MADRID, EXT.

A film essay about Madrid, the passage of time, and the city’s transformations and contradictions. A tribute to Madrid in the form of a vast visual and sound archive of its inhabitants and locations, where commerce and wildlife, architecture and ladies, haberdasheries and poets, builders and destroyers of the city intersect. (93 min.)

I had always dreamed of taking part in a documentary essay that would take years to complete, and I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone other than Juan. It has been both a technical and artistic challenge.

It all began with a call from him to go out and film shop signs around Madrid, almost as a game. Little by little, what started as something spontaneous grew and took shape, becoming a living archive with more than 150 hours of footage shot across the city.

Throughout the process, I joined the shoots whenever I could, while Juan, tireless as ever, kept filming week after week, several days at a time. I seized every free moment to be part of this adventure, an experience that has combined time, friendship and cinema.

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Siempre había soñado con participar en un ensayo documental que tardara años en completarse, y no podía imaginar hacerlo con nadie que no fuera Juan. Ha sido un reto tanto técnico como artístico.

Todo empezó con una llamada suya para salir a rodar rótulos de tiendas por Madrid, casi como un juego. Poco a poco, lo que comenzó como algo espontáneo fue creciendo y tomando forma hasta convertirse en un archivo vivo con más de 150 horas de material rodado por toda la ciudad.

Durante todo el proceso me sumé a los rodajes siempre que pude, mientras Juan, incansable, seguía filmando semana tras semana, varios días cada vez. Aproveché cada momento libre para formar parte de esta aventura, una experiencia que ha combinado tiempo, amistad y cine.

AWARDS

• 13th Días de Cine Awards (2025)
  Best Original Score, Guille Galván

Further reading
‘MADRID, EXT.’ ciudad busca sinfonía · Camera&Light