Embedded Files
Our New Gold Festival 2024 edition will be hosted by Professor Beatriz Eugenia Salamanca at Universidad Pontificia Javeriana, Cali and Professor Alexander Samson at University College London, funded by the Center of Humanities Education fund.
Winners
Ever Present Procession of the Dead
Lauren Linnebur
(Texas Tech University)
Short film
Quevedo writes about the speed at which life moves as a reflection of him growing older. He illustrates thoughts of existentialism and distress about wasting precious time throughout ones life. My video attempts to highlight someone moving through life while constantly fearing the future and inevitable death.
Lucid dream
Amaya Reddy
Amaya Smaran
Faith Reddy
(Bowdoin College)
Short Film
This short film is inspired by Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s classic, La Vida es Sueño. The narration is a combination of Penguin Books’ 2006 translation of Segismundo’s soliloquy at the end of Act Two, and my own writing. Similar to how one can not control the outcome of their dreams (unless they are lucid dreaming), I often find myself watching life go by rather than participating in it. I pity myself and the opportunities I miss, but I also refuse to jump at said opportunities. The original monologue provides a unique insight into Segismundo’s mind as he contemplates the meaning of life and death when certainty is unknown. In this portrayal of Segismundo’s words, I am not only grappling with the meaning of life and death but also the meaning of control.
Recuerdo mío
Oscar Alan Gonzalez
(Bowdoin College)
https://youtu.be/t1DMjmOiGWw?si=NihB_VUHq_g5fDRH
Video Art
I decided to write a monologue that reinterprets the sixth sonnet from El perro del hortelano by Lope de Vega, where one of the play’s protagonists, Diana, asks her emotions to consolidate the tension she feels between maintaining her honor and wanting to pursue her love for Teodoro. Drawing from the poetic and structural elements of Diana’s sonnet, I wrote a monologue of my own where I also invoke my feelings and speak directly to them. However, unlike Diana’s sonnet, I reminisce about my summer before attending my first semester of college and address the notion of leaving behind the past. I also incorporate the themes presented in Segismundo’s second soliloquy from La vida es sueño by Pedro Calderón de la Barca by making comparisons between my memories and the idea of life as a dreamlike state. By taking only the keyframes of the recordings, I made the videos appear fragmented to resemble the hazy effect of recollecting a memory. Furthermore, I omitted color from the videos and placed them in a non-sequential order to further depict my recordings as visual representations of my recollection of events and more accurately portray how I perceive these memories.
An ode to living (truthfully)
Jake Medina
(Bowdoin College)
Video Art
In "El Monstruo de Los Jardines" by Don Pedro Calderon de la Barca, an important event is when Achilles accepts his destiny after pleading with his mother, Thetis, to let him live a normal, mortal life. I chose to reflect both the weight of generational expectations and individual destiny as well as how these impact our choices in life. This piece is a reimagining of Achilles' defiant spirit, and applies it to the desires that people experience in their everyday lives. It takes the idea of living for one's self and not for others, and molds it to showcase resistance in the name of personal fulfillment. Snippets from their dialogue in the first act are used to weave a narrative of individualism, shown through paper stop motion and digital animation.
Special mentions
Hijas de la tierra
Vanessa Sanchez
Emily Mazariegos
(Syracuse University)
Short film
Nuestro proyecto es una nueva interpretación del monólogo de Laurencia de Fuentovejuna. Estos son tres poemas y estan supuesto demonstrar como las mujeres encuentran su valor, igualmente como laurencia encontro el suyo en su monologo. Nosotras creamos el monólogo desde un punto de vista de la población indigena, específicamente las mujeres para demostrar cómo ellas se sienten invisibles en su comunidad y el gobierno. Queremos que el mismo sentimiento prevalezca, pero queremos cambiar la perspectiva y la audiencia del monologo.
El Condenado por Desconfiado Modernizado
Ashley Bair
(Arizona State University)
https://youtu.be/0myCkS368_w?si=SBVFGo_T4KXlsQ_B
Short film
This was a creative video done for a Spanish class where we had to modernize a piece by Tirso de Molina. I decided to use Barbies and the modernization was based around self doubt.
Addiction
Alexandra Theis
(Arizona State University)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jg5Xn8xvXl2tdAxU-hjWyWrfuaKHBtW0/view?usp=sharing
Video Art
BAsed on Lope de Vega - Soneto CXXVI. It is a description of the emotions and feelings of those struggling with addiction.
Videos and pictures from Pixabay and Pexel.
Life is Just a Dream
Lex Davis
Carlos Ruiz
(Bowdoin College)
Music Video
In La Vida Es Sueño many of the characters struggle to assert their honor and place in society. In the time the play was written, this was the coveted social status making it desired by everyone. Today, identity has become the new honor with everyone out to claim and develop their identity. This inspired us to make a parody on the song “Just a Dream” by Nelly, titled “Life is Just a Dream”, a play on the actual title. We changed the lyrics to present the major themes from the play and demonstrate the ways they have evolved into today’s society. Segismundo struggles throughout the play to find his place, just like many people do today, making him a strong example. Additionally, Rosalia spends the entirety of the play trying to reclaim her honor after losing it, mirroring the struggles of people who feel they are without an identity. The Spanish quotes are ones from the play that we found especially meaningful. The format of a music video serves as a creative and modern way to spread the themes of the golden age today!
Finalists
The monster of the gardens
Juan Diego Del Prado
(Bowdoin College)
Podcast
"In my college’s special archives, there’s a copy of “El monstruo de los jardines”, a lesser-known comedia suelta with no English translation by Spanish-golden-age playwright Pedro Calderon de la Barca. The play centers on love, honor, and gender, and discusses themes that are relevant today, so I’ve begun to create an English translation of this work.
The story takes place in ancient Greece, focusing on the hero Aquiles and the princess Deidamia. The king is looking for Aquiles to join the Trojan war, and the characters are on the deserted island where Aquiles lives. He encounters and falls in love with Deidamia, before escaping. Arguing with his mother, goddess Tethys, Aquiles convinces her to let him leave to pursue Deidamia. She wants to protect him from being recognized and from going to war, and changes Aquiles’s body into a woman's body, specifically Astrea, Deidamia’s cousin whom Deidamia was in love with before she died in a shipwreck. Aquiles, as Astrea, gets closer with Deidamia, but she eventually discovers her true identity. Deidamia hears Aquiles’ explanation and is forgiving, and continues to keep Aquiles’ secret, but eventually Aquiles must come clean and confront both his desires and his destiny. "
La vida es sueño
Suhas Gudaru
Michael Sweeney Aleena Nasruddin
(Bowdoin College)
https://youtu.be/NozawEEVkBg?si=yFU3W-yzlWF0RsWB
The goal of our adaptation is to show how, like Segismundo in ""La Vida es Sueño,"" many people live in societies in which their reality is controlled by someone else. We interpreted the manipulation of reality as information censorship in today’s world. We connected Segismundo’s monologue about the lack of freedom to different situations in which people’s media, voices, or education are censored. Through our video, we hope that the audience walks away understanding how Calderón’s message about the distortion of reality is still relevant today.
La voz de la Madre Tierra
Carolyn Fernandes
(Syracuse University)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJgwVxBHKFs
Short Film
Abigail Long y Carolyn Fernandes han trabajado con el monólogo de Laurencia de la obra Fuenteovejuna, pero desde la perspectiva de la Madre Naturaleza (Mother Nature). Al inicio del monólogo, la naturaleza se representa en forma de una petunia, que está llena de ira y resentimiento. La petunia está siendo victimizada por la caudalosa cantidad de lluvia que viene debido al cambio climático. Exhibe un sentido de invisibilidad al no poder, siendo solo una flor, luchar contra el daño generado por los humanos. En el medio del monólogo, la naturaleza pasa a convertirse en un huracán para contraatacar a los seres humanos. La Madre Naturaleza está harta del control que tienen los humanos sobre el clima. En esa parte, quieren jugar con la idea del subjuntivo con lo que desearía la naturaleza, lo que desea para el futuro, lo que espera que pase. El tono del final es uno completamente lleno de efectos catastróficos, estruendosos y con furia que va aumentando su energía hasta formarse en un huracán. La naturaleza, en ese sentido, quiere responder a las acciones de los humanos para regularlas y, al mismo tiempo, revitalizarse a sí misma.
Innocence Punished' and 'Don Juan' In Reflecting Contemporary Issues
Tara Das-Gupta
Kavya Patel
Jernin Ong
Gurneet Dhillon
Rosanne Lui
(University of British Columbia)
Video Art
Our project dove into the objectification of women and the issues of the male gaze within 'Innocence Punished' and 'Don Juan.' We were able to evaluate the text and the play and find connections from issues seen within them during the 17th Century, comparing them to those same issues that are still prevalent today, both generally and through modern media.
Participants
El sueño que yo vivo
Melisa Vaca & Auri Fernandez
(Bowdoin College)
https://youtu.be/2bwG-Cq3Uv4?si=uas0lj8O5Kcl6rm8
This piece is inspired by Segismundo, from the play La Vida es Sueño, written by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. In this short film we combine elements of music, poetry, and dancing to describe the first-generation experience. We are taking parts of Segismundo’s monologues to discuss the theme of freedom through dreams and how this connects to being a first generation student at a predominantly white institution. Using various pictures of our everyday life and short clips of ourselves we aim to illustrate the central themes of honor, perception, and sense of belonging.
El Condenado por Desconfiado
Alaleh Moslehpour (Arizona State University)
https://youtu.be/U9eVaziy0ak?si=td33qEMk9l1YWc06
My video is a personal, modern, and english adaptation of a fragment of the play "El Condenado por Desconfiado" by author Tirso de Molina, specifically verses 77-139, with the character Pedrisco. It features a long monologue and scene from the play where Pedrisco (modernized as Pedri) is isolated from society with Paulo (Paul), who brought him there. He expresses his emotions, sadness, nostalgia, and the larger theme of free will which is important in the entirety of the play. Instead of a human adaptation, I used a puppet to reenact the character of Pedrisco, as he discusses his life as a servant to Paulo, and all of the things he is missing while being isolated from society. For inspiration, I used references from iconic films, soccer (fútbol) names and tournaments, and all types of modern references in my creative video. As a setting, I used a child's toy playground as the cave and abandoned environment, and incorporated playful props throughout the presentation to make the video more unique, personal, and creative.
El Condenado por Desconfiado
Rebecca DeMalta (Arizona State University)
https://youtu.be/iJgY5LMhPbo?si=NuVqzJ3aS2A0d2Ng
This work displayed all the sensory to bring you into a place of peace, wonder, curiosity, relaxation. From touch to olfactory, Tirso de Molina strengthens your inner soul with Paulo’s words. The author uses figurative language to paint the picture of mother nature at her finest. Nature brings peace, and ties into faith with God; the two combined create a world full of wonder and surprise. Tirso’s work strengthens and soothes the mind with his use of expression and passion. The video captures the profound beauty of nature, weaving together scenes of diverse wildlife, with a focus on how these natural wonders reflect the divine presence of God. Tirso de Molina writes passionately. Throughout the video, a gentle narrative unfolds, offering reflections on how nature serves as a manifestation of God’s creation. Organic sounds connect the poem read in the background with the pictures, further enhancing the sense of reverence and awe. As the video concludes, the message emphasizes that, in observing nature’s beauty and complexity, we are reminded of God’s presence in our lives, urging viewers to appreciate the sacredness of the world around them. The video encourages reflection, peace, and a deeper connection with both nature and the Creator. “Thank you for another day.
Richard Burbage (final edit for transitions)
La vida es sueño
Emma Shoup
Luis Abreu
(Arizona State University)
https://youtu.be/y5vMNnqEym0?si=Yn99h0W8CKAp3WCk
This short film is based on the theatrical drama of Pedro Calderón de la Barca, "La vida es sueño."It has been adapted into English and based in more modern contexts.
La vida es sueño
Gerardo Lopez Rodelo (Arizona State University)
https://youtu.be/ssFh3wO1NIM?si=LzPrv6iNWTAgWWvx
The video is a modern adaptation narrative of the original play named La vida es un sueño by Calderon de la Barca. The adaptation respects the original meaning of the play, but offers a new perspective of what the author wanted to communicate. The video shows visuals of what the author says.
2024 Jury
Alexander Samson
Alexander Samson is a Reader in Early Modern Studies at University College London. His research interests include the early colonial history of the Americas, Anglo-Spanish intercultural interactions and early modern English and Spanish drama. His book Mary and Philip: the Marriage of Tudor England and Habsburg Spain is out with Manchester University Press. He runs the Golden Age and Renaissance Research Seminar and is director of UCL’s Centre for Early Modern Exchanges and the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters.
Beatriz
Salamanca
Beatriz Salamanca received her PhD in Spanish and Latin American Studies at University College London in 2019, and is a lecturer at Universidad Javeriana Cali, where she teaches courses on Human Rights, History of Philosophy and Law, and the History of Political Thought. Her current research looks at the interaction of hosts and guests in Spanish Golden Age theatre, tracing its political dimension and its impact on the history of emotions and philanthropy. She received a Summer Fellowship at the Institute of Humane Studies at George Mason University in 2019, and a Fellowship at the Madrid Institute for Advanced Study in 2021.
Sandra Huaringa Nino
Sandra Huaringa Niño is a PhD. student in Spanish and Portuguese at University College London. She has also received degrees from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the monstrous-feminine in Golden Age drama.
Paula Rodriguez
Paula Rodríguez is an actor writer, translator, artistic director and producer. Her most recent projects include The Other Solos Shakespeare, a series of YouTube monologues celebrating migrants and AURIC, fusing classical poetry and contemporary music. In 2015 Paula co-founded Teatro Inverso, a company specializing in reinventing the plays from the Spanish Golden Age for modern audiences, touring in the USA, Latin America, and Europe. She is the creator and artistic director of OUR NEW GOLD.
OUR NEW GOLD is an interdisciplinary and international festival exploring 17th Century Hispanic theatrical and poetic texts focusing on current social issues (such as gender, racial and social inequality, systemic oppression, cultural identity and environment) towards the creation of digital storytelling pieces translated and adapted into English or including English subtitles.
This Festival aims to promote essential aspects of creating artistic works inspired by the Spanish Golden Age Theatre internationally and in the present time. We encourage students to delve into different tasks such as translating, rewriting, filming, acting and producing their creations, hoping to open new ways of understanding and portraying the Spanish Golden Age legacy in our digital times: a more social, inclusive and vibrant approach.
The first edition of this festival was organized and created by Ohio Wesleyan Students Jazmine Lew, Fiona Hansen and Marcos Crespo.
Open Call is now closed.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse