«Who is Ryan?», «The Reserve», «Quarantine», «Insha'Allah» and «District V8» are the titles of the five television series projects developed by second-year Audiovisual Communications students at the UIC. The projects were done for the subject Audiovisual Narrative I, taught by Prof. Aurora Oliva, and were presented along with teaser trailers to a panel of judges on Friday, 20 December 2013.
In the fiction module of the subject, students learn and apply theories of classic narrative screenwriting and show what they have learned by creating characters and developing story lines for a television series.
The project rated highest by the panel of judges was “Insha'Allah”, by Albert Sureda, Carlos González, Natalia Amisano, Natalia Arbó and Alicia Rojas. The students developed a story about faith and duty, themes that are explored through the main character’s inner conflict as he observes how the hardships he must overcome force him to question certain truths that he has always taken for granted. The plot takes him to Lebanon, where his son has travelled as part of a radical Islamic organization.
This year, students opted for psychological dramas, such as the series “Who is Ryan?”, which tells the story of how the main character breaks down the barriers that separate him from important life experiences. Futuristic action series, such as “The Reserve” and “District V8”, were also popular. Both are set in parallel societies in which the characters must face corruption and live with the consequences of their own mistakes. “Quarantine” has a somewhat apocalyptic tone – living in Barcelona has become dangerous – and analyses the behaviour of different social agents as they deal with the situation.
The panel of judges congratulated all the students and praised the professional-quality work they had done, as well as the originality and depth of the characters and story lines they had developed.
