This month, we have the great honor of visiting acclaimed Spanish writer, director and comic artist Alberto Vázquez,whose new movie Unicorn Wars premiered at Annecy and will also screen at Pixelatl and Ottawa this month.He writes, “Two months ago I finished my new feature film Unicorn Wars, on which I’ve been working for almost six years, and right now I am in a very strange phase both professionally and personally. I feel a big emptiness — and also, today is a holiday in August. Even so, I work every day because I have a lot of things to do!”
8:30 a.m. I get up and have breakfast. In this case, coffee and apple pie. It’s quite hard for me to wake up because a month ago I had COVID and there are days when I feel quite tired. Today is one of them.
9:15 a.m. I take a walk. I live in La Coruña, a quiet city in the north of Spain surrounded by the Atlantic ocean. Sometimes it is a boring city, but it has a spectacular landscape very close to home with many beaches and cliffs. As I am now working at home, it feels good to go for a walk before work.
10 a.m. Time for work. Two months ago I started the script for my next feature. I really like screenwriting, but I’m still at a very early stage and not sure about a lot of things I’m writing. I drink three cups of coffee … bad idea!
1:30 p.m. Today I went to the home of some animators friends to eat paella — a typical Spanish dish made with rice, saffron and other things. You have to make it well, so that the rice grains are cooked to perfection, and make a good base of broth and vegetables. We ate vegetable paella because some of them are vegans.
3:45 p.m. I get home and get to work. Although now I’m an animator, I still occasionally publish illustrations in magazines and make books. I like to illustrate a lot and I usually work with India ink and watercolor. Every week I publish an illustration in a magazine called Pronto, here in Spain. I don’t want to lose my spirit as an illustrator and I love drawing on paper.
6 p.m. I revise what I have written of the script and make character sketches for the future (hopefully) film. The revision work is very important, because after several hours I can see more clearly what I have written in the morning.
7: 30 p.m. I go for a walk with my girlfriend Bea, who has just come home from work. This is when I talk to her, share what we have done during the day, and I complain. She has to put up with all my insecurities and my (sometimes) depressive character!
11 p.m. Normally we watch a movie or read, but tonight we have some festivities in our city, so we came down to watch the fireworks. It’s a nice way to end the day —but tomorrow, we have to keep writing!
