Benita

Documentary short film

2023

Spain

10:21

Old age is often a disregarded stage of life. Our bodies deteriorate, our energy diminish, and our memories gradually fade away. However, it is as important a phase as any other in which we gradually let go of everything and reflect on life, preparing us for the ultimate experience: death.

This is a tribute to my grandmother Benita on her hundredth birthday, a resilient woman who has raised a son and a daughter, lived through a civil war, a dictatorship, and a global pandemic. Music, especially zarzuela, her great passion, has orchestrated a humble life that we celebrate with this short film.

The filming was carried out with a very small and entirely family-based team. The result is a document that is already part of the family archive.