the hidden smile - Press | Sundance Institute

PRESS KIT
Nanouk Films presents
THE HIDDEN SMILE
by Ventura Durall
INDEX
INDEX
Presentation of the project
Synopsis
Introduction: Director’s note
Artistic Credit List
Crew Credit List
Curriculums
Contact
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PRESENTATION
OF THE PROJECT
PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT
Original title: El somriure amagat
Duration: 13 min
Format: HD
Genre: Documentary with fictional dispositives
Language: Amaric, english, catalan
Director: Ventura Durall
Script: Miguel Llansó/ Ventura Durall
Cinematographer: Mauro Herce
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SYNOPSIS
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Following a 10-year-old kid who arrives at the Ethiopian capital after escaping from his home and his misfortunes to integrate into a street
children group, The Hidden Smile constructs a realistic tale on the values that flourish in a society formed by children.
LONG SYNOPSIS
Daniel, a 10-year-old Ethiopian kid, roams alone the streets of Addis Abeba by night. He is one of 170.000 children without family who
inhabitate the city.
He has just escaped from his home on the countryside where he lived with his stepmother.
His biological parents are dead: he never knew his father; his mother died right in front of his eyes when a car ran her over.
During his nightly wandering, Daniel encounters a group of street children who live in an old abandoned taxi. He asks them if he can
sleep there, but the children steal the little money that he has on him and chase him away, threatening to beat him up if they see him
again near their place.
Without fear of the possible reprisals, the following morning Daniel starts to follow the children in the city, endeavouring to get his money
back; but he finds that they mock him with indifference, spending his stolen money on several entertainments.
Far from being intimidated, Daniel obstinately continues with his pursuit.
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Perhaps he intuitively feels that between children there is a hidden complicity made of solidarity and tenderness, a hidden smile that they
share and that may carry him to join the group.
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DIRECTOR’S
NOTE
INTRODUCTION: DIRECTOR’S NOTE
In Addis Abeba, the Ethiopian capital, with a population of 3M people, there are more than 170.000 kids struggling for a life in the
streets. But this situation is not specific to Addis Abeba. In most of the main cities of Africa and the Third World this is sadly common.
The kids have been led to the streets due to different reasons. Maybe they already were born in the street, or their parents died, or they
left their home’s violence or extreme poverty behind.
As a matter of fact, these children become sort of non-existing, not appearing in any register, in the best cases reported as “missing”.
Lost in the streets of the city, they end up creating small communities of kids who struggle for a living begging for money, working as
hawkers or perpetrating small criminal acts.
The Hidden Smile wants to draw attention to their capacity to fight, survive and surmount as human beings.
In 1931, Jorge Amado wrote his book “Captains of the Sand” in which he explained the adventures of a group of kids in Salvador de
Bahia. The stories he told are easy to extrapolate to what happens nowadays in Addis Abeba, 80 years later.
In his book, Amado acted as a lyrical chronicler of this boys’ dreams. He masterly reflected the joy of the simple fact of existing, the
small moments of happiness emerging in their conversations, how they enjoy living in the city and making it “theirs” letting it become
their playground, while themselves ending up as genuine street poets... Altogether expanding a very tough background which is however
depicted with a tender feeling, avoiding to be too sentimental or simple in the discourse, we see how the kids learn to respect one another.
The film ends up weaving (departing from innocence and the capacity of human beings to surmount as we face our rite of passage into
adult life) a story full of hope and by all means without naivety.
After three trips to Ethiopia where I have had the chance to get closer to this reality, I have understood bit by bit the mechanisms that
operate this parallel society formed by innocent beings, without references or values, who need to invent their coexistence, lacing solidarity and friendship amongst themselves in order to face a hostile and adverse world, but also a world to which they have to be linked to
survive.
It is also about perceiving how these boys emerge from this situation stating freedom as a supreme value - when at the same time they
would give an arm for a caress- imagining a true dream of an autonomous and free future.
These boys are the main characters of The Hidden Smile.
To tell the story of these kids we propose a new production design, through which we enter deep into a certain reality where we introduce
real elements to interact in order to tighten it up and to push its boundaries thus obtaining definition of the questions we wonder about.
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We do not intend to just capture a reality, neither to be re-building it, we will only treat it in a way it can shed a new light and attempt to
give an answer.
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ARTISTIC CREDIT
LIST
THE STREET CHILDREN
Daniel
Yohannes T.
Yohannes H.
Habtom
Andnet
Yidnekachew A.
Getahun
Tamrat
Yidnekachew S.
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CREW CREDIT
LIST
DIRECTION
Ventura Durall
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mauro Herce
SCRIPT
Ventura Durall
Miguel Llansó
EDITION
Martí Roca
Ventura Durall
DIRECT SOUND
Miguel Llansó
Samuel Tesfaye
SOUND POSTPRODUCTION AND ORIGINAL MUSIC
Diego Pedragosa
DIRECTOR ASSISTANT
Yohannes Feleke
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CURRICULUMS
Biofilmography VENTURA DURALL i SOLER (Barcelona, 1974)
Scriptwriter, director, fiction and documentary producer.
ESCAC (Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya) graduate with a major in script.
In 2000 he established the production company NANOUK FILMS with the intention to create an artistic platform of reference in the
catalan and european audiovisual scene and a new comunication canal of investigation between documentary and fiction fields.
From this platform (www.nanouk.tv) a reference trade in music clips, advertising and videoart scenes has also been created.
He focus his pedagogical vocation from ESCAC, as he is the head of documentary’s department, he supervise the diploma thesis projects
and leads the Documentary and Society Master.
Among his works there stand out:
“The two lives of Andrés Rabadán” (Nanouk Films, TVC, 2008, 35mm, 84 min.) that has won, among other recognitions, the Best
European Independent Film in 2009 at the ECU Festival in Paris, the Grand Prix by the Jury at the Annecy Spanish Cinema Biennal
in 2010, three Gaudís Awards by the Catalan Academy in 2010 (best lead actor, best secundary actor and best secundary actress), Best
Catalan Feature Film Award in 2009 at the Som Cinema’s Festival, and the Audience Award at the Festival International du Premier Film
d’Annonay.
“The forgiveness” (Nanouk Films, 2009, HD, 65 min.), documentary that has been awarded as best documentary at the Belgrade International Documentary Festival, the Audience Award at the Mon-doc International Documentary Festival, and different ricognition at the
main TV programme international festivals, as the Silver Award Winner at World Media Festival. It has also been selected in the main
World International Documentary Festivals like IDFA, DOKLEIPZIG, THESSALONICA or DOCSDF.
He has also directed and produced the following documentaries: “Isla negra, illa blanca” (52 min., Nanouk films, TVN, TV3, Fundación
Neruda and COAIB), “Hablemos del documental” (52 min. ESCAC, Nanouk Films) and “La dama dels coloms” (13 min. UAB Creative
Documentary Award, FAD Audiovisual-Barcelona Plató Award).
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CURRICULUMS
LA PRODUCTORA: NANOUK FILMS
NANOUK Films was created in 2000 by ESCAC (Escuela Superior de Cine y Audiovisuales de Catalunya) graduates.
They had a clear goal in mind: to become a landmark in Spain’s audiovisual industry.
The strength of this goal is evident in all of our work, thanks to our two cornerstones: our bursting creativity and rigorous management.
They have helped us consolidate our carreer and live up to our expectations.
We cover lots of areas inside the audiovisual field: creative documentary, fiction for TV and film, videoclips, corporate videos and advertising.
If the name defines in some way the destiny of a person, Nanouk is no exception: our name is reflected through the creative documentaries that we have produced. Pieces with a clear universal point of view, like “The forgiveness”, “Isla Negra, Illa Blanca”, “Je Ne Suis Pas
Moi-Meme”, “La Vida Después…” or “Salidas Programadas” that put us at the top of Spain’s documentary production.
NANOUK Films’s videoclips have become a reference in Spain. We have made pieces for Enrique Bunbury, Marlango, Nena Daconte,
MClan, Christina Rosenvinge or Andrés Calamaro between others. Some of them have won international prizes. Nanouk Films has also
stepped into the feature film area with its first full-length: “The two lives of Andrés Rabadán”, a film that has left a mark.
All of this is possible thanks to the know-how and symbiotic relationship of our working force and the help of all of our associates.
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CONTACT
SHORT FILM DISTRIBUTION
Josep Prim
Marvin&Wayne Short Film Distribution
[email protected]
telf: 0034 934863313
www.marvinwayne.com
NANOUK FILMS
c/ Pau Claris 97, 1º1ª
08009 Barcelona
telf: 934 196 022
www.nanouk.tv
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