The teachers have been taking to the streets for years. Overcrowded classrooms, growing bureaucracy, lack of resources and recognition. In Catalonia, the largest demonstration of recent years shouted “Enough. Labor improvements now.”
From here comes Sense Rostre: a fantasy horror short film about violence that is not exerted, but that exists. About what happens when a person is pushed to the limit and is abandoned by the system.
Supporting this campaign is giving voice to a crisis that everyone sees in the headlines, but that has little representation on the big screen.
Marta is a secondary school teacher who is breaking down in silence. Her perception of reality already reflects it: blood that no one else sees, faces that disappear, spaces that warp from within.
A short film by Iván Perea Acedo and Wiliam Concolato, with the participation of FX Barcelona Film School, Señora X and Vanpai Films.
Filming: June 29 – July 3, in Sant Joan Despí.
🐣 The origin
It all started with a conversation. A close teacher, in a moment of frustration, described how crossing a hallway full of students he ended up imagining himself forcing his way through with a katana. It was not a joke. It was an image that came to him on its own. And it made him uncomfortable.
From there, we spoke with more teachers. The same patterns appeared: constant exposure, loss of authority, accumulated exhaustion that has nowhere to go. A sustained pressure that cannot be expressed without risking the position they are trying to maintain.
Fantasy horror was the answer. Not as escapism, but as a tool. The blood only Marta sees, the faces that disappear, the decaying space: these are not genre effects. They are the externalization of what cannot be said out loud.
- Screenwriters’ comment
📣 Why now?
This is not fiction born from nothing. It is fiction that is happening.
The debate on teacher mental health is urgent and poorly represented from within. We usually see the students. We rarely ask what happens to the person in front.
Sense Rostre does not judge Marta nor defend her. It places her at that limit where it is no longer possible to fully distinguish between what she does and what happens to her. And that, in itself, is the story.
The references range from Suspiria and Carrie to The Hunt, and from Francis Bacon to Caterina Albert (whose work, La Infanticida, appears in the script as a thematic parallel).
🎁 Get exclusive rewards
All rewards are designed to be real and deliverable: early access to the film, original working documents of the project, and experiences linked to the shoot and premiere. Nothing is empty merchandising.
Discover all rewards in the right column, participate and become part of the project!
👀 Where does your support go?
What we are seeking with this campaign is for the film to reach its real form: the one we have in mind.
The €1,500 will be allocated to:
🩸Practical blood and makeup effects
Blood is not decoration. It is Marta’s visual language: the only way the film externalizes what she cannot say. It must be believable, present and disturbing.🎵Original soundtrack
We do not want music that accompanies scenes. We want music that invades them. Choral and textural composition, built to occupy the sonic space until it becomes uncomfortable.👗Costume design
Marta’s clothes are not neutral. Each shooting day has its own visual logic, and costume design is part of how we construct her mental state without saying it.🎭Props and set design
Graded exams, books, the blackboard, bar elements. Everything Marta touches must be designed. The blood must have somewhere to fall.🛠️Other production-related costs
Transport, catering, extras…
🌟Who we are?
🩸Gemma Brió plays Marta.
Actress and playwright born in Badalona, graduated in dramatic arts at Institut del Teatre of Barcelona. She has worked with directors such as Oriol Broggi, Julio Manrique and Sergi Belbel, and is known to the general public for the series Poblenou (1994) and El cor de la ciutat (2000). She has participated in theatre works such as Germans de Sang. As a writer, her text Llibert won two Butaca Awards 2013 and the Serra d’Or Critics Award 2014. She brings the role of Marta with the precision of someone who knows exactly where the limit is and how to cross it.
Instagram
🩸Iván Perea Acedo — Director and screenwriter
Director, producer and screenwriter trained at FX Barcelona Film School. His work moves between fiction, music videos and advertising, with an irreverent and ironic approach that seeks to play with audience expectations and generate narrative surprise.
He has participated in international programs such as Cinemadamare, where he shot 5 short films in 7 weeks, 4 of which were awarded. His previous short film, Kickflip, won the school’s competitive pitch and is currently in festival distribution. With Sense Rostre he has again won the competitive pitch and follows the same production and distribution path.
🩸Wiliam Concolato — Co-writer and acting coach
Director, producer, actor and cinematographer. Master’s in Audiovisual Acting from TAI University School of Arts, his work focuses on creating audiovisual pieces with a strong narrative identity, exploring human relationships and social themes from a contemporary perspective.
His latest project has been recognized in the festival circuit, winning Best Short Film in the Environment and Climate category at the Mannheim Arts and Film Festival, and Best Fiction Short Film at the Toronto Art Film Spirit Awards. He currently has two short films in international distribution.
🩸Thais Villazón - Art Director
Architect and set designer specialized in art direction and scenography for audiovisual, theatrical and immersive projects. With experience in design, set construction and environmental design, combining creativity, organization and spatial vision in each project.
Instagram
🩸Anna Sanchis - Director of Photography
Director of photography and audiovisual creative interested in creating images with a strong visual identity. Her work combines cinematic language, contemporary aesthetics and artistic sensitivity, exploring different formats between fiction, fashion film and visual advertising.
DemoReel 2025
Instagram
🩸Sofía Murillo - Production Director
Film student in academic training, she began her career in audiovisual work in directing, although she found in production the space where she best develops her commitment, organization and dedication. In SENSE ROSTRE, she will be responsible for caring for and coordinating both the project and the creative team that makes it possible.
📅 THE PROJECT PATH
MAY - JUNE 2026
Verkami campaign and final pre-production
JUNE 29 - JULY 3 2026
Shooting in Sant Joan Despí
AUGUST 2026
Delivery of final script and director’s dossier to backers
AUTUMN 2026
Post-production and delivery of photographic making-of
1st QUARTER 2027
OST available for backers
SEPTEMBER 2027
Private premiere in Barcelona and delivery of official t-shirts to backers
NOVEMBER 2027 (ESTIMATED)
Cinema release, FX FILM FEST in Barcelona (Phenomena Cinema) and delivery of official posters
2027 - 2028
National and international festival circuit
END OF 2028
Online access for all backers
AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!
*No AI will be used in the creative process of the short film.
+ Info
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Watch the teaser on
YouTube
More about VANPAI FILMS
More about FX Barcelona Film School
More about Señora X Productions
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