Alba and her best friend, Pili, sneak onto the roof of a neighborhood building. In this isolated and special place, Alba embarks on a dreamlike journey that will change her completely: something that she will only understand thanks to friendship.
Alba is a teenager who lives with her parents and her three younger siblings in the working-class neighborhood of La Verneda, in Barcelona. One Saturday morning, as usual, Alba meets Pili, her close friend and neighbour, who encourages her to sneak onto the entry-restricted roof of Pili’s building. Up there, the two girls discover a very special place in which they feel totally free, thus turning it into their secret shelter. In a moment of calm, Alba falls asleep and embarks on a magical journey driving her to distant planets, floating in a cosmic environment full of fantastic elements. Throughout this mysterious experience, Alba will solve some existential doubts and she will also face her darkest and deeper feelings. Once she awakens from the dream, Alba will feel that something important has changed inside of ther, and her friend Pili will help her discover what it is.
Director’s statement
This project was born from the willingness inside all human beings to get answers. To convey that, IBIS selects that key period in life in which existential doubts arise and inner anxieties are also magnified: that is, adolescence. In the short film, the two protagonists, Alba and Pili, live a mysterious experience that encourages them to formulate several questions: a few of them find an answer; others remain open for the viewers to draw their own conclusions. Behind a dual narrative which is, firstly, intimate and familiar; and, secondly, surreal and obscure, the story of IBIS challenges the viewer by turning him into a witness of the main character's revealing experience. On the other hand, IBIS also wants to talk about friendship and its essential role as the catalyst vector that helps Alba to achieve her long-awaited relief. Friendship and also self-love are conveyed as the only forces capable of decoding the messages within us that we are not able to understand.
Director and Producer
Maria Burgués
Maria Burgués graduated in Communication and Cultural Management at the University of Barcelona and later she studied a Master in Film Production and Distribution at the UVic to undertake a career working as a film producer. She is currently working as the content production coordinator at the animation production company BLISS while she develops her artistic project as an independent director and scriptwriter. Her first short film, “Apprehend”, has been selected in more than 7 festivals.
ibisshortfilm@gmail.com
Director
Enric Sant
Ibis is an animated short film co-directed by Maria Burgués and Enric Sant, two emerging film directors coming from very different backgrounds. Maria Burgués is the content production coordinator at BLISS and she is also an independent director and scriptwriter who develops her own film projects. Enric Sant is a plastic and digital artist who collaborates with many production companies as a freelance art director in both cinema and advertising, and he is also a University teacher.
ibisshortfilm@gmail.com
Country of production
Spain
Target audience
young adults
Animation technique
3D and 2D
Production company
BlissLooking for
co-producer, financing, sales agents, festivals, distributors, buyers