Juana Robles (b. Tortosa, Spain, 1983) is a Kilkenny-based experimental filmmaker whose practice transforms film into a tactile, breathing canvas. Juana's work explores the body as both subject and storyteller, transcending physical form to uncover layers of identity, memory, and resilience. Utilising performance, ritual, and analog techniques, she creates immersive cinematic experiences that blur the lines between personal and collective history.
Her filmmaking process is deeply material, engaging in 16mm and Super 8 analog film, enriched through workshops with prominent experimental artists and collectives like CRATER-Lab with Luis Macias, Labor Berlin with Distruktur, Lab Klubvizija SC with Branka Valjin and Hrvoje Spudić, and Laboratorio Experimental de Cine in Mexico with Elena Pardo and Manuel Trujillo. Juana's education spans a BA in Visual Communication from the Lucerne School of Art and Design and an MA in Spatial Design from Zurich University of the Arts, where she also attended a residency at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing.
Over the years, Juana's films have been screened at festivals worldwide, including Gaze International LGBTQIA Film Festival in Dublin, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Paris Festival for Experimental Cinema, and Videoex in Zurich, as well as notable showcases in Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Belgrade, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Braziers, Barcelona, and Athens. Her works, such as Anastatica, and a porcelain cat, and Nightshades, have won awards. Additionally, Juana’s films have been exhibited in art contexts like CAN Centre d'art Neuchâtel in Switzerland for Désordre sacré, TATO Bridge Gallery in Tbilisi, Georgia, and as part of Askeaton Contemporary Arts’ Welcome to the Neighbourhood international artists residency in Askeaton, Ireland.
Her work has been consistently supported by the Arts Council of Ireland through multiple awards and funding programs, including Film Bursary Awards, Film Project Awards, the Film Agility award and the Professional Development Award. These grants have been instrumental in advancing her creative vision and in completing projects like Alicia (2024), which was post-produced at Atelier 105 in Paris with Light Cone, where Alicia is now distributed. Similarly, and a porcelain cat (2020) is distributed by Collectif Jeune Cinema, Paris.
Juana also co-founded Out of Focus, a cinema initiative in Kilkenny dedicated to showcasing avant-garde and underrepresented works. She has further contributed to the experimental film community through her work with prominent festivals such as LUFF (Lausanne Underground Film Festival) and Videoex International Experimental Film Festival in Zurich.
2024
Arts Council Ireland
Film Bursary Award
Atelier 105, Light Cone, Paris
Post-production residency
2023
Arts Council Ireland
Film Project Award
2022
International Festival of Analog/Experimental Cinema- KINOSKOP
"Anastatica"
Audience Award
Experimental Film Festival Barcelona
"Anastatica"
Best experimental short
Arts Council Ireland
Film Agility Award
2021
Arts Council Ireland
Film Project Award
Arts Council Ireland
Film Bursary Award
Videoex Experimental film & Video Festival Zurich, Switzerland
"Nightshades"
First Price Swiss Competition
2020
Arts Council Ireland
Film - Professional Development Award
Paris Festival for Different and Experimental Cinema
"and a porcelain cat"
First Price ex aequo
Videoex Experimental film & Video Festival Zurich, Switzerland
"and a porcelain cat"
First Price Swiss Competition ex aequo
MUFF Milwaukee Underground Film Festival
"and a porcelain cat"
Honorable Mention
Super Off International Super 8 Film Festival
"and a porcelain cat"
Honorable Mention