Isabelle

Spain 2024 — Directed by: Paula Vélez — 12 min — Spoken language: Catalan — Subtitles: English — Production: Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Isabelle is a story of survival after a snatched motherhood, which confronts us with the protagonist’s routine, marked by an unexpected, abrupt and untimely absence. Motherhood, as a permanent and irreversible condition, opens the door to love, but also to suffering. Everyone has their own: it cannot be shared or explained, only soothed with wet towels and words of comfort. Parents who lose a child become ghosts: everyone feels them, even sees them, but they’re no longer there.