Arturo a los 30

About Thirty
Buenos Aires in March 2020, just days before the outbreak of the pandemic. A wedding is being celebrated; a car overturns. The guests share joints, kisses, a blow job and the memory of a loss. At the centre of this comedy of errors is 30-year-old Arturo, played by director Martín Shanly. He is every bit as drawn to misfortune as he is directionless – qualities he shares with the remainder of the film’s characters. His faux pas and blunders stand in inverse relation to the finesse with which the film elegantly glides back in time from the wedding day to the 2010s. As episodes from Arturo’s life come to the fore – a bus trip to Patagonia with his trans housemate, a painfully awkward dress rehearsal for a play – narrative time is compressed and then extended again, all while a voiceover provides a steady counterweight to the tumult.
As the hit song “Azúcar amargo” (Bitter sugar) comes on and the dancefloor fills, the bittersweet nature of the film comes across with every bit the same clarity as the coughing that proceeds it – elbow etiquette is still yet to materialise.
by Martín Shanly
with Martín Shanly, Camila Dougall, Julia Azcurra, Ivo Colonna Olsen, Paul Grinszpan, Paul Dougall, Esmeralds Escalante, María Soldi, Miel Bargman, Javier Abril Rotger, Ezequiel Diaz, Constanza Dougall, Carolina Dougall, Franco Bacciani
Argentina 2023 English, Spanish 92’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Martín Shanly
  • Camila Dougall
  • Julia Azcurra
  • Ivo Colonna Olsen
  • Paul Grinszpan
  • Paul Dougall
  • Esmeralds Escalante
  • María Soldi
  • Miel Bargman
  • Javier Abril Rotger
  • Ezequiel Diaz
  • Constanza Dougall
  • Carolina Dougall
  • Franco Bacciani

Crew

Director Martín Shanly
Screenplay Martín Shanly, Ana Godoy, Federico Lastra, Victoria Marotta
Cinematography Federico Lastra
Editing Ana Godoy
Music Manque La Banca
Sound Design Nahuel Palenque
Sound Virginia Scaro
Production Design Clara Miani
Costumes Marina Claypole
Make-Up Lucia Rastelli
Assistant Director Ignacio Ceroi
Production Manager Paloma Torras
Producers Jerónimo Quevedo, Victoria Marotta, Paloma Torras, Franco Bacchiani
Executive Producers Jerónimo Quevedo, Victoria Marotta

Martín Shanly

Born in 1988 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he studied film and now works as a screenwriter, actor and filmmaker. Following his debut Juana a los 12 (2014), Arturo a los 30 is his second directorial project.

Filmography

2014 Juana a los 12 (About Twelve); 75 min. 2023 Arturo a los 30 (About Thirty); 92 min.

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023