Carlota Pereda was born in Madrid and studied at the ECAM. She began her career in TV, developing scripts for Periodistas. She went on to collaborate in different capacities (including screenwriting and director) in other television shows such as Mis adorables vecinos, Los hombres de Paco, Águila Roja, Luna, el misterio de Calenda, B&b, de boca en boca, El secreto de Puente Viejo, and Acacias 38.
Her first short film was Las rubias (The Blondes). Her sophomore short film, Piggy (Cerdita), won the Forqué Award and the Goya Award for Best Short Film. Another short film, There Will Be Monsters, followed. She adapted Cerdita to a full-length format in her debut feature, Piggy (2022), which won the Méliès d’Or. In October 2022, she began shooting of her second feature, La ermita (The Hermitage).
indieactivity: What inspired you to direct this film?
Carlota Pereda (CP): I saw this lonely teenage girl at the pool- the same pool the story is filmed at – and it got me thinking: why does she come here all alone? Why does she come when there’s no one else around?
Watch the trailer for PIGGY
Did you start writing with a cast in mind?
Carlota Pereda (CP): No. I spent two years looking for the leading actress until I found the perfect one, Laura Galán.
How long did you take to complete the script? (Do you have a writing process?)
Carlota Pereda (CP): Not very long. The idea came to me at the same pool I shot it at and I wrote it that same afternoon while my daughter was napping.
Why do you think the topics of body shaming and body image against women are so important to talk about in today’s society?
Carlota Pereda (CP): We live in an increasingly superficial society, centered around social media where worth is based on perception. It is a truly terrifying world for young women to grow up in Women have always and historically been firstly judged for our looks. That has to stop.
Referring to the last question, do you also think that men also suffer from body shaming and body image? Please explain if so.
Carlota Pereda (CP): Of course, they do. Body shaming is something that relates to aporophobia, which is another form of classicism. I think it’s especially infuriating.
Have you ever experienced body-shaming or felt pressured to look like everybody else’s definition of beauty (skinny, blonde or brunette hair, fuller lips etc)?
CP: Sure! I’m a bisexual woman from a Catholic background in a post-dictatorship country. I wanted to be a film director in a family of lawyers. I’ve been forced to conform to a norm all my life. That’s why Almodovar was so important in Spain. He opened the windows to a new world. A freer one. Representation matters.
Which scene (that made the cut) was the hardest to shoot?
CP: The underwater scenes. It was the ONLY cold day of September. And the camera broke.
The man who saves the young girl, does he represent the idea that we all have a guardian angel or that Karma really does exist?
CP: I think movies die when you explain them. If I say what it represents I close the door to different interpretations which is always more enriching and interesting. You have to find your own answer to it.
What worked better in this latest production that mightn’t have worked so well in the last one you did?
CP: Well, “The Blondes” worked very well too. But “Piggy” is a more personal project and I think it translates to the screen.
Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business that you struggle with?
CP: Everything is a struggle in independent filmmaking. Casting, location scouting, financing, distribution… It never ends.
Where do you think your strengths lie as a filmmaker?
CP: Honesty and passion. I only make films I would really want to watch. Also, I’m pretty agile in times of stress. The bigger the problem, the calmer I am.
How was the film financed?
CP: We got a grant from La Comunidad de Madrid and ICAA (Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales.
What do you hope audiences get from your film?
CP: I hope they relate to Sara’s journey and that it gets them thinking.
What else have you got in the works?
CP: I’m working on my first feature. And I’ve just finished a new short, “There will be monsters”.
What would your words of advice be to a young girl or any woman in general who is experiencing body shaming?
CP: You are beautiful, they don’t know s***.
Describe Piggy in one word?
CP: Adolescence.
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