In the Spring and Summer of 2020, while under confinement in Spain due the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, Alber Ponte set to work on several short films, collaborating with Jorge De Lellis each time for music composition and audio post-production. As Jorge set to work on the third movie, a surprise mission emerged.
Alber’s script for ‘Familiar but Strangers’ was selected as a finalist for the VIII Short Film Competition “Navarra Tierra de Cine” in Navarra-Spain. With just a few short weeks to film and present the project, Alber asked Jorge to pause work on the third short-film soundtrack (‘El Camino Trazado’), to focus on composing the score for their next artistic adventure, ‘Cercanos y Extraños’ (‘Familiar but Strangers’).
The music score needed to reflect the journey of the two protagonists, Martín and his brother-in-law, Julián. Julián travels from A Coruña to a small town, in an abandoned place, where his brother-in-law Martín, a hypochondriac Galician, has decided to live as a hermit to stay safe from COVID-19.
What Martín does not know is that the pandemic has been overcome.
Jorge set to work, creating a beautifully orchestrated, emotionally resonant score. Working with Spanish guitar and strings, Jorge perfectly encapsulates the intimacy of the film and reflects the very human journey of the two main characters.
“Although we expected something good, it was a wonderful surprise to discover how De Lellis perfectly reflected the desired feeling, that invisible background behind the images (without a doubt, the main objective of the best scores)."
Familiar but Strangers won the second prize at the VIII Short-Film Competition “Navarra Tierra de Cine” in Navarra-Spain, November 2020.
About Alber Ponte
Alber Ponte has written and directed over 80 short films, such as ‘The Origin of the Problem’ – which won 24 international film awards, including the prestigious Clermont Ferrand Award. His prolific work includes feature films such as ‘Little Galicia’, three documentaries, as well as several ads, and music and corporate videos.
