CARRAXE
*In Galician language: feminine noun*
1. Feeling of profound bitterness caused by an adverse event.
SINONIM rage
ALSO LOOK AT wrath, fury, resentment, annoyance.
CARRAXE is an independent short film. This psychological drama in Galician language will be about 10 min long and will be shot during spring 2022 in Pontevedra, Galicia.
SOLE, the main character, is an elderly woman who lives isolated ad uncommunicated in a house the is no longer home to become a prison. Her voice faints out because of the daily and persistent violence her husband MARIO wields upon her.
After many years bearing beatings and many other kinds of abuse, SOLE decides to flee. Empowered and overwhelmed by anger, within her, a desire of revenge is born.
The emotional and rational devastation SOLE (the leading character) suffers as a result of domestic abuse, leads her to a confusing perception of reality. Her desire of fleeing home gets tangled with her wish of avenge. The editing combines reality with fabulation, her present with her future, paying attention to the emotion and wrath of the protagonist.
The film narrative itself will be fragmentary. With it we want to highlight the irreparable damage caused by such a tragedy.
We want to speak out against violence against women focusing our attention on the countryside, an isolated environment distant from the one of the cities, where more aid resources can be found and there is a bigger awareness about the different kinds of violence women suffer daily. We want to break out with the common practice of placing these stories in urban settings with young couples and bring this issue to the Galician countryside with an elderly couple as the leading roles.
The intention is to create an impact on the audience to get them immersed on the frustration ad helplessness suffered by the protagonist and make them face the reality of so many women who, sadly, live this kind of abuse.
CARRAXE is born from the impulse of pointing out the place we come from, the earth, the primal. A green and rural Galicia we always highlight but which also has its shades and dark spots we have, somehow, neglected. By moving from the countryside to the cities we’ve left behind many ways of life they are now ignored, with lack of resources and, above all, with lack of assistance and support. The story of SOLE, set on a rural and grown-old Galician context, is the story of many women who have no-one to turn to and who live hidden in a social environment where “dirty laundry should not be washed in public” and thus, suffer secretly. That’s why we want to appeal to the pain and frustration an elder woman in a similar situation may suffer, lonely and abandoned by her relatives and neighbours, disregarded by social services and isolated somewhere in the Galician countryside.
This short film is aimed at all these people who see necessary stories like this are told, showing and speaking out against social issues, inequality and violence against women.
We want on lay on the table this social issue and confront the audience with it. An issue that is frequently questioned nowadays, denying a reality that goes against human rights. It is also aimed to those who are willing to support our first project as a production company and, of course, to all cinema lovers. We’re taking care of every detail in order to treat with the deserved respect such a complex and delicate subject as the one we’re addressing, making the narrative raw and direct with the intention of appealing the audience sensitivity.
MURIEL PERNAS
Director, screenwriter and actor. He studied acting at the Galician School of Dramatic art (ESAD de Galicia) and later received a scholarship by the Diputacioń de Corunã to continue with his artistic studies. He did an MA in acting at the Central de Cine de Madrid and another MA in TV and Filmmaking by the Universidad Carlos III. He developed his career as an actor both on screen and on stage working for the Televisioń de Galicia on shows like Fontealba and Pazo de Familia; as well as Hit,
Team and background from Televisioń Española, show in which he also worked in the directing department. In 2020, the festival Notodofilmfest awarded Carmesí, a short film of his own, produced by GenteMala; this short was selected in festivals like Seleccionado in Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards (2021), Tres̀ Court International Film Festival (2021), Boden international Film Festival (2021), Equilibrium Cinefest (2021), The Filmy Monks Film Festival, Farce: Festival Internacional de Curtas- metragens de Faro (2021), Festival BEFREE (2021) among others. His last work within the directing department was in the film Rainbow, by Paco León.
LUCAS ORLANDO
Director of Photography, editor and freelance colourist with about 10 years of experience in the film industry. BA graduate by the Universidad de Salamanca in Audio-visual Communication, he did an MA in Postproduction and 3D modelling at the Escuela TRAZOS de Madrid stepping into the world of advertising in which he worked for clients like Disney, Seat and Visionlab. During these years as a professional, he combined his work in a corporative environment with more personal projects such as music videos, visual art for stage events and documentaries. In 2021 he decides to jump into the film industry with Manual de la Siega, a documentary short film directed by Samuel Fernandi in which he takes part as a camera operator and colourist, film that has recently been premiered at the Official Selection of the 59th Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijoń (FICX).
Currently, LUCAS ORLANDO and MURIEL PERNAS unify strengths in order to found, as executives, the independent production company QUEIMA STUDIO.
The leading roles of CARRAXE will be played by the Galician actors MABEL RIVERA and ROBERTO LEAL. Both count with a long career in film and television.
MABEL RIVERA
Decades long experienced actor, she got her career started in theatre during the seventies, taking part in approximately 10 shows before 1984, year in which the Galician National Theatre Company (CDG) is found, and in which she professionalises herself joining one of the first casts of this institution. She is very well known in Galicia since more than a decade ago for starring at the most successful comedy soap of the Galician TV, Pratos combinados, in which she played one of the main roles, Balbina, until she was nationally acclaimed for her work in the Oscar winning film Mar Adentro, directed by Alejandro Amenab́ ar and for which she was awarded with the Premio Goya de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográf́icas de España to The Best Supporting Actress, The Sant Jordi Ward of Cinematography to the Best Spanish Actress and a long list of awards and excellent reviews.
ROBERTO LEAL
He got started his studies in acting in Argentina in 1976 at the Centro de Formacioń Actoral. In 1981 he got graduated in Theatre Directing and Acting Teaching by the Universidad Nacional del Centro (Buenos Aires). The next year, he went to a seminary about Group Dynamics at the Theatrical Workplace in Buenos Aires and in 1984 he attended a workshop in Theatre Directing. In Galicia, he also attended to many workshops organised by the Instituto Galego de Artes Esceń icas e Musicais (IGAEM) and by the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. Since 1985 he gave plenty of workshops and short courses in schools, secondary schools and the University od A Coruña. Between 1997 and 2000 he was the Theatre Director of the Teaching Department at the Fundacioń Eugenio Granell (Santiago). In 2002 he was theHeadofTeachingattheAsociacioń deactores,directoresytećnicosdeescena de Galicia. In the TV and film industry they stand out his roles in shows like A familia Pita, Matalobos, Serramoura, O sabor das margaridas/Bitter Daisies; And features like Elisa y Marcela by Isabel Coixet, and Olvido y León by Xavier Bermúdez.
The production of the promotional teaser-trailer and this first approach to CARRAXE wouldn’t have been possible without this team of professionals:
Writer / Director / Executive Producer: MURIEL PERNAS
Director of Photography (DOP) / Editing / Colour Grading: LUCAS ORLANDO
Art Director: DANIELA RODAS
First Assistant Director: LARA RODRÍGUEZ
Head of Production: CARMEN MARÍA CHAMADOIRA
Line Producer: ANDREŚ ROZADOS
Gaffer: TOMÉ GONZAĹEZ
Hair and Make-up: ALICIA GIL
Costume: NAILA RODRÍGUEZ
Sound recordist and sound supervisor: VÍCTOR GONZÁLEZ
Assistant sound recordist: PALOMA GARCÍA
Still Picture: SARA TEMES
Camera Assistant: ABEL GONZÁLEZ
Production Assistant: FRAN DURÁN
Production Assistant: ROSARIO CRUZ
Production Assistant: MIRIAN GONZÁLEZ
Music by NICOLAŚ VIEITES and ADRIÁN SEIJAS
Graphic Designer: ELENA DEL ÁGUILA
Community Manager: LAURA VILLALBA
With the involvement of: Deputación de Pontevedra
In collaboration with: Art&Care, Faiado da Memoria, SonsVigo. Thanks: Manuel Torres Misa, Elena Torres, Adriań Verde, Pontevedra Rugby Club, Jose Mari Martínez, Isaac Pazos, Coven Films, Dani Viqueira, Quique Lojo, Anxela G. Abalo, Mercedes Mendía, Orlando Gómez, Rodrigo (dog training).