Writer's Block
Fiction/Digital 2k/2017
Writer and Director: Alex Méndez Giner
Cast: Sandy Siquier
Production Manager: Donato Rossi
Cinematography: Alex Méndez Giner
Music and Sound Design: Breaking Waves Editing: José Luis Abrego
Synopsis
A writer in the middle of her creative process, receives a series of anonymous packages with morbidly disturbing content.
Director's Statement
Writer's Block unfolds at the intersection of the natural and supernatural. The mysterious packages contain isolated body parts that are at once incongruous and recognizable. They hint at an uncanny relationship with the writer’s own body. Her uneasiness crescendos into terror as she wrestles with the fantastic powers of creativity, supporting Freud's observation that “what is 'uncanny' is frightening precisely because it is not known and familiar" at the same time.
In exploring the relationship between fear and creativity, Writer's Block resonates with themes embedded in Gothic literature: the fear of the shadow, the evil double and the psychically split personality. In the Gothic tradition, the artistic process reveals itself as a life-and-death clash between creator and creation, their impossible attempt to occupy the same space representing a battle for immortality. An artist's attempt to re-create a facsimile of life is doomed: in the end, she must surrender to her creation.
In Writer's Block, word by word, part by part, the writer’s fears and desires conspire to commit the perfect crime: tormenting the artist with her own reflection.
Festivals
Best Fiction Short Film Winner Author's International Film Festival FICAUTOR. Mexico 2018
Snowtown Film Festival. USA 2019
18th Kansas International Film Festival. USA 2018
New York State International Film Festival. USA 2018
12th Buffalo International Film Festival. USA 2018
10th Charlotte Film Festival. USA 2018
17th Concorto Film Festival. Deep Night Program. Italy 2018
4th Official Latino Film Festival. N.Y. Selection. USA 2018
Twin Tiers Intl. Film Festival. Special Presentation.USA 2018
15th Atlanta Underground Film Festival. USA 2018 10th
Hamilton International Film Festival. USA 2018
14th Cyprus International Film Festival. Paphos, Cyprus 2018
15th Indianapolis Film Festival. Indy Film Fest. USA 2018
27th Arizona International Film Festival. USA 2018
14th Talca International Film Festival. Chile 2018
19th D.C. Independent Film Festival. USA 2018
Irvine International Short Film Festival. USA 2018
Blackbird Film Festival. USA 2018
Other Events and Exhibitions:
16th Syracuse International Film Festival. USA 2019
Kinematifest 2019 Keynote Speaker. Webster University, School of Communications, Electronic and Photographic Media Department. St. Louis, MO. Organized by Aaron AuBuchon, Department Chair and June Kyu Park Assistant Professor. USA 2019
Reggio Film Festival Special Screening Session. Italy 2018
University of Los Andes (Colombia). College of Arts and Humanities. Artist Talk and Screening. Bogotá 2018
Pontifical Xaverian University (Colombia). College of Art. Master of Audiovisual Creation. Artist Talk and Screening. Bogotá 2018
Short Film Corner Festival de Cannes. France 2018
