Imanol at Sitges: A Gorilla in the Details

A period world is only as convincing as its details. Even when one of those details is a gorilla.

Imanol Ruiz de Lara directed the 2026 Sitges Film Festival campaign for creative agency LLYC, with production by Lee Films. Little Black Book’s 16 October feature looks inside the practical craft behind it.

The shoot near Madrid brought together a 45-person crew and six cast members. The gorilla’s animatronic head used 12 servomotors, with two technicians operating its facial movements.

Costume, performance and effects all have to agree on the world before an unexpected guest can disrupt it. That balance of cinematic conviction and absurdity is precisely why we like this work.

Campaign image: Lee Films / LLYC, as published by Little Black Book. This is Imanol’s directing work, produced by Lee Films.

Explore Imanol’s reel. Read the full production feature and find the campaign films through the link below.