English Files centers on the UFO phenomenon in Spain, a movement that surged during the 1970s with waves of sightings and stories of encounters with unidentified objects that filled newspapers and television programs. The project began as a photographic journey through the country, led by Alicante based photographer Jose Luis Carrillo, who envisioned a book built from real experiences and places tied to these events. While exploring sites, consulting experts, and meeting the figures at the heart of notable cases, Carrillo discovered that a still image book could not fully capture the lived reality. The aim evolved into a documentary short film as well, expanding the narrative with moving images and sound. Guillermo Alcalá Santaella joined the team as the producer, completing the circle of creators behind the work.
English Files traces the UFO phenomenon in Spain from its exuberant seventies heyday when programs linked to Jimenez del Oso dominated public conversation to its more recent expressions. The project seeks to recover remarkable cases and preserve their emotional resonance. Among the stories highlighted is that of Prospera Munoz, who is often regarded as the first person in Spain to experience an abduction, an event reportedly connected to an emergency landing provoked by unidentified objects in Manises in 1979. Also featured is Adrian Sanchez, who recalls being pursued by a UFO. As Carrillo explains, the search extends to more contemporary accounts gathered from people aged around fifty and older, aiming to present phenomena from a personal, first person perspective.
Prospera Munoz, considered the first person to be abducted in Spain, is one of those depicted in the book. Jose Luis Carrillo
In Carrillo’s view, the project is not about offering extraterrestrial explanations. The material remains rooted in anecdotes and human experiences. The photographer emphasizes the value of portraying the human side of these episodes and what happens to people who encounter real or imagined UFO phenomena. The goal is to illuminate the deeper human undertones how such events influence beliefs, emotions, and life choices. Some subjects turn to religion, join ufology groups, or explore meditation and yoga in search of meaning. These threads form a tapestry that goes beyond the spectacle of the unexplained.
There is a moment when a child, while walking through a sparsely populated area of Spain, recalls witnessing two luminous orbs crossing the sky and then vanishing. He does not claim an explanation, yet that memory sparked a lifelong curiosity in him. English Files unfolds in two directions on one hand offering intimate portraits of people who have experienced the phenomena captured through their feelings and memories whether recent or from the past and on the other hand reflecting the places where these encounters occurred. The imagery is deliberately cinematic a ufological lens that transports viewers to the actual landscapes of Spain and invites them to imagine how such moments unfolded in real time.
Another of the images from the project Spanish Files Jose Luis Carrilo
The book is slated for completion in October with Carrillo handling photography and Daniel Martinez directing recording and shaping sound. The documentary is in production with a grant of five thousand euros from a Ministry of Culture cultural subsidy program. The team traveled roughly ten thousand kilometers from Seville to Finisterre, traversing Spain by car in search of authentic settings for conversations and atmospheres free from a large production crew. This approach aims to preserve a sense of naturalness and intimacy letting the subjects speak for themselves.
According to Carrillo, although the public prominence of the UFO phenomenon faded after the 1970s sightings continue to occur. Modern society tends toward skepticism and rational explanations often dismissing events that lack scientific corroboration or that belong to decades past. English Files shifts the emphasis away from sensational theories and toward the people themselves. The project seeks to reveal how individuals respond to extraordinary experiences and what these responses reveal about belief doubt and the human search for meaning. In the end the storyteller remains focused on people rather than on mysteries offering a fresh perspective that challenges conventional storytelling about the unknown.