Rodrigo Cortés' cinematic adventure began in his teenage years, after borrowing a Super 8 camera from his uncle and, together with his best friend, began to play at making films. After a series of award-winning short films, he made his feature film debut with The Contestant (2007), a dark comedy about a university professor who wins the lottery, only to discover that, after paying the taxes, he won't have enough money left to pay his debts. This film will be screened at TIFF.24, in the 3x3 section.
In Cluj, film lovers will have the chance to explore the eclectic filmography of the Spanish filmmaker through Buried (2010), an intense and claustrophobic thriller about an American truck driver (played by Ryan Reynolds) who wakes up buried alive in a wooden coffin in the middle of Iraq, with only a few objects. They will also experience his most recent film, Escape (2024), which tells the story of a rather unusual character: a man who would do anything to end up in prison. The latter has Martin Scorsese as its producer, one of Cortés' idols.
Rodrigo Cortés’ presence at TIFF is made possible with the support of the Embassy of Spain in Romania.