Tony Andújar Sanchez
He was born on May 3, 1979 in Barcelona.
He is the son of Catalan merchants. His childhood and primary and
secondary education take place in Sabadell. At the age of 15, he shows a special interest in film inherited from his father, which becomes a passion that ultimately materializes in the purchase of an old Super 8 M / M camera, with which he makes his first work.
Son of the video era, he quickly replaces the old Super 8 film camera with a new and flamboyant Sony High Video, in which he begins to reflect his fanaticism in his first short films and home videos.
At the age of 21, advised by his family, he began studies in Business Administration, moving away from his dream of being a filmmaker.
At the age of 23, he enrolled in university to study
Systems Engineering.
During the first year of his studies, Toni and two of his classmates presented an Internet portal that ended up becoming a prolific service company, managing the exchange of data between teachers and parents of public schools. This project was recog-
nized with a State prize for the best youth business
project.
In the following years, he consolidated himself as a businessman, employing more than 70 workers.
After creating two subsidiary companies at the age of 30, he decided to recover his long-awaited dream of becoming a filmmaker and embarked on a new path, leaving behind the life of a businessman and returning to the life of a student.
He enrolled in the CECC (Centre for Cinematographic Studies of Catalonia), thus beginning his stage as a film student.
Three years later, he graduated. His first steps as a filmmaker focused on writing screenplays and making short films and music videos.
In 2019, he co-founded, with his wife Carolina Garrido, the production company Esdemangofilms, starting from the idea of developing their own screenplays and films with a clear commercial and international orientation. The first important project they decide to debut in 2022 is Run Baby Run, in which Toni serves as producer, writer, and director.
He is the son of Catalan merchants. His childhood and primary and
secondary education take place in Sabadell. At the age of 15, he shows a special interest in film inherited from his father, which becomes a passion that ultimately materializes in the purchase of an old Super 8 M / M camera, with which he makes his first work.
Son of the video era, he quickly replaces the old Super 8 film camera with a new and flamboyant Sony High Video, in which he begins to reflect his fanaticism in his first short films and home videos.
At the age of 21, advised by his family, he began studies in Business Administration, moving away from his dream of being a filmmaker.
At the age of 23, he enrolled in university to study
Systems Engineering.
During the first year of his studies, Toni and two of his classmates presented an Internet portal that ended up becoming a prolific service company, managing the exchange of data between teachers and parents of public schools. This project was recog-
nized with a State prize for the best youth business
project.
In the following years, he consolidated himself as a businessman, employing more than 70 workers.
After creating two subsidiary companies at the age of 30, he decided to recover his long-awaited dream of becoming a filmmaker and embarked on a new path, leaving behind the life of a businessman and returning to the life of a student.
He enrolled in the CECC (Centre for Cinematographic Studies of Catalonia), thus beginning his stage as a film student.
Three years later, he graduated. His first steps as a filmmaker focused on writing screenplays and making short films and music videos.
In 2019, he co-founded, with his wife Carolina Garrido, the production company Esdemangofilms, starting from the idea of developing their own screenplays and films with a clear commercial and international orientation. The first important project they decide to debut in 2022 is Run Baby Run, in which Toni serves as producer, writer, and director.
What is the story behind your film?
What begins as a quiet day of running in a natural park turns into a surreal race for survival that will test all her skills.
The protagonist, Diana, will embark on a hero's journey, leaving behind her ordinary world to venture into the unknown, full of strange events.
Diana is hearing impaired. This could mean a social and survival disadvantage, but her tireless and feisty character almost makes her lack of hearing invisible.
It is a story of overcoming challenges, of preparation and a manifesto of the real inability we have to foresee when we will have a bad day.
What should people take away, gain, realize after watching your film?
Perhaps the main challenge of the film is to seduce with an entertaining fable, which is able to leave a good taste in our mouths.
At the same time it manages to capture the idea that being prepared for an action is what determines its success.
Do you think that films can change people for the better or for the worse?
Absolutely yes. If we look at cinema as a means of transmitting information, it is clear that the narrative and content of the stories directly affects the viewer.
As can a good book, music, or any art form capable of expressing feelings.
How was the creation of your project at the time of COVID-19?
It was very hard, and forced us to constantly reinvent ourselves, as the shooting dates kept moving, as well as determining the country where to shoot became an almost impossible mission.
To all this we must add the social drama represented by the pandemic, of which we were all part, as it affected friends, family ... Very hard.
What creation style did you use in the production of your project? What cameraman elements did you use?
A clean and careful image, preferably fixed and angular shots. The photography works with chiaroscuro from the base. In this way we have the resource of colorimetry from a clean photography that expresses the love for light from the base.
The tripod, and the classic movements, allow me to work in a more cinematographic language that I understand better. However in this last decade cinema and camera movements have merged with video games and I find it hard to connect with so much unnecessary movement. Although, honestly, I think it's interesting to experiment with everything, as long as it's at the service of the narrative.
How did you select the actors for your project?
The film has three main roles. Perhaps the biggest difficulty in choosing actors was that it was a very physical film. That forced us to look for people trained in Running, Climbing, and adventure sports, since the film was literally running through the mountains.
Both Cody Cowell and Catuxa Leira proved to be not only excellent actors, but also in impeccable shape.
Why do you think your film should appeal to distributors?
Because the theme of overcoming and preparing for adversities is universal and appeals to everyone.
Because it's a film that fights minute by minute to maintain a fresh narrative, original action, and maintains an attractive visual approach.
At which festival has your film been screened?
We have only had a month of approach with the promotion and festivals. We are in a very early stage, however at this moment we have the official selection at the "LONDON DIRECTOR AWARDS", and Catuxa Leira has received her first award for the film at the NIAFFS Festival (NOIDENTITY-INTERNATIONAL ACTION FILM FESTIVAL...
It's a small start, and we hope the film will have a good trajectory.
How did your acquaintances react when they first saw the film?
It hasn't left anyone indifferent, and the feedback from friends and family has always been excellent. The film is just starting its journey, so I'm looking forward to seeing what others think.
If you could change something in your film, what would it be?
Well, when you finish the film you tend to be very self-critical, and you always think there are a thousand things you could have done better.
The list is very long...
Filmmaking is a very complex art in itself, as you constantly depend on money, resources, other people's talent and many other things to manage........ However, I firmly believe that if you want to make films you have to try to do it with the resources available and the moral very high...
Which movies are your favorites and why?
It's always hard to pick favorite films. Any film, regardless of genre, that has enough intention and emotion captivates me.
That said, I never tire of watching Buster Keaton's "The General," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "ET" and, more recently, "Inception" or any film by Denis Villeneuve or Michael Mann. Of course, there are many more that I won't mention because the list is quite long.
In short, I love to see the mastery of the times that some directors have, almost touched by a magic wand.
What topics do you like to address in your stories?
Generally, I like to explore the reward of effort and attempt to convey messages where those who try receive some form of reward, be it moral, personal, or simply material. I think, ultimately, any theme can interest me as long as it's not treated frivolously.
What is your motivation in making films?
I love to tell stories... and in my imagination I love to think about always being able to make films... achieving that way of life motivates me every day to continue.
I have come to the conclusion that being a filmmaker is an attitude that, in the worst case scenario, can lead to the sweetest of failures...
Which contemporary filmmakers motivate you the most?
There are many directors who are simply great and inspiring...Denis Villeneuve, Michael Mann, Christopher Nolan, Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Spielberg,Ridley Scott,Joel and Ethan Coen,Tim Burton, Clint Eastwood,Jon Favreau, Park Chan-Wook,González Iñárritu...etc etc etc etc, I'm sorry for the two hundred I won't name who motivate me as much as these...it's a complicated question.
What projects do you plan to shoot in the future?
I'm working on a script based on a biblical character... and on a science fiction series for television.