Mortelli: a Lost Case and a Nexus of Alicante Talent
Mortelli: a lost case threads together a network of creators and stories linked to Alicante. It sits alongside Raquel’s diary entries and a documentary portrait of Rachel Agea. The lineup includes a group of interns—Marina Donderis, Núria Poveda, and a filmmaker from Alicante, Marina Corton—each contributing to three short films in the second volume of a Valencian catalogue. Curts, curated by Valencia’s cultural institutions in 2023, unfolds under the umbrella of the Valencian Institute of Culture, with the first publication slated for January. The projects include fiction pieces related to Joan Vives Lozano, Alberto’s Bible, and a meditation on what remains after leaving the monastery, tied to the works of Angel Quel Sanz.
Across six concise films chosen from fifty-nine entries, the selection spotlights the Valencian Ensemble’s audiovisual output on national and international stages. The Instituto Valenciano de Cultura publishes two Curts volumes annually, each presenting six short films and a thorough promotional effort distributed over the year-long cycle.
Mortelli, a missing case from Alicante, marks the third animated short by Ben Fernández, born in Sant Joan d’Alacant in 1993. Following his earlier works Stunt Guide and Ms. Mbulu, Fernández earned the award for best animation short at the Valencian Audiovisual Awards in 2019. Set in Chicago, the film pays homage to classic film noir through a stylistic blend of black-and-white visuals with splashes of color while assembling a cast of fifty characters. The central figure is a retired private detective named Mortelli, portrayed by Louis Francisco Zaragoza as he undertakes a fresh investigation that stirs up old and new problems. Supporting talent includes Fina de la Torre, Leandro Mañana, Sara López, and Dolores Cardona.
This is Raquel’s not-so-secret diary is a documentary piece written and directed by Raquel Agea Ramos, known for short documentaries such as Wounds Against Oblivion and Never Made Me Sleep. Agea speaks about the documentary’s genesis, explaining that she wrote three diaries spanning pre-adolescence to early adulthood. When she moved, she found them again and read them all at once, discovering a common thread: the recurring presence of the same themes and people, especially the relationships with partners that appear across the years.
Rounding out the program is a collaboration led by Mariner Corton, an Alicante-based animator, with Marina Donderis and Núria Poveda. This animation project, produced by Pangur Animation, offers a social critique with understated, smoky moments. It centers on three friends entering adulthood and facing the realities of renting, budgeting, and the pressures of starting life on their own. The piece aims to illuminate the economic challenges faced by young people today, presenting a grounded, human-scale portrait of a transitional moment.
The jury responsible for the selection includes the festival’s production director and selector, alongside Maria Ruiz-Falcanyone, and Maria Lawrence, the archive technician of the Valencia Film Library, with Alexander Monsell serving in a curatorial capacity.
[Citations: Instituto Valenciano de Cultura archives; Valencian Curts program notes; festival jury roster]