• You've just returned from Genre Rules, a laboratory organized in collaboration with the co-production forum When East Meets West. What does this selection mean to you?

It’s been great joy and it has allowed me to broaden my knowledge of the international industry, especially the European sector, and to meet new colleagues and professionals in the fields of production, distribution, and international sales.

• For those unfamiliar with the initiative, could you explain what it involves?

Within the expansive framework of WEMW, there are inspirational labs where agents and talent from both emerging and more established circles in Eastern and Western Europe are selected to attend with either developing projects or simply as participants. As part of these labs, the Fantastic Film Forum of the Trieste Science Fiction Festival, which is part of the Méliès circuit, organizes one exclusively dedicated to genre cinema called Genre Rules. And all of this takes place in Trieste, a stunning coastal city that was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire for five centuries, something that would have resonated with our genius Berlanga.

• What has been your role within the workshop?

Luca Evangelisti, the coordinator of the lab, mentioned that they put a lot of effort into selecting participants to ensure diversity and encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences among all the professionals, and that was my main task in the workshop.

• What benefits come from participating in Genre Rules?

It has been a thrilling and highly enriching life experience. As the lab's name suggests, it is immensely inspiring. One emerges from these encounters with renewed energy to continue working hard and bring their stories to fruition, along with a much broader understanding of the international market for fantastic cinema.

• In the workshop, you collaborated with other international producers. How do you appreciate this chance to share knowledge and learn about different perspectives?

It's immeasurable. You meet industry professionals with extensive experience and top-level agents, like Angélica Ramírez from Bankside Films, a London-based company specialized in financing and international sales. She shared the experience of their recent success, 'Talk to me’, an Australian horror film that earned almost a hundred million dollars at the global box office in 2023.

• At last, could you share with us any forthcoming projects you have in the pipeline?

At present, with Orlok Films, the genre film production company I established last year, we are currently working on my debut feature film as a director, '#elreto'. It's a pseudo-found footage movie exploring viral challenges on social media, co-written with screenwriter Jordi Farga. The cast features Luis Callejo and Daniela Rubio. Simultaneously, we are developing the horror thriller 'Alumbramiento', a film about a monstrous biblical invasion of locusts in the heart of Madrid, based on a story by writer Ismael Martínez Biurrun. We also have two other films in various stages of development. 'Zarza', a fantasy drama derived from a story by writer Santiago Eximeno, and ‘Mami siempre te protegerá’, a teenage horror film in the vein of 'Talk to me'. Regarding this film, we'll produce a short film with a teaser vibe. In addition to all this, there is the short film 'Hambre', an adaptation of a story by David Jasso that it is in the final stages of financing. Also, the imminent filming of the debut project behind the camera by costume designer Elixabet Núñez, titled 'Ma-maniquí'. It has secured all regional grants from Alava and the audiovisual creation grant from the Malaga Film Festival, where it will premiere in 2025. And finally, we are collaborating with other production companies on an animated adventure series titled ‘La saga del sur', which was selected in the Animation! section at the previous edition of Ventana Sur. For further information, you can visit the company's website: www.orlokfilms.com.