Roberto F. Canuto discusses the creative process behind the short film he co-directed with Xu Xiaoxi: a story of memory, identity and connections across generations in rural Asturias.
The cultural programme Pieces, broadcast by Asturias’ public television channel TPA, features IUS of Time (IUS del tiempo, 2025). The report appears in season 20, episode 35, dated 5 October 2026 on RTPA’s on-demand service, and includes Roberto F. Canuto’s reflections on the film he directed with Xu Xiaoxi.
Shot entirely in Asturias, in the municipalities of Cabrales, Piloña and Onís, the short brings together Luca, a young photographer played by Pelayo Carrizo, and Xuan, a cheesemaker played by Manuel Pizarro. The report explores the development of their relationship and the ways the past remains present in places and in the people who inhabit them.
Memory, landscape and identity
Canuto explains that the landscape is shaped by the character’s gaze and his search for his roots. Describing the relationship between rural Asturias and memory, he identifies one of the film’s central concerns as “how the past permeates the present and who we are today”.
Roberto F. Canuto on IUS of Time, Pieces (TPA), 5 October 2026, at 33:44 in the full programme. Translated from Spanish.
Identity is another central theme. Canuto describes “the identity of two characters who come from opposing worlds”. Luca comes from an urban environment where he can live his relationships more freely; Xuan grew up amid repression and isolation. Their encounter opens up a space for mutual recognition across differences in age and experience.
Roberto F. Canuto on IUS of Time, Pieces (TPA), 5 October 2026, at 35:47 in the full programme. Translated from Spanish.
The world of IUS: from working with actors to sound
The director also recalls how the project began to take shape around two years before filming. Blow Down (Blow Down: Colapso) and Sunset in Paris (Atardecer en París) offered a way to explore the same fictional world and work with the actors and characters before developing Luca in IUS of Time.
The conversation also addresses the gradual development of the bond between the protagonists and the importance of nature and sound. Sounds associated with the past and with inhabited spaces help suggest what lies beyond the visible, a recurring interest in Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi’s filmmaking.
Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi are the co-founders of Almost Red Productions, working between Asturias and China. The report offers an insight into the creative decisions behind IUS of Time through the words of one of its directors.
Watch the Pieces report
The introduction to the IUS of Time report begins at 30:28 in the full programme. The same episode covers other cultural projects and includes a segment on Gonzalo Suárez and Las cabezas cortadas.
Watch Pieces, season 20, episode 35, on RTPA’s on-demand service · 5 October 2026. Programme in Asturian and Spanish.
Watch the standalone report in Pieces’ original Facebook post.
Source of the report and quotations: Pieces, TPA / Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias (RTPA). Timestamps refer to the full programme on RTPA’s on-demand service. Quotations above have been translated from Spanish.
IUS of Time’s international festival journey
The report comes as the short continues its international festival journey. Recent recognition includes Best International Short Film at the 8th NEXT International Film Festival in Kolkata, announced on 30 September 2026 and marking the film’s tenth award. Explore the complete festival and awards record for IUS of Time.
