The UPF-BSM Master in Creative Documentary Supports the Production of Tardes de Soledad, Winner of the Golden Shell with an Impressive International Journey

Tardes de Soledad, the documentary directed by Albert Serra, has captured the attention of both audiences and critics after winning the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Film Festival a few weeks ago. The film portrays the life of a prominent bullfighting star, Andrés Roca Rey, and reflects on the intimate experience of the bullfighter who embraces the risk of facing the bull as a personal duty, respecting tradition and pursuing an aesthetic challenge. This challenge creates a form of ephemeral beauty through the material and violent confrontation between human rationality and the raw power of the wild animal. According to the jury that awarded it the festival’s top prize, the film “grants the viewer space to judge with its cinematic language. We believe in the power of art to inspire movement, and this work allows us to reflect on the limits of artistic expression, fear, brutality, masculinity, and other aspects.”

Following its success at the San Sebastián Festival and its recognition at the New York Film Festival, the Montreal Festival, and the Roche sur Yon Festival, Serra’s film will continue its journey at major international festivals such as the Tokyo Festival, the Cologne Festival, the Los Angeles AFI, Festival dei Popoli in Florence, the Montpellier Festival, Viennale in Vienna, Jihlava Festival, and the Gijón Festival. Additionally, the film has secured commercial distribution in France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Finland, with a commercial release in Spain planned for April 2025.

From the beginning, Tardes de Soledad received support from the Master in Creative Documentary at the UPF Barcelona School of Management. “A friend from UPF-BSM, Jordi Balló, the academic director of the Master in Creative Documentary, insisted that I should do something with them. At first, I didn’t have a clear theme, but one idea that lingered in my mind was bullfighting,” explained Serra, who developed the film through a meticulous process of visual and sound selection, once again showcasing the Master’s innovative approach.

Tardes de Soledad, which explores the world of bullfighting from a unique perspective, was the result of persistent efforts for Serra to take on the direction of his first documentary within the framework of the Master. This project finally took shape in 2020, although the pandemic and the suspension of bullfights delayed production until the film regained momentum in the following years, with the support of various Catalan, Spanish, and French public institutions, culminating in its premiere in San Sebastián with tremendous critical and public acclaim.

A Place Where Documentary Films Are Born

Directed by Jordi Balló and Eva Vila, the Master in Creative Documentary has become a benchmark in training documentary filmmakers, with a methodological approach that places students at the center of the creative process. Each program edition encourages students to develop their personal projects. Thanks to this intensive mentorship methodology, the Master has been crucial to the creation of many documentary films. “Our mentorship system deeply engages with each embryonic idea, fostering a critical and constructive follow-up that transforms students' creative ideas into works recognized internationally,” explains Eva Vila.

In addition to rigorous practical and theoretical training, the program offers a profound immersion in creative development, allowing its students—such as Isaki Lacuesta, Neus Ballús, Lois Patiño, or Mercedes Álvarez—to transcend borders and achieve success in the global film industry, with a presence at prestigious festivals like Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, or San Sebastián.

The Value of the Master in the Development of Tardes de Soledad

In addition to supporting student projects, each edition of the Master produces three unique and distinctive documentaries, each aligned with the evolving dynamics of contemporary cinematic paradigms. Tardes de Soledad is the latest of these 33 films produced through the Master’s history. It exemplifies the Master in Creative Documentary's commitment to facilitating the production of unique and exemplary films capable of opening new cinematic pathways, thus contributing to the global development of documentary cinema.

This commitment is evident in Tardes de Soledad, a radical, absolutely innovative documentary that has achieved prominence as the first documentary film to receive the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Festival. “The persistent and continuous support throughout the creation process was essential to the project’s success, which now continues its journey in international festivals and cinemas in Europe, Asia, and America,” adds Balló. This attraction system for more experienced filmmakers strengthens the connection with emerging filmmakers, further establishing documentary cinema on a global scale.

Impact on the Documentary Industry, Key to Student Development

Since its founding in 1998, the Master has established itself as a benchmark in the documentary film industry. Participants not only develop their projects but, upon completion of the program, are prepared for their projects to be filmed and produced, thus eliminating the risk of becoming mere “school films.” With 33 films produced and nearly another hundred films originating from student projects, the Master has fostered an international community of filmmakers who have placed documentary cinema at the forefront of cinematic innovation.