Spices (Especias) directed by Cario Corrêa

Spices (Especias) – A Chase on 35mm

On the bustling streets of Muskaan, two police officers pursue a young thief. What begins as a simple chase takes a fantastical turn, revealing unexpected compassion in the shadows. Spices (Especias) is a playful yet poignant short film directed by Cairo Corrêa.

A Film Born from Constraint

The project was conceived within the Master’s in Cinematography at ECIB (Escuela de Cine de Barcelona), where each student was given just 41 meters (135 feet) of 35mm film—barely enough for a minute and a half at 24fps. Rather than see this as a limitation, Director of Photography José Luis Venta embraced it.

“I really wanted to shoot something like the chase scenes in Chungking Express,” Venta recalls. “So I told Cairo: ‘I have 41 meters of 35mm film—do you want to shoot a chase scene?’ The next day, Cairo already had a first draft of the script.”

Inspired by Christopher Doyle’s undercranking technique for Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express, Venta decided to undercrank the chase sequences as well, stretching the precious stock further while creating a kinetic, dreamlike rhythm.

Between Film and Digital

With only part of the story possible on 35mm, the team blended photochemical and digital formats. The result is a hybrid aesthetic where the texture of 35mm meets the immediacy of digital cinema.

Producer Sebastián Borjas Villalobos was instrumental in making the shoot possible, securing permits and coordinating logistics so the crew could capture Barcelona’s labyrinthine streets in a single day.

A Collective Effort

Spices represents the intersection of academic challenge and artistic ambition. Corrêa’s direction, Venta’s cinematography, and the dedication of cast and crew transformed a student exercise into a cinematic chase that is as playful as it is heartfelt.

At its core, Spices is more than a pursuit through city streets—it’s a pursuit of human connection, told through a lens that bridges past and present.