Official Competition

Humberto Suárez, played by José Luis Gómez, celebrated his momentous 80th birthday. Instead of following the customary tradition of building a bridge as a legacy, he resolved to create a lasting impact through cinema.

Humberto decided to finance a film adaptation of the acclaimed novel *Rivalry*. He enlisted the help of Lola Cuevas, a renowned director known for winning the Palme d'Or, to bring this ambitious project to life.

The cast comprised two actors with starkly different styles: the meticulous Iván Torres and the casual Félix Rivero. Their diverging approaches to acting quickly became apparent during the early rehearsals.

Lola took an unorthodox approach to directing, demanding relentless precision from her actors. This included repeatedly forcing them to recite lines until she was completely satisfied with their performance.

During a particularly strange rehearsal, Lola introduced a large fake boulder meant to symbolize the emotional tension between the two characters. This added an unusual layer to their rehearsal process.

In a shocking display of psychological manipulation, Lola bound her actors to chairs and shredded their awards, including one that Iván had received for working with disabled children. This act significantly heightened the emotional strain on both men.

During a tense rehearsal, Félix shocked everyone by announcing he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was in palliative care. The revelation left the cast and crew in disbelief and questioning the impact on their production.

In response to Félix's health crisis, Iván privately offered to take on both roles should Félix's condition worsen. This display of camaraderie was quickly overshadowed by new revelations about Félix's true intentions.

Félix later confessed that his cancer diagnosis was a fabrication to exploit the emotional responses of his fellow actors. This bombshell left Iván and others questioning their relationships and the authenticity of their dramatic expressions.

During a lavish gathering at Humberto's, tensions erupted when Iván openly criticized Félix's acting. The confrontation reached its peak when Iván, after being pushed from a rooftop, fell into a comatose state.

After the fallout from the confrontation, Lola appeared to console a grieving widow while subtly indicating her awareness of Félix's deception. The crew continued filming, now with Félix taking on dual roles amidst the chaos.

The narrative captured the divergent paths of the characters, culminating in Humberto's bridge vision becoming a reality. This marked the transformation of Humberto's artistic ambition into a physical landmark.

Following the film's premiere, critics engaged in a post-screening Q&A session with Lola. Her curt one-word answers left them puzzled and scrambling to derive meaning from the film's intricate narrative.

As the film reaches its conclusion, Humberto stood firm in his belief in his artistic vision. The collaborative work with Lola and the actors had ultimately fulfilled his aspiration to leave a mark on cinema.

Félix returned to his Hollywood roots while Iván gradually woke from his comatose state, leaving a lingering curse over Félix. Lola addressed the audience directly, providing a thought-provoking closure to their intricate cinematic journey.