Cura sana

Cura sana is a 2024 Spanish short drama film written and directed by Lucía G. Romero. It tells the story of Jessica and Alma, two sisters, who are victims of domestic violence at home and therefore treat each other with violence.

It was selected in the Generation 14plus section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its World premiere on 19 February and won Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film.

Synopsis
On the night of Noche de San Juan festival, a festival in Spain, two sisters are heading to Caritas to get food aid. Jessica, 14, and Alma, 8, have suffered from their father's abuse for a long time. This has made Jessica a bitter, self-harming teen who shields herself from others. She even mistreats her little sister with cruelty and hostility. However, as they travel together, Jessica understands that she does not want to be like her father. She needs to show Alma kindness instead of violence.

Cast

 * Roser Rendon Ena as Jessica
 * Rasvely Lissette Donaire Restituyo as Alma
 * Yaneys Cabrera Ramírez as Mother
 * Leisam Ramos Rodríguez as Naty
 * Ana Barja as Caritas worker
 * Nora Guarro Molina as Jessica's friend
 * Evelyn Lissette Restituyo Niva as Hairdresser

Production
Development

In her interview, Lucía G. Romero told the development of the film as:

"Cura sana was born with the character of Jessica, who began to haunt my mind almost from the moment I started studying film at university. I wanted to tell the story of a girl who, although she seems strong and fearless, is afraid of being vulnerable and letting her guard down because of her experience with abuse and how it affects her life and his relationships. Inspired by my story and that of my family, I began to explore the psychological consequences that abuse leaves on its victims, particularly suffering from it from a young age and how to break the generational curse of violence. Cura Sana is a story about the consequences of violence and how it's never too late to choose love."

She told in the interview that they rehearsed the roles with the lead cast for four months. She said, "We played role-playing games and rehearsed one scene per day, which allowed them to make the script their own and improvise certain scenes each time."

Filming

The director was Inspired by Sean Baker's 2017 film The Florida Project, to visually represent vibrant and exciting adolescence and childhood in Spain. She elaborated "Visually, the colors and information overload in the image helped me generate this idealized, subjective view of how girls see the world."

Release
Cura sana had its World premiere on 19 February 2024, as part of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, in Generation 14plus.

The film competed in Fiction Short Films Official Competition at the 27th Málaga Film Festival that took place from 1 to 10 March 2024.

Reception
Lida Bach reviewing in Movie Break rated the film 6.5/10 and wrote, "The short film captures the feelings in [protagonists] nuanced facial expressions and skillfully establishes the psychological parallels between the two." Bach felt that "The skyscraper backdrop does not appear to be a criminal cliché, but rather a haven of interpersonal cohesion."

Accolades
The film was selected in Shortcat, the program for the international promotion of Catalan short films by Catalan Films. It was one of 6 short films chosen from more than 60 productions presented.