award-winning best experimental
Paradise Film Festival (GERMANY)
ROME INDIE INTERNATIONAL film festival
Luleå international film festival(sweden)
This experimental short film explores the fragile and chaotic process of shedding who we are to uncover something truer. It explores the tension between questioning who we are and trying to make sense of the world, mixing raw emotions with fragmented, unpredictable imagery.
SYNOPSIS
When we tell a story, we shape it through our own perspective, yet we intentionally leave room for interpretation—a space where meaning lingers unsaid. Each telling is but one version, never the final word. We rely on the listener to hear what remains unspoken and grasp the meaning within the silences. It is often easier to question the world around us than to turn that scrutiny inward. This film follows a nonconformist woman, played by Czech actress Aneta Hradilova, who must release both who she is and who she aspired to be in order to discover something entirely new about herself. Guided by her grandmother, the sea, her own questions, and perhaps even miracles, she confronts her fears before they can return to haunt her.
Team
- Director & Producer: Paula Díaz
- DOP: Eduarda Palmeira
- Art Director: Amélie Pret
- Gaffer: Róbert Klváček
- Cast: Aneta Hradilová, Paulina Rubio
- Music:
- Cold by Kinga Otvos
- Dejarlas Ir by Tronco
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
El Sol Está Enfermo is a poetic exploration of memory, family, and the process of letting go to embrace the unknown.
Millennia ago, candles were used as a source of light. In ancient Greece, for example, they were believed to have a direct connection to the gods and were lit in temples as offerings. I prefer my grandmother’s version. She believes that lighting the candle brings luck. I like to believe that too. Even if it’s a lie, or even if it’s true. I light candles when I’m far from home, even though mine aren’t red like hers.
My mother, on the other hand, prefers to believe in what’s tangible—in what is in our hands right now. She believes the miracle is what we have in the present, in our words, and in what we can do with them. That’s why I try to use my words. That’s why I try to find myself, to have courage, to not give up on my dreams in order to build a family. That’s why I don’t want to be like my grandmothers or my mother. Perhaps saying this doesn’t make me a good person.
Substantia Cruda is a conceptual fashion film directed by Paula Díaz that fuses art, fashion, and transformation. The film takes inspiration from the designs of @arrepentina, @filip_fecko, @vends___ and @lea.hartmannova, exploring themes of birth, identity, and self-discovery.
This project, more than a fashion narrative, is an exploration of the archetypes created through clothing, of how fashion becomes a reflection of our inner complexities. As Tina Zsapka mentions in her statement, fashion is more than just a celebration of personality: it is a space to question, to explore who we are and who we want to become. Through this film, we aim to uncover the raw substance, the poetry behind each fashion choice, reflecting not only an aesthetic taste but a deep sensitivity toward the world around us.
TEAM
DOP @amelie_pret
AC @dudaapalmeira
Production Assistant @trriaskova
