18 meals
Eight stories that cross paths over a single day, served around a table.
A street musician meets the love of his life again; two drunk men have long drinks and seafood for breakfast; a man cooks, cooks and cooks for a woman that never shows up; two men love each other but they hide; a cook dreams of being a singer; a young woman wants what a man does not give her while a waiter is dying for her; a Macedonian is lost in Santiago suffering the lack of love; an elderly couple who have already said everything to each other have breakfast, lunch and dinner in silence.
All these stories meet in 18 meals (18 meals) during a single day of fiction, a film of emotions served around a table, a journey along the feelings of the most universal of all fights: the search for happiness.
18 meals (18 meals) is a game I played with a large group of incredibly talented actors where we explored together different ways of struggling for happiness. Different stories that get linked by emotions and feelings. This project was completely different from anything I had done before. It was a puzzle made out of complicated relationships; a really hard to handle puzzle (it took me eight months to edit the film) which gave me incredible moments of joy: the process itself — exciting and intense —, the reaction of the audience on its release in theaters and at the more than thirty festivals that we had the chance to visit.
Awards
Seven Mestre Mateo
and around the world.
Selected in festivals in more than thirty countries. These are some of the distinctions it has received.
- Best DirectorTaormina International Film Festival
- Special Jury PrizeBiennale d'Annecy
- Best Feature FilmDouro Film Harvest Festival
- Best Feature Film + Audience AwardCINESCENA · La Laguna International Festival
- Special Jury Prize + Audience AwardOUFF Ourense International Film Festival
- 7 Mestre Mateo awardsIncludes director, screenplay, editing and feature film
