompanied me on the journey from childhood to adolescence. Movies from the eighties like "Willow," "The Neverending Story," "The Goonies," or some Tim Burton films like "Big Fish" are a source of inspiration for this timing.
Addressing the issue of death from magical realism has become a sign of identity in part of my filmography and some scripts I have written. A theme that continues in "The giant and the mermaid" in a more evident way, using tools of the contemporary story to apply them in a fantastic short that drinks of other sorts like the thriller and the drama.
"The giant and the mermaid" is a circular story that mixes the looks of its characters and poses to the viewer several ways to understand the short film, with an end open to the imagination.