TAI School of the Arts once again bets on employability by putting students in contact with the industry to give them the opportunity to develop professional creative projects. This time he has done it hand in hand with Xiaomiand xiaomi film festival, which was presented on Thursday, September 2, at the Cineteca de Matadero. TAI It has been the only school worldwide that has participated in this meeting to show new talent through our students.
In this contest Of the audiovisual pieces made with the brand's terminals, it was possible to see seven works by renowned filmmakers, technology influencers and new talent, such as Óscar Villaroya, a student at TAI DEGREE Degree in Cinematography and Visual Arts whose short film Twenty Summers has been presented at this festival.
Prior to the celebration of the gala at the Cineteca de Matadero, the screening of the trailer for the short film took place in the Plaza de Callao Twenty Summers, which was attended by the same team for whom this event was a great surprise.
MAIN FILMS OF THE FESTIVAL
leadersby Chris Overton; One Billion Viewsby Mike Harvey; Renaissanceby Vincenzo de Caro; Simply Co.., by Eduardo Ohara; The Reels Deal, by Nattawut Poonpiriya and Living In a Movie, by Muccino Gabriele have been the pieces presented at a gala hosted by Alicia Senovilla and Sofía Sorribas that has been the brand's first short film festival.
NEW FILM TALENT
The short film of TAI, shot with the high-end Xiaomi Mi11 smartphone, is the only piece worldwide in the emerging talent section that has been presented at the international festival organized by this reference brand, which also represents an exhibition platform to show the creativity of these artists with the aim of exploring "the new normal" through short films shot with smartphones.
TWENTY SUMMER
Óscar Villarroya explains that this project has meant “get out of your comfort zone” y “a great learning”. One of the challenges that Óscar has had to face has been the times. “The shooting, really, was mixed with the pre-production and the editing because in the end it was a project that has been gestated in a few days and everything has been done in a scant month. It is a change in the usual times because I am used to spending a lot of time meditating on what is going to be done next”, has indicated in the presentation of the gala, which he attended accompanied by his team and family.
“I am happy with the result, there are always those things that I would have liked to change. But, after all, this was also a challenge and, in fact, I was excited", has expressed this young talent, who has recognized that filming with a mobile has been “a very rare experience”. “In the end times change, the planning that is being done changes, not having a combo, a monitor to see what is being recorded. It was really complex because I had to rely a lot on my camera and the cinematographer. It was an act of trust. The mobile records very well and I am very happy with the result and with the possibilities it has. For me it has been a tool with which to see more clearly that you do not need a large team to be able to creatively explore a project”, has added.
CRISTINA ZHANG, DEPUTY MANAGER OF XIAOMI SPAIN
For its part, Cristina Zhang, Deputy Manager of Xiaomi Spain, has added that Xiaomi's DNA "It always includes innovation." “Innovation for all our Mi Fans. And for this reason, years ago we created the Xiaomi Studios initiative focused on all Xiaomi content creators to unleash their creativity by making movies with smartphones. And in this case, working together with TAI It is a source of pride for us to see the great talent, dedication and great work of all its members in the project”, has added.
OSCAR VILLARROYA
Oscar Villarroya born in 1999 in Barcelona. He studies in TAI el BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN CINEMATOGRAPHY AND VISUAL ARTS. At the same time, he takes various courses in the field of cinema and concludes his professional studies in classical piano at the Adolfo Salazar Conservatory. In 2010 he premiered his first film NIGHT, with the seal of his independent production company CVPVLA studio, obtaining several selections at festivals. In 2021 she writes and directs the short films RETURN ME TO THE SEA y TELL HER ALL, produced by TAI. Currently, he combines the production of film projects with the creation of audiovisual content such as video clips or music production.
TAI AND XIAOMI
This agreement between TAI and Xiaomi is yet another example of the film school's commitment to bringing the industry closer to its students and offering them the opportunity to participate in real projects led by big brands like this one. It is not the first time that both entities collaborate, they have already done so recently through the contest NIGHT FILM FEST with which several students of TAI presented their short films at the Malaga Film Festival.
WORK PROCESS
After this first collaboration of TAI with Xiaomi in the production of three short films for the Night Film Festival, the opportunity immediately arose to carry out a new production for the first Xiaomi Film Festival, in which TAI It has been the only university school globally that participates in the exhibition of short films shot with its Mi11 smartphone. The premise was that "THE NEW NORMAL" was the protagonist of the pieces from a point of view EMOTIONAL, POSITIVE y LINEUP, moving the pandemic away from the negative aspects. Taking into account the demands of the brand, a review was made of the profiles and trajectories of the students who finished the course and their creative line in order to determine who of them could be the right one to carry out the project. After a study and analysis of them, it was determined that the student OSCAR VILLARROYA met the requirements to direct this short film.
Since then, TAI he got to work on the process of creating the script, references and look of the film. The academic director of TAI, FERNANDO BAÑOS, He has been a fundamental piece in the creation and development of the project thanks to his creative and academic mentoring. In parallel, the team XIAOMI STUDIOS He has been at all times attending to the development of the piece, giving feedback on ideas and explaining to the photography team and Óscar the characteristics and recording opportunities of the Mi11 to get the most out of the terminal.
At all times, TAI and Xiaomi have been in contact so that the project would take shape and grow according to the guidelines set: that it be an emotional project that would show the new normality of young people after the pandemic, the uncertainty, the importance of the close people with whom We have experienced confinement, the return to life and the transition to independence that maturity implies. Xiaomi Studios was very clear about the milestones the project had to contemplate and they have been more than achieved thanks to the brand and its collaboration and, of course, the creative freedom it has offered when creating. Thanks to all of this, Óscar Villarroya and his team have grown professionally and learned at the same time that the characters and the film have.
"Creativity and art can go much further, it's time to express ourselves", has explained JIA WEI, XIAOMI MARKETING DIRECTOR prior to the gala, where he has recognized that they have chosen TAI to develop this project at a national level because “It is a renowned school”. "We believe that TAI It can fit quite well with what we are looking for from Xiaomi ”, has indicated.
