THE IDEA OF AN ISLAND
European Short Film Selection 2026
•
18m
LA IDEA DE UNA ISLA
Spain
Experimental/fiction
Bombs are falling while a mother sings to her daughters. Nature shivers. Houses become empty.
9-year-old Emilia is about to learn that the war around her is not a game anymore.
Written & directed by: Carmen Pedrero
Produced by: Eva Bodas, Maribel Ruiz Pascual, Antonello Novellino
Cinematography: Sergio Garot
Editing: Miguel Ariza
Production Design: Marine Hercouët
Costume Design: David Jiménez
Make-Up & Hair: Karolina Yuste
Sound: Laura Gantes
Casting: Agustin Mateo
Cast: Raquel Barrero (Emilia), Candela Martín (Manuela), Lara Peloche (Pepa), Leire Gómez (Fermina), Cristina Basallote (mother), Agustin Mateo (father)
Statement of the director:
My grandparents were from Logrosán, a village in Cáceres. They both lived through the Spanish Civil War when they were nine and ten years old. Their stories were varied.
Some funny, some terrifying. But what always struck me was how my grandmother stressed that she and her siblings "played" at the war because they didn't quite understand it, and also, how most of the time, they didn't see the war; they only heard about it.
I don't want to focus on that war, which will be in the background, but on the beauty and tenderness with which a restless girl lives her daily life and learns from it.
I am interested in showing the other side of the coin; to pursue the light, to pay homage to the families, to the people who were left behind during those years, and this way to give a place where love has won.
THE IDEA OF AN ISLAND is a lyrical, laughing and light drama; an unspoken story in which, above all, we listen, look and breathe. A poetic play told through the eyes and ears of a ten-year-old girl, who gradually unveils a day in her life. An open door to an optimistic family that laughs, sings, hugs and, despite fear, knows little of what the future will bring. With a nostalgic but joyful tone, I want to capture in THE IDEA OF AN ISLAND the love of this family; of my own family.
Production:
Entre las piedras
https://entrelaspiedrasfilms.com/
World Sales:
Lights On
https://www.lightsonfilm.com/
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