Sense FilTRES, a triptych made up of nine episodes each lasting between 17 and 19 minutes, has just been world-premiered in the official competitive section for fiction at the South International Series Festival in Cádiz, the third edition of which is currently unspooling. With screenplays written by Aleix Mestre, Ainhoa Bolaños and Afioco Gnecco (a filmmaker who was Goya-nominated for his short film Ciao bambina, co-starring and directed with actress Carolina Yuste) and direction by Jiajie Yu Yan (a Goya hopeful in 2019 for the short film Xiao Xian), Sandra Reina (the short El bus) and Bolaños, this teen drama employs the very same tools as those used by today’s youngsters (computer games, mobile-phone apps and so on) to address them directly and sincerely – with no filters.

Shot entirely in Catalan, the series shines a highly sensitive spotlight on the stories of three young people whose lives take a sudden turn when their virtual selves clash with reality. Through three storylines, each lasting three episodes, the show explores the conflict eating away at these characters, the dichotomy between the digital identity they build for themselves (their avatars) and the real world they live in. In the end, it’s all too easy for them to lie and deceive themselves on the internet. This all happens during a stage of their lives involving growth, exploration and self-discovery – a time when their lives are intense, and they may endure moments of sexual confusion, abuse and discrimination, which makes the virtual world appear like a dangerously comfortable refuge.

The first part of the triptych – the first three episodes – revolves around Charlie (a character played truthfully, transparently and sincerely by Nico Ariso, who is able to endure some very lengthy close-ups without batting an eyelid), a 15-year-old lad who, at the start of his gender transition, meets Carla through an online video game. However, he is full of self-doubt and begins using apps that alter his image so that he can see himself in accordance with how he feels. But with the help of his family and friends, he will manage to tread a path towards self-acceptance.

The series includes two additional storylines: Alicia (played by Luana Rocha) loves composing trap music, and by pure chance, she meets Charles Vortexx, a famous singer who wishes to open the doors of the music world up to her. A connection is forged between them, expressed through raunchy messages. When he invites her to his studio to record a track, it spirals into a painful experience that leaves the girl with a deep scar. And in the third story, Emma (Lara Oliete) is training to be a professional boxer while in a steady relationship with Adri. When Jana, a free-spirited and alluring girl, turns up at her gym, it casts doubt on everything. What starts off as an online chat and heated words awakens something in Emma that she had never allowed herself to explore before, and she becomes trapped between the illusion of a perfect partner and the pull of the freedom she is now discovering.

Sense FilTRES is a Vértigo Films and 3Cat production; the latter firm also takes care of its international sales.