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Writer's pictureLauren Brits

FROM STORY XPERIENTIAL TO FILM FESTIVAL

Isla Vela is a 39 year old writer, storyteller and scriptwriter from Alicante, Spain. She studied Translation and Interpreting of English and French and has worked in England as a museum guide and in France as a Spanish teacher, but what she has always wanted to do is write. She has been participating in Story Xperiential since 2022 and she is currently participating for a 5th time! Her 2023 Story Xperiential project, VioLET's Kite, was recognized with the Best Mobile Film at the Camp d'Elx Rural FilmFest 2023 in Elche.


Also in 2023, her storyreel project, Flora: A Mrs. Call Disney Tribute, was chosen as one of three Best Storyreels in the adult category for the Story Xperiential Peer Recognition Awards. She has been refining this story ever since.


Screenshot from Flora, A Mrs. Call Disney Tribute - A mouse greeting a boy on the back of an elephant -

The development of Flora, A Mrs. Call Disney Tribute actually started 4 years ago when Isla was pregnant with her second daughter. Musing one day, she thought about Walt Disney, the great titan of animation, whom she has always admired.

"I wondered why and for what he did what he did, why his stories and his legacy are so important and special. He had magic, he had heart, something special. I immediately got the idea in my head that it was his mother and I started researching her: Flora. I fell in love with Flora, her kind, open and friendly way of being, her love for education, her tenderness and passion for stories, her cheerful and playful character, her childlike innocence and creativity. And I imagined her gestating, dreaming, playing with her children, dealing with her husband, housekeeping, parenting, fantasized about her life in that time (by no means easy, but enriching) that she had had, and my imagination did the rest. I believe that Flora, in a way, knocked on my door that day (like in a ‘waking dream’) from a mother to a mother who both adore their children and firmly believe in the beauty of their own dreams and in making this world a better place."


"It was thanks to the Story Xperiential program that I made this storyreel about Flora. It was recognized as one of three Best Storyreels a year ago and this encouraged me to continue with my idea and desire of paying tribute to this great woman who has more to do with animation than we imagine."


Since then, Isla has been honing her craft and finding ways to share her stories with the world. Flora, A Mrs. Call Disney Tribute was also recently featured in the Project Catalogue at the Weird Market and WFest 2024, a professional animation, video games and new media market, and Festival in Valencia, Spain. The market and festival was held at the beginning of October showcasing international short films, networking events and workshops.

To learn more about the festival: https://weirdmarket.es/en/


"It was an incredible experience, both on the part of Weird Market and its unbeatable hospitality, and on the part of its attendees and their professionalism. There was art everywhere, a great human quality, an atmosphere as pleasant as feeling at home and opportunities to learn every moment. In one of my networking meetings as a screenwriter, I was lucky enough to meet Fabrice Laventure-Darival, Media Sales Executive at Studio 100 International, who represented the studios that produced beautiful and educational cartoons such as Maya The Bee and Heidi, one of my daughter's favorites."


She is currently working on the development of a short film that summarizes the story of her animated feature film script for Flora, a Mrs. Call Disney Tribute, for which she received a screenwriting grant of €10,000 from the Spanish Ministry of Culture this year. Isla hopes to submit the completed short film to international animation festivals in 2025.

Above are some images from her project proposal.


Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isla-vela-527166260/ Isla's website: https://islavela.es Isla's portfolio: https://www.behance.net/islavela

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