Irene Moray

Irene Moray
Moray at the 2020 Goya Awards
Born1992 (age 33–34)
Barcelona, Spain
Occupations
  • Photographer
  • filmmaker

Irene Moray (born 1992) is a Spanish photographer and filmmaker. Her 2019 short film Suc de síndria (Watermelon Juice) won the Goya Award for Best Fictional Short Film and the Gaudí Award for Best Short Film in 2020.

Her later work includes the 2025 short film Plàncton, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and her first feature film, Piel de foca.

Early life and photography

Moray was born in Barcelona in 1992. She wanted to study film but enrolled in fine arts because she could not afford the ESCAC film school, and left after one year. She moved to Berlin in 2012, spent three years collaborating with the performance collective the--family, and worked as a photographer for agencies, producers and publications. With the collective, she performed at the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo and the Chisenhale Gallery in London.

Career

Moray wrote, directed and starred in her first short, Bad Lesbian, a comedy about a Spanish woman living in Berlin. It won the audience award at ALCINE and the jury prize at the F.i.S.H. Festival in Rostock.

Suc de síndria

After four years in Germany, Moray returned to Barcelona, where she wrote and directed Suc de síndria. She also handled the cinematography; Elena Martín and Max Grosse played Bàrbara and Pol, a couple who spend a holiday with friends while Bàrbara tries to regain her ability to orgasm after being raped. The 22-minute film had its world premiere in the 2019 Berlinale Shorts competition and was nominated for European Short Film at the 2019 European Film Awards. Writing in Fotogramas, Carlos Loureda linked the distinct visual textures of the film's sequences to Moray's background in photography. Moray had met Martín while working as the still photographer on Júlia ist. She used guided meditation to help Martín prepare for emotionally demanding scenes in Suc de síndria.

Television and music videos

In 2020, Moray joined Leticia Dolera and Lucía Alemany in directing the second season of Vida perfecta, a six-episode production for Movistar+. In 2021, she and Elena Martín co-directed the music video for Rigoberta Bandini's "Perra", produced by Canada.

Plàncton and Piel de foca

Moray's Catalan-language short Plàncton premiered in the Pardi di Domani section of the 2025 Locarno Film Festival. Starring Clara Sans and Malcom McCarthy, it follows Joel, an emotionally blocked man whose former love visits him. In September 2025, Variety reported that her first feature, Piel de Foca (Sealskin), was in production with Lastor Media and Vilaüt Films. Its story follows Flora, a cleaner grieving her grandmother, who tries to help a teacher who is gradually becoming transparent. Discussing Plàncton in 2026, Moray said she had sought to explore men's emotional blockages through landscape and atmosphere, and had developed the characters' silence during editing.

Awards

The Goya for Suc de síndria was awarded to Moray as director and Miriam Porté as producer. The film also won Best Short Film at the 12th Gaudí Awards, held on 19 January 2020. Accepting the Goya, Moray dedicated the award to survivors of sexual violence and said they had the right to "make noise", succeed, take up space, enjoy their bodies and orgasm. In December 2020, the film won the 18th Ibero-American Short Film Competition organised by Versión Española and the SGAE Foundation; Martín and Grosse also received the AISGE acting prize.

References

  1. ↑ "Irene Moray". D'A Film Festival (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "'Suc de Síndria', Mejor Cortometraje de Ficción en los Premios Goya 2020" ['Suc de Síndria', Best Fiction Short Film at the 2020 Goya Awards]. Europa Press (in Spanish). 26 January 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  3. ↑ "Premios Gaudí: 'La hija de un ladrón' y 'Los días que vendrán' acaparan el palmarés" [Gaudí Awards: 'La hija de un ladrón' and 'Los días que vendrán' dominate the winners list]. Fotogramas (in Spanish). 20 January 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  4. ↑ "Irene Moray: "Quería tratar de entender qué les ocurre a algunos hombres, a los amigos o amantes que he tenido"" [Irene Moray: 'I wanted to try to understand what happens to some men, to friends or lovers I have had']. Ara (in Spanish). 13 August 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2026.(subscription required)
  5. ↑ "Piel de foca" [Sealskin]. Catalan Films & TV (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  6. ↑ Tramullas, Gemma (5 February 2019). "Irene Moray: "Hemos normalizado el no poder disfrutar del cuerpo"" [Irene Moray: 'We have normalised not being able to enjoy the body']. El Periódico (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "An interview with Irene Moray about 'Suc de Síndria'". Berlinale Shorts. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Ramírez, Noelia (24 January 2020). "'Suc de Síndria': el corto de los Goya sobre cómo recuperar el orgasmo tras una violación" ['Suc de Síndria': the Goya short about regaining orgasm after rape]. S Moda (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  9. ↑ "Plancton" [Plankton]. Seminci (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Watermelon Juice". European Film Academy. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  11. ↑ "Suc de síndria | Watermelon Juice". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "Berlinale Shorts: Programme complete for 2019". Berlinale Shorts. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Almodóvar, Bellocchio, Polanski and Lanthimos top European Film Awards nominations". Cineuropa. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Loureda, Carlos (19 December 2019). "'Suc de Síndria', de Irene Moray, el mejor y más necesario cortometraje de 2019" ['Suc de Síndria' by Irene Moray, the best and most necessary short film of 2019]. Fotogramas (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "'Suc de Síndria': ¿Qué pasa tras una agresión sexual?" ['Suc de Síndria': What happens after sexual assault?]. Woman (in Spanish). 3 March 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  16. ↑ "Dolera codirigirá la T2 de "Vida perfecta" con Lucía Alemany e Irene Moray" [Dolera will co-direct the second season of 'Vida perfecta' with Lucía Alemany and Irene Moray]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2 September 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  17. ↑ "Rigoberta Bandini estrena el videoclip de 'Perra'" [Rigoberta Bandini releases the 'Perra' music video]. Ara (in Spanish). 31 March 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  18. ↑ "Irene Moray estrena el cortometraje en catalán 'Plàncton' en el Festival de Locarno" [Irene Moray premieres the Catalan-language short film 'Plàncton' at the Locarno Film Festival]. Diari de Tarragona (in Spanish). 13 August 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  19. ↑ Sales Ross, Rafa (19 September 2025). "From Riley Keough and Albert Serra to Highly Anticipated Debuts: 8 Catalan Projects to Watch in 2026". Variety. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Hernández Ferrer-Mayol, Mae (3 February 2026). "Irene Moray". Metal Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  21. ↑ "Suc de Síndria" [Watermelon Juice]. Premios Goya (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  22. ↑ "Triomf de 'Els dies que vindran' i 'La hija de un ladrón' als Premis Gaudí" [Triumph for 'Els dies que vindran' and 'La hija de un ladrón' at the Gaudí Awards]. Catalan Films & TV (in Catalan). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  23. ↑ "El discurso reivindicativo de Irene Moray en los Goya: "Las mujeres supervivientes tienen derecho a correrse"" [Irene Moray's speech at the Goya Awards: 'Women survivors have the right to orgasm']. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 26 January 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  24. ↑ "'Suc de síndria', de Irene Moray, ganador del XVIII Concurso de Cortos Versión Española-SGAE" ['Suc de síndria' by Irene Moray wins the 18th Versión Española-SGAE Short Film Competition]. RTVE (in Spanish). 15 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2026.