Follow a dream and make it happen. This is what Carlos Ruano, a native of Alicante, whose passion for cinema has brought him to this point, has achieved. “put the blanket on your head” and head to Madrid to look for a future among scripts, cameras, actors and filming. Now 43 years old, he is behind such series as “Physics and Chemistry” starring Jean Reno, “A Special Relationship” and Netflix’s new series “Breathe”.
Let’s start from the beginning. Ruano says that he has been interested in the world of cinema since a very young age. “When I was 15, I took my family’s camera and shot very bad short films with my friends.”. After studying at the Cabo de la Huerta Institute, he studied Physiotherapy at Miguel Hernández University because “my parents told me I should pursue a serious career.” When he finished he said “it’s now or never” and set off for Madrid.
There the beginnings were difficult, I combined studies and studies together. shared flat “falling apart”But there was also a positive side because he was with people who had the same concerns. He took a general film course at a school, in which he passed all sections and helped him have a global vision, and then completed a master’s degree in screenwriting at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
“I always wink at Alicante in the scripts, whenever someone leaves the show we either kill them or send them to the provinces, to the coast or to Benidorm.”
His first opportunity as a screenwriter came to him Youth TV series “Physics and Chemistry” of the late 2000s This event was the springboard that brought Úrsula Corberó, Maxi Iglesias, Andrea Duro and Javier Calvo to stardom. He conducted a test and creator and coordinator Carlos Montero was convinced and joined as a screenwriter. “He gave me a chance, it was very difficult at first because there is so much pressure on you,” he explains.
In the fourth season, Montero left and was promoted to script coordinator. “It was about coming and kissing the saint, it’s not normal to start a TV series that worked so well.”“He accepts it.
His subsequent works were in the series “Tell me a story”, where children’s stories were turned into thrillers, “Live singing” and ““A Private Affairs” starring Jean Reno and Aura Garrido, streaming on Amazon Primeand as in the horror movie “Thirteen Exorcisms”.
Between writing and scripting, Ruano directed four short films: In 2006, he continued with “Dulces”, in which he examined the theme of LGTBI in depth, in 2011 with “Turno de Noche”, in 2017 with “Piscina” and finally with “Tu scissors in my ear”, featuring Miguel Ángel Muñoz, one of the protagonists as one. He had “always” loved directing, but his professional career has led him to write more: “What I do with short films is to get rid of the urge to direct from time to time.”
“Scissors to my ear” continues to be known, was selected 95 times in different festivals and was deemed worthy of 28 awards. It was also on the verge of becoming a Goya nominee for best short film. “It’s a shame, they told me it’s very difficult, it’s not just about how well it works, it also depends on the people you know, I’m from the TV world, yes, but not so much from the movies.” says.
His latest work, in which he served as executive producer as well as script coordinator, Netflix’s new series “Breathe” is in the shooting phase. It’s one of the audiovisual giant’s biggest bets, and it’s headed by a cast. Najwa Nimri, Aitana Sánchez Gijón, Blanca Suárez and Manu Ríos.
The differences between writing a movie script and a TV series script are striking.both in time allotted and in volume: “A movie script takes a long time to make and you make versions, whereas in a television series it takes more work, but you go faster because it’s an industry that demands a certain history.”
And after all these years in Madrid, returned stateside and started a production company, but regrets the lack of involvement One of the management said: “Alicante does not have much help to make projects and compete, if the short ‘Tu scissors in my ear’ went so well, it is interesting to promote it as a director from Alicante, but the whole business is lost.”
In fact, Ruano gives the following example: City of LightIt is claimed that many people in the film world in Madrid are unaware that the facility is back in operation: “They know what it is, there is a feeling that it is closed, but there are still people who do not know that the complex is open”, there is a lack of publicity, the advantages of shooting in studios are being sold, the weather etc. . Many people ask me, “But wasn’t it closed?” he asks, and that’s a shame.”
Going from directing shorts to filming is a “big step” that he’s excited about, but it’s not part of his plans right now. What he will continue to do is Greetings to Alicante in all your work. “Every time someone leaves the series I try to include something from Alicante, so we either kill them or send them to the provinces, to the coast, to Benidorm, they all end up living in Alicante,” he says.