CABRÓN was an incredible experience and the beginning of my traverses into film. It came about as a result of a frustration with the lack of prosecution for bankers following the financial crash of 2008, and spiralled from there, bringing in elements of the immigration debate taking place in the UK and beyond right now, and my love of Latin culture. Influences were Pedro Almodovar, Damián Szifron, and the Coen Brothers.

For the look of the film, the DP Mads and I looked at the brilliant Force Majeure (2014), Margin Call (2011),  Ex Machina (2014), Wild Tales (2014), and Burn After Reading (2010), and then of course the location influenced further decisions. We set up a kino flo light above Jacob's desk to illuminate him, as if he's being judged by God, and tried to shoot him from above whenever we could.

To cast the actors, we put out casting calls on Casting Call Pro and Spotlight, and each of the actors were sourced from there. Looking back on the audition tapes, it's clear from each of their auditions that there were no other people who could play the roles, so we got very lucky on that front.

In composition, Pablo Scopinaro, now finishing his Composition Masters at the National Film and Television School, had just come back from Rome and brought with him a tibetan singing bowl, which was used as part of the soundtrack. We had some fantastic sessions experimenting with sounds in his flat in New Cross. Adding music is always one of the most scary, but also exciting parts of post-production, as it really ties the film together, and when it comes off it's so satisfying.

We shot the film over 4 days in locations in central London and Canary Wharf, and were very fortunate on getting locations and blagging our way throughout.

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Festivals:
November 2015: Official Selection - Latimer Talks London
December 2015: Official Selection - RapidLion Film Festival - South Africa's Oscars
January 2016:     WINNER - Wendy's Shorts - Best Dark Comedy
                               Official Selection - Texas Ultimate Shorts
February 2016:   WINNER - Short of the Month
                               Official Selection - Barcelona Planet Film Festival
April 2016:           WINNER "BEST THRILLER"  - Screentest National Student Film Festival
                               Official Selection - Discover Film London
May 2016:            Official Selection - Pennine Film Festival
                              Official Selection - South London Shorts
                              Official Selection - Shortpole London IFF
June 2016:           Official Selection - Festival of Globe Film Festival
                              Official Selection - Euro Fest Saint Petersburg
                              Official Selection - WNY Film Festival
July 2016:            Official Selection - Chautauqua International Film Festival CIFF
August 2016:      Official Selection - First Step Film Festival
                              Official Selection - European Film Festival Moscow
September 2017:       Official Selection - Cambridge Film Festival
December 2016: Selected British Short - Moscow Rec Film Competition
                              Daily Short Pick - Film Shortage (http://filmshortage.com/dailyshortpicks/cabron/)
                              Featured Short - Director's Notes
March 2017:       Official Selection - UK Screen One International

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