The film by Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi takes part in the first Asturian short film showcase of a new cultural association bringing together cinema and music in rural Asturias.
IUS of Time, co-directed by Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi, returns to one of the main settings where it was filmed. The film is part of the Asturian short film showcase that launches Piloña Alternativa, a new cultural association, on Sunday 23 August 2026 in a village in the council of Piloña (Asturias), as part of Festival Piloña Alternativa, which brings together music and cinema.
There is something different about this screening: IUS of Time was filmed largely in Piloña, so it is not just another selection on its journey, but a homecoming — to the land and the people who made it possible.
Piloña Alternativa: audiovisual, music and rural life
Piloña Alternativa, led by Hernán F. Joglar, was founded by people from the audiovisual and music sectors with a clear idea: to offer a different kind of cultural proposal in a council that is becoming a creative hub. The 23 August event is its calling card — a prelude to what they hope to build — combining five concerts with an Asturian short film showcase, in a rural, intimate setting close to the artist.
On the music side, the day brings together El Meister, Gala, Pablo Und Destruktion, Capitán Bazofia and Monolelo. On the audiovisual side, they are committed — as with the music — to alternative cinema with a voice of its own.
The association sees the project as something itinerant: they believe in small screenings, close to the creator, in different emblematic locations around Piloña. And they are already looking further ahead: among their goals is to create a proper film festival — independent from the music, competitive in nature and with both regional and national sections — which the council does not yet have and which they hope to launch in future editions.
An Asturian short film showcase, two films shot in Piloña
The showcase brings together four Asturian short films, two of them shot in the council of Piloña itself:
- IUS of Time — Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi (filmed in Piloña)
- Mi amor — Enol Villamor (filmed in Piloña)
- Jackie Kane — José Luis Velázquez
- Parnaso — Alex Corte and Adri Neo
That two of the four works were filmed in Piloña is no coincidence: the association wants to encourage filming in the municipality, which has already hosted productions such as the feature film Infiesto. Screening at home what was filmed at home is, for them, a way of closing the circle and reclaiming the territory as a setting for cinema.
Piloña, a setting of IUS of Time
The film’s return to Piloña has a compelling reason: much of IUS of Time was shot in the council, seeking to capture the rural atmosphere of mountain Asturias. The crew filmed at the El Chigre bar-shop in Biedes, one of those typical local spots in mountain villages, and in a traditional stable in Sevares, hard to reach, which lends the texture of the craft and of rural life.
The home of Xuan, the ageing cheesemaker at the heart of the story, came to life in a 17th-century rural manor house in Biedes, which still holds Napoleonic-era furniture and gives the character’s dwelling its sense of time standing still. And some of the film’s most iconic scenes were shot in the former Cándido San Miguel school, in San Román.
For all this, the production had the support of the Piloña Town Council, as well as the collaboration of the Asturias Paraíso Natural Film Commission and the Department of Culture of the Principality of Asturias. Screening the film again in the very council where those natural sets were built closes, for the team, an emotional circle.
Rural cinema that travels the world
IUS of Time tells the story of Luca, a young photographer, and Xuan, an ageing cheesemaker who has spent a lifetime hiding his homosexuality under the weight of a small rural community. It is a film deeply rooted in its territory, and for that very reason it has found a natural home at festivals that champion rural life and close-up perspectives — from the Rural and Mountain Film Festival of Cervera de Pisuerga, where it won Best Cinematography, to the Pillusion Film Festival in the Tyrolean Alps, held in a converted barn. The Piloña showcase now joins that line — with the particularity that here the film returns to its own origin.
Meanwhile, the film’s run through the Spanish circuit keeps growing, with an increasing presence at Goya-qualifying festivals: the 53rd Huesca International Film Festival (Oscar & Goya Qualifying), the 34th Madrid Film Festival PNR, the 15th K-Lidoscopi in Cullera and, this autumn, the 28th Octubre Corto in Arnedo.
IUS of Time: from five continents, back home
All of this within an international journey now spanning five continents and 29 countries, with selections at festivals including the 31st Chéries-Chéris of Paris, the 43rd Reeling of Chicago and the 16th KASHISH Pride Film Festival of Mumbai, and seven awards and distinctions along the way. The full list of festival selections and awards is available on the film’s page. After travelling the world, IUS of Time returns to where it began: a village in Piloña.
More information
- Official page of IUS of Time
- Complete list of festival selections and awards
- Piloña Alternativa on Instagram
- Watch the official trailer
Note: Analogue header photograph by Elmer Guevara, behind the scenes of IUS of Time. © Almost Red Productions
