Film Name: Bikemaniac
Director: Juan Carrascal-Ynigo, Arturo Artal
Writers: Arturo Artal, Juan Carrascal-Ynigo
Starring: Mercedes Asenjo, Nora Estrada Malpelo, Olivia Estrada Malpelo, Javier Pereira
Matías suffers a terrible accident with his bicycle, in an inhospitable place. A girl finds him, Matías
asks her for help, but the girl does not want to help him, she wants to cure him. The girl has found a
funny game.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask Co-Writer/Director’s Juan Carrascal-Ynigo and Arturo Artal a few questions about the film ‘Bikemaniac’, which has been selected to play at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 23rd January at 12:30hrs.
Q. Your film Bikemaniac has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. We hope you’ll experience anguish, a bit of terror, and that the audience will squirm in their seats.
Q. You co-wrote the script together. What is the process of writing the script together and what were some of your inspirations?
A. We’ve been writing together for a long time, so it feels natural for us to share ideas and tear them apart to make something better. We’re now working on our first feature film, and it’s the same process. Our inspirations for Bikemaniac were Who Can Kill a Child? (1976) by Ibáñez Serrador, 127 Hours (2010) by Danny Boyle, and Funny Games (1997) by Michael Haneke.
Q. You also co-directed the film. What is the process for you directing together and do you each bring something different to the directing?
A. Yes, the shoot can look a bit chaotic from the outside. We usually don’t have an assistant director — we split the work ourselves. And yes, we definitely lean on each other’s strengths. Arturo handles the more technical aspects and VFX, while I, Juan, focus more on working with the actors. But it’s not a rigid system.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. We’ve already mentioned three directors who inspired us to make Bikemaniac: Danny Boyle, Ibáñez Serrador, and Michael Haneke. But undoubtedly, the great Stanley Kubrick is also present in this film.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Yes. Our lead actress is a 9-year-old girl who had never been in front of a camera before, so keeping to the shooting schedule wasn’t easy. There were shots we repeated up to nine times. Time was running out, so we had to sit down, rethink sequences, and combine actions in order to finish the shoot.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. When actor Javier Pereira — an experienced performer and Goya Award winner — helped Nora, our young and inexperienced actress, find her way into the role.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Filming a low-budget short is a challenge by definition. We all faced that together.
Q. What makes Bikemaniac stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. Its rhythm, the actors’ performances, and the empathy you end up feeling for Matías.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. That they call us asking if there’s going to be a sequel.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
Yes, we’re finishing the second draft of our first feature film script and are in talks with platforms about a fiction series.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Find yourself a good film editor.
Bikemaniac will be playing at Horror-on-Sea on Friday, 23rd January at 12:30hrs.
You can follow Juan Carrascal-Ynigo and the film Bikemaniac on Instagram
You can find out more about Horror-on-Sea and purchase tickets the Bikemaniac here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
