'Gilbert', the short film produced in Malaga and nominated for a Goya, emerged from a workshop for the unemployed

There are movies that are valuable not only for their stories but also for the history behind them. One such film is 'Gilbert,' one of the newly nominated titles for the Goya Award for short animated films. It is a delightful film about friendship and joy, with the complicity of music, produced in Malaga. It represents a triumph of the power of the periphery in Spanish cinema, as the directors hail from Catalonia, Valencia, and Asturias, and met at a workshop for unemployed 'stop motion' artists. It was the Agencia Freak, the producer of the short film based on Avda. Molière, that knocked on the door of SUR to share the good news of its selection as a finalist for the Academy of Cinema awards. Thus, there are not just two local contenders for the Goya, the composer Paloma Peñarrubia (for '¡Caigan las rosas blancas!') and cinematographer Pau Esteve Birba (for 'Los tigres'), but three. And given the outcome, they stand a chance.

"It's my first production and my first nomination... when they announced it, we couldn't believe it," recalls Mónica Gallego, who, although it may not seem like it, is no newcomer. She founded Agencia Freak with her partner Millán Vázquez 25 years ago, specializing in the distribution of short films. Although they had already ventured into producing some documentaries, 'Gilbert' was their debut in fiction. And what a debut it was. They first passed the difficult test of the 'shortlist' of the fifteen animated shorts at the Goya Awards, and then, the nominations came with too much suspense. "At the reading, we thought we were out because they were naming them one by one and we weren't mentioned... 'We were the last ones!'," exclaims the novice producer and expert distributor, whose eyes light up as she recalls that moment in the office, accompanied by the rest of the agency members and her two daughters.

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"It deserves the Goya for its creativity, but also for the patience and that slow production process that goes against today's society where immediacy prevails,"

Mónica Gallego

Producer at Agencia Freak

Still in "shock," she says, the nomination makes sense. And it is largely due to its directors, Arturo Lacal, Alejandro Salueña, and Jordi Jiménez, who are the creators behind 'Gilbert,' a beautiful story starring a postman named after the short, who lives in an archipelago of floating houses and delivers letters with his gondola among the nautical neighbors. His flaw is that he cannot resist the temptation to keep a package in which he discovers a fiscornio, a wind instrument he does not know how to play despite his efforts. A tale in which the directors invested three years of work and thousands of hand-drawn illustrations for twelve minutes of charming and stylish cinema, without dialogue, but with a magnificent soundtrack.

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festivals worldwide have selected 'Gilbert,' which has been awarded in the USA, Brazil, Togo, and Spain. Now it's time for the Goya.

"It deserves the Goya for its creativity, but also for the patience and that slow process of development and production that goes against today's society where immediacy prevails. This is a collaborative effort where everyone contributes, and there lies the result," states the producer from Agencia Freak, highlighting that the three directors met at a 'stop-motion' workshop for the unemployed and ended up signing one of the great Spanish short films of the last year. "They sent me the dossier because they needed to finance those twelve minutes and we saw that it was a very universal proposal that could also travel through screens worldwide," recounts Gallego, who was inspired by this drive and also decided to produce for them.

"Young talent" in terms of cinema

The archipelago in the short also serves as a metaphor for the story of its creators who, from Malaga to Barcelona, passing through Valencia and Asturias, have managed to play together this soundtrack of joy that is 'Gilbert.' "From our first meeting, we understood each other, and although they were as novice as I was, they trusted me, and we launched," explains Mónica Gallego, adding that Agencia Freak has always bet on "young talent." "Well, let's say emerging talent, because they are teachers or chefs and we are between 38 and 50 years old. I mean, I am 49," specifies the producer, whose case is not so rare in the film industry. Just a few days ago, the Malaga Festival announced the Talent Award for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, who is 47 years old, although she debuted just four years ago, succeeding with 'Cinco lobitos' and now, with 'Los Domingos' standing out as a favorite and great rival of 'Sirat' at the next Goya gala.

"We had the whole map of Spain to choose the new office, but Malaga won," says the producer about the relocation of Agencia Freak to the Costa del Sol

Mónica Gallego does not know if they are favorites in their category, but she considers that the Goya is open. "We are there, and we are going to work hard," she says, convinced of giving the battle. Indeed, it is her moment, because this distribution business holds no secrets after 25 years in the field of spreading films. There is the same nomination for the Academy of Cinema awards and the fact that the film is available on Movistar and Filmin. "We have a fantastic movie, and I like to think that, with Freak in the production, it has grown and we have contributed our experience to these novice directors who were not connected with the sector," reveals Gallego, who, this Monday, was stepping into the nominees' party in Madrid and starting to believe it a bit more. She also has a suit for the red carpet, a design by the Malaga native Ángel Palazuelos with which she hopes to take the stage.

Moving to Malaga

But if 'Gilbert' has a story in front of and behind the camera, no less interesting is the story of Agencia Freak and its arrival in Malaga seven years ago, before the pandemic. Settled for over fifteen years in Extremadura, Mónica Gallego and her partner, Millán Vázquez, considered making the leap when the distributor and producer company grew and needed better communications for their numerous trips. "We had the whole map of Spain to choose the new office, but Malaga won," says the producer, who arrived here when the city was grabbing headlines as a cultural city, a very positive point for her company. But it also had a friendly climate, high-speed access to Madrid in just over two hours, and, even more importantly, an international airport for traveling to international festivals, something fundamental in their activity.

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"More than half of the shorts we distribute are foreign," reveals Mónica Gallego, from her office overlooking the path to La Térmica, with the Mediterranean Sea in the background. Something they did not have in Extremadura, a land they return to every summer. In their distribution catalog, they feature highly recognized titles or even qualified to participate in the Oscars. They have lost count of the awards they have accumulated, although there is no need to go so far. As an example, just look at 'Gilbert': selected in 65 festivals worldwide and awarded in the USA, Brazil, Togo, and several Spanish events. "And now we can bring a Goya to Malaga," concludes the veteran distributor and excited novice producer, who, like the postman from 'Gilbert,' wants to steal the package from the Academy. With a statuette instead of the fiscornio.