Decorado, the highly anticipated new work by four-time Goya Award winner Alberto Vázquez (Best Animated Feature Film for Psiconautas, los niños olvidados [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] and Unicorn Wars [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]; Best Animated Short Film for Decorado and Birdboy), has been selected for the Official Selection at the 58th edition of Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, taking place from 9 to 19 October. With his unique visual style and a scathing take on the human condition, the Galician filmmaker returns with another dark fable exploring social control, the artificiality of life, and the fragility of our certainties.

The script, written by the director himself and Francesc Xavier Manuel, introduces Arnold, a middle-aged mouse caught in the midst of an existential crisis. His marriage is falling apart, his life seems absurd, and he starts to suspect that everything around him is a total sham. When his best friend dies under suspicious circumstances, he becomes convinced that something is not right. What begins as everyday paranoia turns into a desperate escape in search of something that resembles, even if only faintly, freedom.

According to the director, "I’ve always been interested in addressing contemporary issues through fantasy: metaphor and storytelling allow you to narrate from another place, offering new perspectives on reality. In 2016, I wrote and directed the short film Decorado, where I used graphics inspired by 19th-century engravings, in the style of French artist Gustave Doré. The film also reflects the existential struggle of an ordinary mouse couple trapped in the mediocrity of a superficial world controlled by an omnipresent megacorporation: ALMA (Almighty Limitless Megacorporative Agency), which manufactures and dominates absolutely everything—as if Google, Amazon, and Monsanto had merged into a single entity.”

“Arnold, the protagonist, is experiencing multiple crises—existential, professional, emotional, and romantic—and his personal battle against this prefabricated society will define his journey in search of freedom. The film becomes a critical fable about the meaning of life and human freedom, suggesting that the only possible way out lies in real and sincere emotional bonds. True friendship and love emerge as salvation in the face of a world saturated with superficial relationships and empty work," he continues.

“And graphically, Decorado maintains continuity with the previous films and the original short, although on this occasion José Luis Ágreda's art direction brings its own visual identity, enriching the result: solid drawing and a narrative, expressive, and symbolic use of colour. The animation, directed by Pamela Poltronieri, strikes a delicate balance to ensure that the characters, despite being animals, convey deeply human emotions," he concludes.

Decorado is produced by Spanish producers Chelo Loureiro for Abano Producións, Iván Miñambres for Uniko, José María Fernández de la Vega for The Glow Animation Studio and María Y Arnold AIE and Portuguese producers Nuno Beato and Diogo Carvalho for Sardinha Em Lata. The French agency Le Pacte will manage the film’s international sales. The project has received support from RTVE, ETB, TVG, Movistar Plus+, ICAA, Agadic, the Provincial Council of Badajoz, the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. It will arrive in Spanish cinemas on 24 October, distributed by Barton Films.