The creative duo Isaki Lacuesta and Isa Campo, long-time collaborators and partners in life, have unveiled a new cinematic harvest—two anticipated volumes that signal a golden phase: Double Digit and Between Two Waters. Their collaboration predates the Berlinale’s 2022 One Year, One Night competition; they have known each other since their teens and began exploring the audio-visual world together with a simple video about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“We can think of this as our first documentary,” the pair jokes. The film One Year, One Night, which centers on the Bataclan attack in Paris on October 21, screens in cinemas now. Recently, on Tuesday the 19th, they presented their work in Girona at the Truffaut, as part of the Temporada Alta festival program.
From that initial video to projects like One Year, One Night and the series Blackout, Campo’s directorial debut and Lacuesta’s artistry have followed a shared arc that unfolds very naturally and sometimes chaotically. Lacuesta is the one who guides the artistic name; the person behind the signature is Isaki Lacuesta.
“Working together grew steadily. I hadn’t planned to pursue cinema, but he was clear about it. I studied Engineering and Philosophy,” he notes.
What drew them together at first was occasional collaboration during documentation and during shoots for films like Cravan vs Cravan or The Legend of Time. Yet Campo explains that once he became fully hooked on cinema, the collaboration really clicked with The Next Skin.
first scenario
Initially, Lacuesta asked for help because Campo wasn’t directly involved, which offered broader perspective for the shoot. As the project evolved, Campo took a more central role: there was a key female character—a female screenwriter—that he felt was essential.
“I had never written before, but we found ourselves writing and sharing ideas. I felt a strong connection,” recalls Campo, who co-directs this film, a project that has not been shot in over a decade and features Àlex Monner, Emma Suárez, and Sergi López.
That lengthy process allowed other works to surface, including The Condemned, where Campo was deeply involved in script and directing actors. “I’m a quirky screenwriter—always on set, adjusting lines and rehearsing with the performers. The Condemned required intense rewrites, and I loved it. We haven’t stopped since,” Campo explains, listing contributions to The Endless Night, Double Steps, and the very sequence of One Year, One Night shot at a children’s center as a personal focus.
The working method is not rigid. A third screenwriter, Fran Araújo, joined during the writing phase, turning the duo into a trio with equal footing. Araújo and the others synchronized their voices so that it never feels like three separate authors worked on the same script.
“Collaborating with Fran had to be very punctual. We brought him in during the preparation of The Next Volume because we had been at it so long that perspective faded. We learned a lot from each other and it’s liberating to be three now. The number of projects has grown; many will fall before one comes out,” the director and screenwriter notes, outlining a Movistar+ series in development and other television efforts alongside Lacuesta.
Thus, the trio works by summarizing and absorbing the project before writing, yet each film follows its own path. “It depends on the project and the moment. Sometimes someone drives the pace, others contribute, and sometimes parts are distributed according to each writer’s preferred approach,” Girona adds.
an invisible business
Though they have filmed together for years—The Condemned began in 2009—Campo’s role only recently gained visibility. Several factors have converged: heightened social awareness, greater recognition of screenwriters, and solo projects like the acclaimed Maixabel screenplay co-written with director Icíar Bollaín, who is preparing a new production.
“We co-directed The Next Volume, co-authored exhibitions, and always led with Campo before Lacuesta. The media often focused on me, which became a painful dynamic,” Lacuesta reflects. Campo acknowledges the shift: the visibility around The Next Volume brought media attention and public interest that had been missing.
“There were moments of resignation. I believed script work was less visible, yet co-directing The Next Volume shifted that. We had smooth relations with the technical team and producers, and we always shared the leadership. Still, awards were often described as his, not ours,” Campo explains.
With Between Two Waters, Campo’s name began to be recognized independently of Lacuesta, marking a turning point. The Maixabel success further boosted her visibility. Campo’s directorial debut came with an episode of Blackout, while Lacuesta directed another branch of the project. “It’s a step I’ve wanted to take for a long time,” Campo says, noting that she would like to continue writing and directing using the same collaborative system. “We don’t need a single author’s dynamic—film thrives on teamwork, and every added voice enriches the process.”
“There is a misconception about authorship. It’s healthy when all ideas belong to a team and cinema becomes the sum of many voices,” Lacuesta adds.
The pair say they know each other intimately across all projects, often failing to distinguish who contributed what. “The collaboration works because the connection between us drives everything forward.”
“One Year, One Night” is one of our most empathetic films
After premiering in Berlin, One Year, One Night arrives in theaters and will screen at festivals such as San Sebastián. The film reconstructs the psychological aftermath for the few survivors inside Bataclan during the 2015 attack and follows the events across a year.
For Lacuesta, the budget scale marks the most notable difference in this project. The film could realize sequences that previous works could not, such as filling the Bataclan with crowds and depicting firefighting and ambulance evacuations. “Each project has its own budget needs, but this one allowed dreams to become visible in ways that were impossible before.”
The reception has been charged with emotion. Campo notes that the film’s transitions and emotional depth engage audiences directly. A recent Amsterdam screening impressed with a survivor of the Brussels attacks who found the film deeply resonant. Lacuesta believes the project is among the most empathetic and emotionally charged they have made, even as its release in October competes with many strong titles.
Both directors observe a growing presence of auteur cinema, with films like Alcarràs and Pacifiction expanding reach and budgets. They see tangible progress when non-professional actors can still leave a strong impression. The duo is excited about the opportunities and acknowledges the evolving tastes of buyers and audiences alike. The Temporada Alta festival in Girona hosts a broader conversation about the forms and futures of their work as it continues to unfold.