Los Cárpatos

See You in Another Life

On March 11, 2004, the Cercanías network in Madrid suffered terrorist attacks that cost the lives of more than 190 people.

Out in the Open

A boy escaped from home, listening, crouched in the depths of his hiding place, the cries of the men who seek him. When the game passes, what remains before him is an infinite and arid plain that he must cross if he wants to get away definitively from what has made him flee. His steps will intersect with those of a pastor and, from that moment, nothing will be the same for either of them.

The Art of Return

Noemí is a young actress who returns home after 6 years in New York for an audition that could change her career. During the first 24 hours back in Madrid, she has a series of encounters that teach her how to cherish the seasons of life.

Paradiso

The “Duque de Alba” is the last adult movie theatre remaining in Madrid. Rafael, the projectionist, works hard every day in order to make the place tidier. He hand-paints the movie posters himself, he puts flowers and houseplants around, he fits out the entrance… Even though pornography is mostly consumed online, the theatre works due to a fixed clientele. The “Duque de Alba” is, indeed, more than just an adult movie theatre: it is a shelter, a refuge. Yet Rafael has to face a new problem now: Luisa, the ticket clerk with whom he’s worked with for more than thirty years, the only one who helps him make the theatre a better place, is about to retire.

Five Square Meters

Álex and Virginia, a couple planning to get married, buy an apartment located in a building under construction. When there are only a few months left before the apartments are to be delivered, the works are stopped indefinitely. Álex wants a solution and will do anything to get his apartment and have the life he had dreamed of.

Mindanao

Marisol, the mayor of a city on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, spends her last hours surrounded by her entourage. The last party with her most faithful people: the right hand of her political party, the businessman with whom she built her little empire, a not very bright secretary, a Spanish traditional singer –the life of the party– and her great love, Amparo.

Casual Day

Casual Day is a company practice imported from the USA. Every Friday the workers are asked to exchange their suits for more informal attire. Ruy has always lived as he liked. Though clever, he's gotten himself into a jam. José Antonio, his girlfriend's father, has earmarked an important job for him in his company. He wants him to be his successor. At the age of 25, without actually having decided anything, he's trapped. He'd like to say no to the job, to José Antonio, to Inés, his girlfriend, and to the Casual Day stuff. But it's not easy to say no. What started out as a simple event, a weekend in the country, ends up deciding the rest of his life.

Stories to Stay Awake

El perdido

A man leaves everything and disappears in the mountains.

Fiona

Ray does not know what he is doing at a party full of strangers.

Hamburg

Germán is a driver and transports women who work as slaves in brothels on the Costa del Sol. Broke and lost, he tries to get by working for his friend Cacho, who manages several of these clubs for a local mafia. One night he is presented with what seems like a chance to change his life, but this decision will put him in more danger than ever. He has only one option left, the same one Alina thinks of every night: to escape.

Failure

The encounter of an ex-couple that haven't seen each other in five years. His name is Andrés and he's a film director. Her name is Lucía and she's an actress. They confront their past in a real-time conversation: a mingling of what they remember, what their dreams were, and what never happened — not even in their dreams.