EEL’s Nest

—In Japan, it is common to maintain a distance between individuals so as not to invade living space. This emptiness, when it occurs between buildings, generates dark and narrow alleys that only an eel could inhabit.

This short animation film in essayistic key works as a continuation of Right Angles Don't Exist. Through the urban figure of the eel's nest (the name given in Japan to the narrow houses built in small plots between buildings), a reflection on the concepts of "house", "home", and the relationship between human beings and the spaces they inhabit is articulated.

During pre-production, I dedicated myself to gathering information through an experiment: asking people to draw me the first thing that came to their mind when they heard the word "house". I got more than 100 different drawings, which allowed me to better weave the discourse.

In addition to directing, animating and writing, I also composed the soundtrack. The poet and writer Amaia Barrena was in charge of the voice-over.

This short film has been screened in several cinemas in the Basque Country, it has won the second prize of the Bitabe (new talents from the University of the Basque Country) and has been selected for the Bilbao International School Cinema Fest.