The director
Héctor Escandell, writer and director
Héctor Escandell (Ibiza, February 8, 1978) is a writer and director with extensive experience in the world of short films, in which he has achieved numerous selections and awards. After the good reception of his first feature film, the independent production ‘The crimes of All Hallows’ Day’ (co-directed by Vicente Torres), Escandell is shooting ‘The Giant of Es Vedrà and other fairy tales’ and developing the TV series “The trail of El Arropiero”.
The early years
Like many other filmmakers, Escandell started directing short films. In 1998 he co-wrote and co-directed his first short, ‘La Llamada’. Then it came ‘Memorias de mi año sabático’ (2000), co-written and co-directed by Vicent Torres, and ‘Las mujeres de Álex’ (2002). With these works, Escandell won several awards.
Somewhat later, he achieved the first selections at film festivals of international prestige. In 2011, the short film ‘Dr. Sí’ (2010), co-written and co-directed
by Vicent Torres, was selected and screened at the Short Film Corner section of the Cannes Film Festival.
However, the most internationally recognized work came two years later: ‘The crimes of All Hallows’ Day’ (2013), is a horror short film with tons of dark humor that is set in Ibiza in the early ’70s. It was selected at the Cannes Short Film Corner and had an extensive tour of festivals around the world (France, Germany, England, Brazil, Peru, French Polynesia, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, etc.) and it also was screened at the Sitges Film Festival. Its itinerary closed with 30 selections and 4 awards (three of them in the United States).
Later, more short films would have a successful run on the international circuit,
such as “No Vida” (2014).
First Feature Film
In 2015, Héctor Escandell wrote and directed, together with Vicent Torres, his first feature film, “The Crimes of All Hallows’ Day”, based on the short film with the same title. The film was part, in February 2017, of the Balearic Islands Film Commission expedition at the Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM). The film had an extensive run in film festivals (10 selections) and achieved awards at Fangofest (Amposta), International Horror Hotel Film Festival (United States), and Noida International Film Festival (India). It was also screened at the Spanish Screenings (Malaga Film Festival). On January 18, 2019, it was released in theaters. The film has also been acquired by several TV stations: IB3 TV, DARK (owned by AMC) and, more recently, it has been included in Amazon Prime Video (Spain and United States) and FlixOlé.
You have more info at IMDB.
‘The Giant of Es Vedrà and other Fairy Tales’
This project began a few years ago when a book by Joan Castelló Guasch fell into the hands of the director. Conceived as a film that mixes folk culture and fantasy through magical realism, this work is made up of three fairy tales: ‘The Giant of Es Vedrà’, ‘The skulls of Can Fita’, and “All Hallows’ Eve”. Professionals linked to the project include actor Joan Pera, musician Miquel Àngel Aguiló and FX master Adrián Cardona.
