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The councilor Begoña León highlights «the enormous quality of this short film and the great sensitivity that its story conveys» and emphasizes that this nomination «is fantastic news because it will increase the dissemination of its message.»
Alicante, March 3, 2025. The short film ‘Maruja’, which is part of the Alicante City Council’s campaign ‘Take them into account’ to raise awareness about the problem of unwanted loneliness in the elderly, has been selected to compete in the Official Short Film section of the Malaga Film Festival. This prestigious festival with a strong presence in the Goya Awards will take place between March 14 and 23.
The Senior Councilor, Begoña León, highlights «the enormous quality of this short film and the great sensitivity that the story of Maruja conveys, which goes beyond the screen and touches the heart.» This, she adds, «is the objective we seek with this short film and the campaign ‘Take them into account’, to raise awareness among the population about the problem of unwanted loneliness that many of our elders experience and that we have set out to combat from the Alicante City Council.» In this sense, León emphasizes that «the selection of ‘Maruja’ to compete in the Malaga Film Festival is fantastic news because it will exponentially increase the dissemination of the short film and its message.»
‘Maruja’ is a short film produced by Grupoidex and its production center, Racords Films, directed by Álvaro García Company, which tells the story of an 80-year-old woman, played by actress María José Alfonso, who has lost her husband and spends her days without human contact, but occasionally receives a call from a telemarketer who helps her combat that unwanted loneliness.
According to Miguel Quintanilla, CEO of Grupoidex: «This short film reflects our commitment to Branded Content and fiction as valuable content, betting on telling stories with a human touch through audiovisual content. In this case, we wanted to create social awareness about the loneliness of the elderly, using cinema as more than just entertainment, as an invitation to reflection to generate social awareness.»
The short film, presented at the Alicante City Council at the end of October, during the celebration of the International Day of Older Persons, is part of the ‘Take them into account’ campaign through which the Senior Council seeks to raise awareness about unwanted loneliness in the elderly and combat it.
It has already been selected to participate in 26 national and international festivals and has received four awards: at the Chicharrón Film Festival 2024, it won the Jury Award for Best Female Performance for María José Alfonso; at the Purbeck Short Film Competition 2024, the Audience Award for Best Short Film; at the Ficma Salamanca 2024, the Jury Award for Best Short Film; and at the Microcine de Montilla 2024 Film Festival, the Jury Award for Best Short Film.
