Water Circles Under Cotton Clouds

In a fractured future, a group of young people struggle between greed and justice,
as the past returns disguised as prejudice.

Technical Details | Water Circles Under Cotton Clouds

Original title: Círculos sobre agua, bajo nubes de algodón
International title: Water Circles Under Cotton Clouds
Written and directed by: Roberto F. Canuto, Xu Xiaoxi
Produced by: Hernán F. Joglar
Music by: Andrea Centazzo
Cast: Pelayo Carrizo, Senén Valera, Alejandro Barrena, Úrsula Villalta, David Soto Giganto, Lucía Llamedo, Óscar Torrecillas, Sam McNamara, Eduardo Cabrera, Abdou Karim, Mia Onungue
 Spain  2023  23 min  color  Spanish

 English, French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish

 fiction, drama, thriller  LGBTQ+, human rights, dystopia

 DCP · DCI 4K · 1.90:1 (full frame) · Stereo
SYNOPSIS

In a dystopian future marked by pandemics and oppressive regimes, a group of young people steals a shipment of vaccines. While some seek profit on the black market, others risk everything to bring hope to those who have been forgotten.

As tensions rise, discrimination, underlying violence, and the ghosts of the past resurface, forcing the characters to confront their own moral contradictions.

COMMENTARY

Water Circles Under Cotton Clouds constructs a narrative mosaic in which empathy and resistance emerge as human responses to fear and injustice. Set in a near future shaped by political control and inequality, the film reflects on the capacity of love and solidarity to survive social collapse.

The short film was conceived from the outset as a pilot project and creative laboratory for the development of a possible series, which explains its ensemble structure and the presence of multiple characters and narrative threads. Like a mosaic, the film weaves together diverse stories that explore resistance, empathy, and the human need for justice in times of fear, leaving open life paths that intersect, strain, and enter into dialogue with one another.

Through a symbolic and polyphonic structure, Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi connect the intimate with the collective, transforming political tension into emotional experience. Shot entirely in Asturias, the film contrasts its dystopian atmosphere with landscapes of striking natural beauty, enhanced by the music of Andrea Centazzo, which turns the short film into a visual and sonic plea for justice, identity, and hope.

AWARDS & SPECIAL MENTIONS

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Title Water Circles Under Cotton Clouds
Original title Círculos sobre agua, bajo nubes de algodón
Format short film
Country Spain
Language Spanish
Subtitles English, French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish
Running time 23 min
Color color
Genre fiction, drama, thriller
Themes LGBTQ+, human rights, dystopia
Written and directed by Roberto F. Canuto, Xu Xiaoxi
Produced by Hernán F. Joglar
Cinematography Roberto F. Canuto
Music Andrea Centazzo
Cast Pelayo Carrizo, Senén Valera, Alejandro Barrena, Úrsula Villalta, David Soto Giganto, Lucía Llamedo, Óscar Torrecillas, Sam McNamara, Eduardo Cabrera, Abdou Karim, Mia Onungue
Year 2023
Awards Special Jury Prize – Best International Short Film – 10th QIFF, Queer International Film Festival Playa del Carmen (Mexico); Audience Award – Best Short Film, Oriéntate Section – 2nd Oriéntate, Asturian Film Festival of Llanes (Spain); Nominated – Best Queer Film – 12th Short Film Breaks, Bucharest (Romania); Nominated – Best LGBT Short – 4th LHIFF Love & Hope Barcelona International Film Festival (Spain); Nominated – Best Cinematography – 1st Hollywood North International Film Festival (Canada); Best Movie Poster (Bimonthly Winner) – 3rd Monza International Short Film Festival (Italy)
Official Selections 7th Pride Queer Film Festival Perth (Australia); 9th Santiago Long & Short Film Festivals – FELACOS (Chile); 14th LGBT Film Festival (Poland); 27th MIX – Mix Mexico Film Festival (Mexico); 1st Hollywood North International Film Festival, Vancouver (Canada); 3rd Intervalli Film Festival, Padova (Italy); 18th Zinentiendo, International LGBTQI Film Festival, Zaragoza (Spain); 22nd Avilés Acción Film Festival (Spain) – Asturias Section Competition; 20th OutfestPerú, LGTB+ International Film Festival of Lima (Peru); 14th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (India); 8th LGTBI Film Festival Centro Niemeyer (Spain); 8th FICMA – International Alternative Media Film Festival (Mexico); 5th Vitafest – International Short Film Festival Vitacura (Chile); 10th QIFF, Queer International Film Festival Playa del Carmen (Mexico); 1st Shorts Costa Rica International Film Festival (Costa Rica); 3rd Thessaloniki Free Short Festival (Greece); 12th Short Film Breaks, Bucharest (Romania); 2nd Oriéntate, Asturian Film Festival of Llanes (Spain) – Oriéntate Section; 4th LHIFF Love & Hope Barcelona International Film Festival (Spain); 7th CINESAN Short Film Festival (Spain) – Asturias Section; 1st Norwich Queer International Festival of Film (UK); 4th Utsav International Film Festival, Mumbai (India); 1st Inferno International Film Festival, Rome (Italy); 2nd Merced Queer Film Festival, California (USA); 4th Armarios Abiertos Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) – Showcase; 4th Armarios Abiertos Tegucigalpa (Honduras) – Showcase; 4th Armarios Abiertos La Paz (Bolivia) – Showcase; 4th Miradas: LGBT Short Film Program CDMX (Mexico) – Showcase; 4th Armarios Abiertos Asunción (Paraguay) – Showcase; 4th Armarios Abiertos Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) – Showcase; 4th Armarios Abiertos Montevideo (Uruguay) – Showcase; 37th Filmfest Dresden – International Short Film Festival (Germany) – Showcase