THE DIRECTOR

Carlos Violadé was born in Seville in 1977. He discovered his passion for film and poetry while training as an architect and has combined different forms of artistic expression throughout his professional career, publishing the collection of poems Montañas de mar (Editorial Renacimiento) in 2009, for example.  He founded La Balanza Films in 2006 and through this production company he produces films and documentaries that have won prestigious international awards with institutional backing from Spain’s Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Culture at the Regional Government of Andalusia and the Cervantes Institute. His work has been praised for its considerable artistic and educational value, and it has been screened at museums (New York Lincoln Center and Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art) and leading universities, in addition to being shown on platforms and public/private television networks in over 30 countries.

He was nominated for the Goya for Best Fictional Short Film (the Spanish Academy Awards) as director, screenwriter and film producer and his projects have received numerous awards from highly acclaimed international film festivals that are recognized by the Academy Awards. These prizes have been awarded by Bogoshorts – Bogota Short Film Festival (Best International Short Film), ShortFest – Palm Springs International Film Festival (Runner Up Best Short 15 Minutes and Under), Zinebi – Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film (Audience Award), Rhode Island International Film Festival (Best Comedy), New York Short Film Festival (Best Drama), Seville European Film Festival (Best Short Film), Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival (Best Short Film) and Busan International Short Film Festival (Official Selection). After winning the award for Best European Short Film at the Strasbourg Fantastic Film Festival, his work was selected to compete for the Méliès de Oro for the Best European Short Film at Sitges Film Festival.

Red Earth is Violadé’s first feature film, and he was motivated to create it by an invitation to the Sundance Institute; the Institute was interested in his work and invited him to take part in the Utah screenwriters’ lab. His first draft of this full-length film was a semi-finalist at the lab. The Red Earth script was then selected for the Film and Creation Lab in Oaxaca (Mexico) founded by Bertha Navarro with support from the Sundance Institute and Ibermedia programme. Zachary Sklar (screenwriter nominated for an Oscar for the film JFK) has contributed to the Red Earth script as a script doctor.