June 26 will confirm the rise of the Spanish short film, with the distribution in commercial, mainstream cinemas of the work of one of the most outstanding directors of this genre. Eduardo Chapero-Jackson, one of our best known short filmmakers, is about to bring out "A Contraluz", three exciting stories about people facing extreme situations in their lives. The Body Against (Contracuerpo) , Lightborne and The End , can add up between them over one hundred awards from the most important film festivals worldwide, including the Venice Film Festival and the European Film Academy. Already partly distributed in France, now they are arriving at cinemas in Spain.

Spectators who turn up at UGC cinemas will be able to enjoy acclaimed performances from actresses like Macarena Gomez (Sexykiller ), Marivi Bilbao (Aqui no hay quien viva) or Cristina Plazas (Go Away From Me ).

The first short of the trilogy, Contracuerpo, features Macarena Gomez. This was the Madrid filmmaker’s first work and it portrays, in the style of a dark fable, the journey of a young woman whose obsession takes her to the limit: she diets to prepare her body to be placed inside a dummy in the most famous shop window in the city. This work won various awards, most importantly Best Short Film at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, Best European Short at the Brest Festival and Best European First Work at the Festival d’Angers. It was also nominated for a Goya and was premiered in the Official Competition at the Venice Film Festival.

The second film, Lightborne, relates how a family explore their feelings during the long last night of their eldest member, revealing different ways of coming to terms with the end of a life. Starring Marivi Bilbao, Cristina Plazas, Manolo Solo and Marta Belenguer, this second film by Eduardo Chapero-Jackson has won over fifty awards, some of the prestige of the Best European Short Film at the Venice Film Festival, Best Short from the European Film Academy, Best Short at the Malaga Festival, Best Short in the “Version Española-SGAE” competition, and has won prizes at international festivals in Cracov, Puerto Rico and Denmark, amongst others.

The End, his latest work, portrays the case of a typical American family who have to fight to survive in a country progressively torn apart due to lack of water. It has a large international cast led by British actors Samuel Roukin (Happy-Go-Lucky by Mike Leigh) and Natalie Press (Chromophobia by Marta Fiennes) and the special collaboration of Miguel Angel Silvestre. The End was premiered at the EXPO del Agua in Zaragoza, was later presented by the Spanish Biodiversity Foundation at the National Environment Conference and in April took part in the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul.

All three shorts were produced by Prosopopeya Producciones, one of the best known Spanish producers of shorts which now, together with the chain UGC CINE CITE, are joining forces in this pioneering initiative to support the work of their celebrated short film author. The current popularity of the Spanish short film right now has helped make it possible for quality shorts to be seen by the general public in cinemas. So UGC plan to show "A Contraluz" at a reduced price in their three Madrid establishments and their complexes in Valencia, Valladolid and Cadiz.