Manuel Sirgo
Manuel Sirgo is a Spanish director, producer, and animation artist, as well as an instructor at universities and audiovisual institutions. He is a member of the Spanish National Film Academy. In 1997, he founded production company 12 Pingüinos Animation Studio, through which he has won a multitude of film awards, including two Goya Awards. He received the Goya for Best Animated Short Film for Pollo in 2002 and for Cazatalentos in 2019. He has collaborated with such prestigious companies as Hanna Barbera, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, TVE, and Cromosoma. His team at 12 Pingüinos is made up of more than 30 film industry professionals.
The story is based on my years living in Madrid, where I worked as a journalist, linguist, and English instructor.
Daily Bread shines a spotlight on the rich complexity of how we all communicate with each other. It uses well-known proverbs and sayings that add color to our interactions and exist across many languages. The story is meant to show the challenges and triumphs we experience when we step outside our comfort zones. Learning a new language and attempting to find your place in a new culture can be rewarding, frustrating, exciting, nerve-wracking, and funny. But it's always worthwhile to explore different environments and connect with people in new ways.
- Kristen Rader, Screenwriter
Daily Bread (Pan de Cada Día)
An exchange student living in Madrid sets out to buy a loaf of bread, but finds herself lost in translation, making unexpected connections on her journey.
Since leaving Spain, Chicago has become my home. I met my spouse here, adopted my dog here, and have forged lasting friendships in this city. Though the film takes place in Madrid, I knew the themes would be relevant to an American audience as well, and especially a Chicago audience. Around 36% of Chicagoans speak a language other than English at home. That's a lot of different perspectives coming together, and we are all better off for it.
Chicago's diverse music scene is another of the city's best features. Though Daily Bread has an all-Spanish cast and crew, it features musical contributions from some fantastic Chicago-based artists. Post-punk band A.M. Slingers (Rich Forsythe, Andy Rader [my husband], Brad Menna, and Glenn Rischke) provided the closing credits song. Award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Ronnie Kuller, formerly of Mucca Pazza, created some of the film's gorgeous piano melodies.
If you're interested in picking up a second language, or dusting of the Spanish you learned in High School, Chicago's many cultural organizations offer classes in almost any language you can imagine. To start your Spanish journey, visit Instituto Cervantes of Chicago.
Learn more about Manuel Sirgo, and see more of his work, on IMDb.
From start to finish Daily Bread put a smile on my face and a craving in my belly. You bet I carbo-loaded while eating, I mean watching this film. Daily Bread's simple storyline is the search for bread for the dinner table. This seemingly common staple that varies in form but exists in nearly every single culture in the world is the heart of many cultures', communities' and families' traditions around food. And so, in pursuit of these traditions and rituals, a young exchange student sets out in her adopted country to bring bread back for her host family - encountering the sites, sounds, and language of an unfamiliar place. After all, Food means Love and Bread is Life. Daily Bread is a short, sweet, and beautifully-made film. The warm colors of the background are soft and inviting, invoking a sun-drenched day in Spain, and the subtle shading brings the animation to life with hints of the unknown mysteries of travel in a new country, and the delightful, gentle piano score is reminiscent of a simpler time.
