A new year ...a new blog

Hello everyone and welcome!

Yes, a new year at school has just started and, as I've been doing for the last 5 years, this is a new edition of my / your "EOI blog". 

Some of you guys (as well as former students of mine) have been asking me lately if I intended to have a go again. A few even told me you were thinking of writing some to get it going. The thing is I had no clue how to start it even if I had something from Fernando, one of my 2º Avanzado students this year, an article of opinion with his personal take on the harsh ongoing economic crisis.

So I was reading the press on my Mac when I came across a headline that caught my attention: "Kismet Diner gana el Manhattan Short Film Festival". Well, it suddenly dawned on me that I had the perfect excuse to kick this blog off!

You know, I had been lucky enough, thanks to a former student (and a faithful follower of my blogs!), to know that this self-proclaimed global festival was held in Salamanca alongside other Spanish cities (madrid, Bilbao and Valencia, no less!). People were cordially invited to attend the screening, during three days, of ten short films, the finalists we were told, among over six hundred productions from nearly 50 countries across the globe, and then vote for our favourite film as well as the best actor / actress. Being all of them in original version, I felt instantly appealed and I went to the venue, the Museo del Comercio. 

I really enjoyed the shorts on offer, different from each other in style and content, featuring different languages, from English to Finnish, from French to Russian, but all of them, to my mind, excellent quality. I've always believed that many times a good short film can move you much more than a 2-hour-long feature, you know, too often the commercial yet mindless Hollywood blockbuster. 

There was one short that I especially loved, Seb Edwards' British production "Friday", the hard yet captivating story of  a teenage boy struggling to come to terms with the loss of his mother on the anniversary of her death. Set in the wake of the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London, the film stars talented young actor Reece Noi. I found the film's cinematography utterly mesmerizing, the story deeply stirring and Noi's performance so compelling, so much so that I had no doubt Friday was my definite choice.

This is the only stuff I've been able to find, the official trailer. Seemingly, it has won many awards worldwide, including one in Spain, in Tarragona to be precise.

I was somewhat disappointed to read that Friday did not win the award (it actually scooped a modest fifth spot) but at least it was kind of small consolation that Noi was voted best actor.

So the winner, as the headline above reads, is another British production directed by English filmmaker Mark Nunneley. Mind you, the truly romantic story seems to be set in an American diner (spelt with a single "n" - a roadside restaurant, that is). Even though I enjoyed the sweet short, I still preferred the much grittier Friday, but I must admit the audience present in Museo del Comercio that evening started applauding the film (Kisnet Diner, I mean) rather enthusiastically the minute it ended. They must have been right to do so since it eventually won the coveted top prize!

So this is the clip of the short feature for you to decide it is a worthy winner of the global festival. Needless to say, it is in original version and subtitled in Spanish. You guys are all welcome to send in your comments about Kisnet Diner. 
José Luis Antigüedad