· making visible the invisible ·
· Documentary filmmaker ·
working on personal and comissioned projects
ELENA MOLINA (Madrid, 1986)
Fascinated by the beauty of the simple and common things. I like to work with images where poetry and the absurd make visible the invisible. As independent director, I havee focused on arts, human rights and gender issues and I have carried out projects in Burkina Faso, Sahara Dessert, France, South Korea, Kuwait, Cabo Verde and Haiti.
I have carried out both commissioned and personal projects, being recognised as one of the most influential spanish documentary directors by the renowned magazine e-cartelera. My work has been seen in institutions such as Pompidou, Caixa Forum, CCCB -Contemporary Culture Center of Barcelona-, The Hummer Museum (L.A), Palau Robert, BOZAR Brussels, Museum or the Anthropological Museum of Madrid or in channel as HBO, TV3, RTVE, ALjazeera International, France 3, Via Stella and Filmin.
I’ve written and directed five short documentaries: Yungay7020 (2021), All I need is a ball (2020), Laatash (2019), Quand j’étais petit (2016) and The Puppets Cemetery (2014).
In 2018 I premiered my first feature documentary, Rêve de Mousse co-written with Isaki Lacuesta and co-produced with TVC. In 2023 I premiered my second feature documentary, REMEMBER MY NAME, produced by Boogaloo Films and Les Films d’ICI in co-production with France TV, Movistar+, Al Jazeera International and Via Stella.
Nowadays I am developing my first fiction script The eels dilemma, one of the 5 awarded projects, among 959 projects, to receive the award and developing program of the “Cambio de plano” development program organized by NETFLIX and DAMA, selected in the Script Residencie of the Catalan cinema academy runned by Carla Simón.
As commissioned projects, I have directed the documentary series El robo del códice for RTVE, Spanish Television, and The hell on earth for Hand on fire for HBOMAX, aswelll as several music-videos and commercials for Sony Music, Red Cross, MSC, DG-ECHO, Elisava University, NCDA and other international NGOs.
I hold a degree in audiovisual communication by the Complutense university of Madrid and specialized in Creative Documentary at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. I started to work as assistant director of Isaki Lacuesta and producer Marta Andreu. I continued studying documentary with directors as Patricio Guzman, Nicolàs Philibert, Frederick Wiseman and cuban director Belkis Vega (EICTV film school). I collaborated with Belkis as cinematographer and coordinator of the Creative Documentary for Women Workshop at LaBonne Cultural Centre in Barcelona for 5 years and in the Observational Documentary Workshop on Menendez Pelayo University.
· AWARDS ·
EL DILEMA DE LAS ANGUILAS | Fiction Feature Film (in development)
DAMA & NETFLIX development award “CAMBIO DE PLANO” program 2021
OTHER SELECTIONS:
Acció Cinema del festival l’Alternativa de Barcelona 2022 | La Residencia de Navarra 2022-2023
REMEMBER MY NAME | Documentary Feature Film 2023 | Director, writer and co-producer | Co-production with Boogaloo Films, Les Films d’Ici, Implicate.org, France 3, al Jazeera Internacional, Via Stella
Biznaga de Plata Premio del Público 26 Málaga Film Festival
Best WIP DocumentaMadrid Final Cut 2022
Best WIP Atlàntida Film Festival 2022
OTHER SELECTIONS:
Candidate for 9 Goya Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Direction, Best Direction of Photography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Special Effects, Best Documentary Film | XVI Gaudí Awards | L’Alternativa/Festival de Cinema Independent de Barcelona – Seccions Paral·leles | Festival Internacional de Cinema Independent d’Eivissa – Panorama | Festival UII Nu – Opening Film | Dones Visuals 2020 | DOKLeipzig 2021 | MiradasDoc 2021 | DocsBarcelona 2021 SpeedMeetings | Acció Vivir de Dones Visuals | ESODOC European Social Documentary 2019 | Femmes Films Méditerranée in Marseille 2019
YUNGAY7020 | Documentary short film 2021 | Co-Director, cinematographer, writer
Best Short Documentary Cortada Film Festival Vitoria-Gasteiz 2021
Zinebi International Film Festival Bilbao 2021
COMPAÑERAS DE VIAJE new feature project in development
DAMA & NETFLIX development award “CAMBIO DE PLANO” program
ALL I NEED IS A BALL | Documentary short film 2019 | Director, cinematographer, writer
Best Short Documentary Madriff Madrid Indie Film Festival 2021
Best Short Documentary 26 LESGAICINEMAD Festival Internacional de Cine LGBT+ de Madrid 2021
Best Short Documentary Feminist Film Festival Bucharest 2021
Official Selection BFI FLARE British Film Institute LGBT+ Film Festival 2021
Official Selection 34th BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTIQ+ FILM FESTIVAL 2021
Official Selection ZINEGOAK 18 Festival GayLesbiTrans de Bilbao 2021
Official Selection OFFside International Film Festival 2020
Official Selection32º Filmfest Dresden. International Short Film Festival. Germany 2020
Official Selection 29. FCM-PNR. Festival de Cine de Madrid. Spain 2020
Official Selection Festival de Cine Invisible Bilbao Human Rigths Film Festival 2020
Official Selection 13º Kuki International Short Film Festival For Children and Youth Berlin. Germany 2020
Official Selection 21. Semana del Cortometraje de la Comunidad de Madrid. Spain
Official Selection Barcelona Sports Film Festival 2021
LAATASH | Documentary short film 2019 | Director, cinematographer, writer
Audience AWARD IbizaCineFEST & FILMIN Fem-cine 2021
Best Short Documentaryat FICIE International Independent Cinema Film Festival of Elche 2019
Best director CIMA awardat ALCANCES Documentary Film Festival, Cádiz, 2019
Best Iberoamerican Documentary Short Film Special Mention , Shorts México 2019
Audience Award Ull-Nu International Film Festival, Andorra 2019
Best Short Film Special Mention of the JuryUll-Nu International Film Festival 2019
European Artist Selected for the Contested Desires Creative European Tour Exhibition
OTHER SELECTIONS:
Ethnocineca – International Documentary Film Festival Vienna 2020 | WomanhoodFestival Competition Uganda 2020 | FICEG Environmental Cinema in Gabes, Tunisia 2020| DOCFEED Eindhoven Documentary Film Festival 2020 | MUSOC Human Rights Film Festival of Asturias 2020 | Media Library Visions du Reel, Nyon 2019 | Interfilm Festival Berlin, 2019 | Arab Film Festival San Francisco, 2019 | Cinèma Vert, Tunesie 2019 | Directed by Women Spain 2019 | PNR Madrid International Film Festival 2019 |Fisahara International Film Festival, 2019 | ZINEBI, International Festival of Documentary and Short Film Bilbao, 2019 | Giza Eskubideen Zinemaldia/ Cine y Derechos Humanos Donostia/ San Sebastián 2019 | Cortada International Film Festival, Victoria i Gasteiz 2019 | Cineambiente Torino 2019 | Nature Film Festival Foradecamp 2019 Official Documentary | Protesta, Social Film Festival Vic, 2019
RÊVE DE MOUSSE | Documentary Feature Film 2018 | Director, cinematographer, writer and co-producer | Co-production with TV3
Best Director Award Indian World International Film Festival 2019
Official National Documentary Selection Festival Internacional DocumentaMadrid 2018
Official Documentary Selection Festival Cine Español Cinespaña Toulouse 2018
Official Documentary Selection Festival International Cinema Independent d’Eivissa 2019 Panorama Selection Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Santander SANFICI 2019
I Online Film Festival Directed by Women
Official Documentary Selection Adventure Travel Film Festival Australia 2020
Official Documentary Selection SomCinema International Film Festival Lleida 2019
Official Documentary Selection Adventure Travel Film Festival Scotland 2019
Official Documentary Selection Festival Cine y Televisión Reino de León 2019
Documentary Showcase Burgos University 2019
Best Documentary Candidate XI Gaudís Award Catalan Cinema Academy
Official Documentary Selection Invisible Cinema International Human Rights Film festival, Bilbao 2019
Official Documentary Selection Festival Internacional Cine Derechos Humanos Panamá Barannà 2018
QUAND J’ÉTAIS PETIT | Documentary short film 2016 | Director and writer
Best Short Documentary MAAM National Anthropological Museum, Madrid 2020
Best Human Rights Filmin Unseen Cinema International Film Festival “Film Sozialak”, Bilbao 2016
Best Foreign Documentary Film at China Academy Awards of Documentary Film (CAADF) 2016
Best Documentary Short FilmFestival International Ull-Nu, Andorra 2017
Best Documentary Short Film14th BarcelonaVisualSound, Barcelona 2017
Best Documentary Short Film“Cortos en Femenino”, Spain 2017
Award Megacurt III Bibliocurts Film Festival, Barcelona 2017
Prix Regard SocialRencontres Documentaires – 22e Festival du Film d’Action Sociale, Lorraine 2018
OTHER SELECTIONS:
34th edition of the European Film Festival of Lille, France 2018 | “La Muestra del Sur” Social Cinema Film Festival, Córdoba 2017 | ASFilm Festival, Roma 2017 | Women in Films, Spain 2017 | The Cinema of The Future Society “A-FestFilm ARGJIRO ROZAFA, Romania 2017 | Foro Pens-Arte por Derechos Humanos, la paz y las garantías de no repetición “La Paz es Ahora” Cineteca Nacional Bogotá, Colombia 2017 | Am Egypt International Film Festival, El Cairo, 2017 | 4th NIFF NOIDA international Film Festival, Noida, India 2017 | International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra, Creta 2017 | Zanzibar International Film Festival, Tanzania 2017 | Mostra Internacional de Films de Dones Barcelona 2017 | Mostra Internacional de Films de Dones Pamplona 2017 | Mostra Internacional de Films de Dones Huesca 2017 | Mostra Internacional de Films de Dones Barbastro 2017 | 10th Northern Wave International Film Festival in Iceland, 2017 | Festival ENTRETODOS, Human Rigths Short Film Festival of Sao Paolo, Brasil 2017.
THE PUPPETS CEMETERY | Documentary short film 2014 | Director and cinematographer
“Better Spanish short directed by women” 2014 Cortos en Femenino 2014. Trama
Best Film in SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY Siracusa Internacional Film Festival 2016
Best Short Documentary Film Women&Films Festival Valencia 2014
OTHER SELECTIONS:
35th FIFA Festival International du Film sur l’Art, 2017 Montreal, Canadá | 9th International WAMMFest Women And Minorities in Media, EEUU 2016 | Official Selection Women on film Spain, Madrid 2016 | Visionaria International Short Film Festival 2015, Siena, Italy | 6th China InternationalNew Media Short Film Festival, Shenzhen, China 2015| Ethnocineteca; Ethnographic and Documentary Filmfest Vienna 2015 | Antropofest, International Documentary Film Festival, Praga 2015 | Femcine, Santiago de Chile 2014 | Zimbawe Women Film Festival 2014 | Festival Internacional de cortos de Uruguay 2014 | Festival de Cine Invisible y Derechos Humanos Bilbao 2014 | Ponferrada International Film Festival 2014 | Muestra de cIne Realizado por Mujeres de Huesca 2014 | Mostra Internacional de Films de Dones, Barcelona 2014
