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Great news for Peruvian audiovisual productions! The Peruvian short film “Mirror Like” directed by Jose Antonio Muñoz Santillana and Jorge Pablo Quiroz Sakem of the production company Wataska, received the award for “Best Science Fiction Short” at the Oregon Short Film Festival on 3 February 2018. The festival presents independent short films from all over the world and takes place in the city of Portland, United States.

Mirror Like beat other short films such as Lovely Legs by Abby Thompson (Vancouver, Washington), Aether by Jerry Brown Jr.  (Brooklyn, New York), Laboratory Conditions by Jocelyn Stamat (Los Angeles) and Rewinder by Jean-Luc Julien (Germany). This short Peruvian film stars Omar García as Aurelio, Claret Quea as Genaro, Rodrigo Pietro as Sebastián, Alejandra Saba as Natividad, José Media as Miguel, Macarena Piana as Fernanda and Laynol Zavaleta as Manuel. It is important to note that Omar García, the protagonist, was nominated as best actor at this film festival.

This major distinction is fruit of the work of the production company Wataska, led by José Antonio Muñoz and Jorge Pablo Quiroz, who created and wrote the trilogy “3 steps of regression” comprising two short films and a feature length film. The films explore different aspects of human behavior and question whether we are evolving or regressing as a species. “The Presence of Absence” is the first part of the trilogy. The second part “Like a Mirror” received an award from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture at the National Short Film Contest 2017. As has previously been mentioned, it also won “Best Short Science Fiction Film” at the Oregon Short Film Festival. The third part of the trilogy is called Implosion and is currently being written.

Mirror Like

Mirror Like tells the story of Aurelio, a psychologist and single father who tries not to go crazy when everything feels like a reflection of what happens to him. The background to this is a stunning event: for several months the sun has become invisible, darkness reigns and society has been plunged into total confusion. Fernanda, the youngest of his two children, suffers from a rare disease that slowly begins to attack him too. Since his wife went missing, Aurelio has become the only support for his children, Nevertheless, he’s close to breaking point.

About the Oregon Short Film Festival

Oregon Short Film Festival is an independent film screening in the north-east of the US. Held at Portland’s Avalon Theatre, the festival represents a mix of national and international short films in all genres.

Mikel and Brooke Fair created this competition in 2016, thanks to the constant and enthusiastic support that the state of Oregon has provided in recent years. The Oregon Short Film Festival has become one of the most important independent short film festivals in the state of Oregon, thanks to the jury’s excellent choice of films.

This award for Mirror Like at the Oregon Short Film Festival is a reflection of the good work that Peruvian producers have been doing, constantly striving for their work to cross borders and to shine on the international stage. This motivates small production companies to show their work. Hearing the loud and endless applause after each short or feature length film is the greatest award that an artist and their production team can receive.