Carlota Pereda
Carlota Pereda started her career working in TV fiction. She has been a screenwriter and script supervisor for series such as Periodistas and Motivos Personales, has directed series,El secreto de Puente Viejo, LEX and Lalola and has worked as [realizadora] on series such as Los Hombres de Paco, Red Eagle, Luna, the Mystery of Calenda and B&b, de boca en boca. Her fist short, The Blondes, was selected in over 141 festivals worldwide and/or awarded in prestigious festivals such as Medina del Campo, La semana del Corto, Certamen Internacional de Cortometrajes Ciudad de Soria or CortoEspaña.Piggy, her second short film as a director has over 280 selections to date, has won over 80 awards, The Forqué and the Goya 2019, included. She has been selected to be part of the Torino Film Festival, European Film Market, and Focus CoPro at Cannes Film Festival and won the Pop Up Residency. She was recently awarded the AGBO Russo Bros Fellowship at Slamdance and has a new short film “There will be Monsters”.
Alter Films
PIGGY
Q & A
Name a Horror character you relate to on a spiritual/personal level?
The Thing in “The Thing”. I have a talent for making myself comfortable around all types of people. Also “Dracula” (Bram Stoker’s, the book, not the film) made me stop being afraid of the dark when I read it as a child. I wanted to be a vampire. To live forever, under my own rules, guided by my desires. I still wish I was sometimes. Vampires are the coolest thing ever. Even repressed glowy ones are okayish.
You’ve gotta go through some bad ideas to get to the good ones. Tell us one of your bad ideas. How do you get past the bad ones to find your spark?
How do you know it is bad idea? For me it is what not longer excites you, I guess. It’s a question of time. An example of a bad idea: something that is too complicated and not character driven. I had an idea of short film with a Rubik’s cube, it had fantastic elements, very cartoonish. I never got to make it so I’d like to think it was a bad idea.
Do you consider yourself part of a horror community?
Yes. Long before I started making films. I’ve been a horror geek/ horror festival lover all my life.
When you’re building the world of your film, where do you look for inspiration?
Everywhere. I try to find inspiration outside movies. I don’t just want to upcycle ideas.
What would you do if you woke up inside of your film?
I’d go for a swim.
Who would be on your ultimate horror villain squad?
Freddy, Sadako and The thing.
Lightning round: Freddy or Jason? Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft? Practical or CGI? Post Apocalypse or Pre Apocalypse?
Freddy, Stephen, Practical, Pre Apocalypse.
How do you go about creating the props and sets for your film? How do you create objects that are relatable but unfamiliar?
I don’t. I do try to always use something of my own for the characters, though. It’s a weird fetish, you might say.
What scares you, and does it inspire your storytelling?
People. Yes, it does.
And finally, Ghostface would like to know ‘What’s your favourite scary movie?’
Argh. Ghostface, I hate those questions. Today I’ll say “The Thing”. Other days, “Jaws”, “Who can kill a child?” or something different.