THE PERFECT DAY
SHORT FILM
WINNER OF 30 AWARDS !!
ON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS
REVIEWS
Two Spanish to represent Spain in 20 th Annual
Manhattan Short Film Festival.
Films by Angel Gomez Hernandez and Ignacio Redondo
To Screen In Over 250 Cinemas Worldwide.
Oscar-Qualifying Screenings in Los Angeles Sept. 22-Sept. 28.
New York, NY, Sept 12: Spain’s Angel Gomez Hernandez and Ignacio Redondo and their short films Behind (Hernandez) and Perfect Day (Redondo), will represent Spain in the 20 th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival. These two short films are among the 10 Finalists screening in over 250 cinemas across six continents between September 28 and October 8, 2017.
Being selected for the Final 10 means Behind and Perfect Day automatically qualify for Oscar consideration.
Behind is modern day film that references the classics of the genre as it focuses on a woman obsessed with the idea that her ex-husband is plotting to take her baby. “Behind is a horror movie built on the deep emotional tragedy of the main character and through her, we get to live a terrible story full of fears,” says Hernandez.
Perfect Day is a clever comedy about how a high-powered businessman’s plans go hysterically awry as he attempts to close a $10 million deal. The film is loosely based on Redondo’s own notion of what constitutes a perfect day: “A beautiful girl, a lot of money, and the time to spend the money with her.”
MANHATTAN SHORT is the only film festival of its kind. The Final 10 selections are screened simultaneously across the world during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by ballots cast by the audience in each participating cinema. This year’s Final 10 represent an extraordinary range of genres with comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi, animation, and martial arts short films all featured in the MANHATTAN SHORT program.
Oscar-Qualifying Screenings in Los Angeles.
All Final 10 short films become Oscar-qualified, meaning they will be automatically eligible for an Academy Award nomination, during a special, one-week screening at Arena Cinelounge in Hollywood from Sept. 22 to Sept 28, with lunchtime shows 12-2pm each day.
Written & directed by Ignacio Redondo, ‘The Perfect Day’ is a short film (11:43 minutes) that hilariously plays out what is meant to be the most perfect day in David’s life. It starts with the ticking alarm that wakes David (played by Pedro Freijeiro) to a beautiful day and an even better possibility! As the day progresses, with each chore, David is surprised to unexpected pleasant outcomes that far supersede his own expectations. In fact, even the most innocuous activity thrills him with the best upshot ever.
From being the knight in shining armour to the woman of his dreams & bagging his superior’s appreciation for sealing the multi-million dollar contract that not only seals his assets but also his fate to a stupendous rise, David has it all going for him.
Until the alarm goes off, that is.
It is then that we are made aware much to David’s disappointment, that it was all a part of his wondrous dream. And, much like in real life, once you smell the coffee there’s no going back to sleep! When David wakes up for real, his reality is in no way a match to his dreams & he is stunned and exasperated as with every passing hour his day resembles a train wreck.
As an audience you root for him, because (let’s face it, we have all been there!) in David we find ourselves. But, besides that, Pedro Freijeiro’s acting is compelling to not side him too! The entire cast from Paquito (the adorable bulldog) to the hilariously annoying old lady (played perfectly by Maria J Garrido) gives a stellar performance to make this short film a complete ensemble.
When everything starts spiraling out of control and it seems as if his day couldn’t get any more worse, Redondo gives us the most twisted turn ever with the climax! What makes ‘The Perfect Day’ interesting is, despite the expected turn of events which we have all seen before, the climax offers the most unexpected outcome! The peppy music that plays along helps carry forward the narrative, without being overly exposed & the cinematography is crisp.
Ignacio Redondo does an amazing work here, right from the inception to the execution in a manner that is a telling sign of a director who is on the right track!
Watch ‘The Perfect Day’ to find out if dreams are indeed more perfect than reality, because after all what makes a day perfect, if not peppered with imperfect moments…
A young man wakes up in the morning in a hurry. It’s the big day! If he pulls this off he will be promoted to New York and have lots of money. On his way to closing the deal everything works out perfect. It’s a wonderful world and he fits perfectly in it. He even meets his dream girl. But by the time he tries to call the number she left him he will realise it was just a dream. And he will start the day over in the same sequence.
Director Ignacio Redondo brings to screen a story about dreams and alternative versions of reality. In fact, what he does in ‘THE PERFECT DAY’, is to unveil the truth about the fiction in his film, but he does it as a prank played to his main character.
The theme ‘creator vs. creation’ can be identified as a layout for either contemplation on foredoomed destinies or a comic irony regarding the bad days that anyone would find it easier to take should the ‘creator’ pat them on the back and tell them it is all a joke, it has all been staged; It is all just a bad joke.
Made on a comedic tone, ‘THE PERFECT DAY’ is not meant to dramatise the events. The director only means to uncover the fiction and bring his character out of it, make him come out from the story in order to meet him. He is just showing caress to whom he suggests could be looked at as the victims of a ruthless prank.
Ignacio Redondo’s short film does not only amuse but delights its public with a quality piece of entertaining. Give it a try and see the outcome!
We will come out and say it from the beginning:’The Perfect Day’ is the movie with THE attitude! It is by far the best movie to watch when you feel life is not what you would expect it to be.
The story is catchy: David has the most important day of his life in front of him. He may sign a 10 million dollar contract with a Japanese company, and it is a matter of all or nothing. But, will the deal go as he expects?
The movie follows the two possible situations one may experience: first, it is the perfect one, where everything goes right and even more than that; whereas the second one is the opposite – everything falls apart and David finds himself on thin ice.
The cinematography of Ignacio Redondo’s ‘The Perfect Day’ is very good, with very few flaws. The lightning, the shadows, the edit, everything seems right, making this short the perfect thing to watch in your coffee break. The acting is good – David, the main character fits perfectly in both the situations presented. The amazing part about this short is the ending – nothing you would expect happens in the last 10-15 seconds of the short, but when you see it, it is like a relief. The score is good, adequate for this subject, blending with the action in progress and making it easy-going. To be honest, as the action goes, being so versatile, this subject can be transformed in a lot of things. It is not hard to imagine it as a musical or a thriller. Nothing more than some visual effects and you are good to go.
Even if it may look like a motivational video in the first place, it is not anything like that. ‘The Perfect Day’ is the story of a man trapped between two main possibilities that can change your life in one way or another.
Very funny short film! The story is very well written and entertaining! The cast is perfect, very well chosen. This kind of comedy always makes you feel good, always makes you smile, that’s why this kind of films are so important, no matter the simplicity. Besides the script and the cast, the direction is very well executed, it was nice and neat, the cinematography was very decent too, nothing out of the box, but it was nicely done. The sound, which is very important in every film, was very good too, maybe more surrounding audio in the mix could make it deeper and could sounded more “complete”. Well done!