“Nobody Barks”, interview with director Júlia Coldwell Serra

Selected for Future Frames at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2026, Júlia Coldwell Serra brings Nobody Barks, a darkly comic short that explores guilt, family ties and emotional avoidance through an increasingly absurd premise. Presented as her final master’s project, the film follows Candela, a middle-aged woman who accidentally runs over her young nephew’s dog. Unable to tell him the truth, she invents an extraordinary story: the dog has left on a pilgrimage to a sacred tree, and together they set out to find it.

The premise is both humorous and unsettling, allowing the director to examine why people lie, especially when deception is motivated by love rather than selfishness. “There is something very human about lying because it is so closely connected to guilt,” Coldwell Serra explains. “We usually lie because we have good intentions and we don’t want other people to get hurt.” As Candela’s invention grows beyond her control, the film gradually shifts between comedy, melancholy and emotional tension, refusing to settle into a single emotional register.

Finding freedom through absurdity

Rather than pursuing strict realism, Coldwell Serra embraces absurdity to reach emotional truth. For her, humour is not simply entertainment but a narrative tool that expands the possibilities of storytelling. A non-naturalistic approach allows her to establish the film’s own internal rules, creating space to address grief, guilt and responsibility without becoming didactic. “I wanted the tone to oscillate,” she says. “You don’t really know whether you should laugh, worry or cry, because life is like that. Tragedies and beautiful things don’t arrive in a convenient order.” The comedy of Nobody Barks rarely comes from punchlines. Instead, it emerges from discomfort, awkwardness and the increasingly impossible situation Candela creates for herself. Coldwell Serra also admits that humour reflects her own way of dealing with difficult moments. “Humour has always been a coping mechanism for me,” she says. “It felt like the most honest way to tell this story.”

Rooted in a familiar landscape

The filmmaker deliberately chose to set the story in the region where she grew up. Beginning with a place she knew intimately gave her a solid emotional foundation before she allowed herself to move into more imaginative territory. She believes that authenticity comes from embracing the local rather than trying to make stories universally recognisable from the outset. The international journey of Nobody Barks has only reinforced that conviction. “The more local and the more specific you become,” she reflects, “the more universal the film can be.” Instead of smoothing away cultural details, she trusted that honesty would resonate beyond geographical boundaries.

Writing Candela for Laia Cabrera

The role of Candela was written specifically for Laia Cabrera, whom Coldwell Serra had met while working on another production. Even before the screenplay was completed, she knew she wanted the actress to embody the character. What fascinated her was not only Cabrera’s talent, but the quiet mystery of her screen presence. “There is something about her face that makes you start asking questions beyond what is happening in the film,” the director explains. That ambiguity proved essential for a protagonist whose motivations remain deliberately difficult to define. Candela’s guilt, tenderness and desperation coexist throughout the film without ever being fully explained, giving the audience space to interpret her actions.

Trusting instinct above everything

Looking back on the journey of Nobody Barks, Coldwell Serra admits she never expected the short to travel so widely after waiting nearly a year for its first premiere. Its success ultimately confirmed something she had suspected while making it: originality comes from trusting instinct rather than trying to anticipate expectations. Many readers of the screenplay struggled to imagine the unusual tone she had in mind, but she chose to follow her own vision rather than make it more conventional. “I learned not to be afraid of taking risks,” she says. “It was the most authentic film I could make.” That lesson is one she hopes to carry into her future work.

Growing through Future Frames

For Coldwell Serra, being selected for Future Frames has been both an educational and deeply personal experience. Sharing the programme with nine emerging filmmakers from across Europe, attending masterclasses and exchanging ideas about filmmaking has strengthened her optimism about the future of European cinema.”We really bonded as a group,” she says. “It’s inspiring to meet so many people who are trying to make films with the same passion. It gives me hope for the future of cinema.”

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