Baile con la Muerte, the animated short film created by a group of La Salle-URL alumni, has become a benchmark and a source of inspiration for a new generation of creators and filmmakers trained on campus. The short film was shortlisted for the 2026 Goya Awards in the category of Best Animated Short Film, narrowly missing out on the final nomination. Produced by Brooder Lab, the incubator for emerging content and talent at La Salle Campus Barcelona, the film has built a successful track record with more than 23 national and international awards.
Animation, the cinematic language of a new generation of creators
Baile con la Muerte is an animated fantasy that explores destiny, immortality and rebellion through a generational, intimate and contemporary lens. “It is a 3D animated short film that combines action, drama and romance through an unexpected encounter between a criminal and Death. For us, it is a story that reflects the transition from youth to adulthood, a stage we were experiencing at that time. It is about finding your place, about no longer being just another piece of a puzzle and starting to decide for yourself what you want. Even though things sometimes do not turn out as you expect, little by little you end up finding your way,” explains Carlota Massó, Director of the short film.
The project was born in the campus classrooms and developed over two years of creative and technical work with the support and production of Brooder Lab. José Luis Montesinos, Executive Producer alongside Sergi Vizcaino, states: “We have been among the fifteen best animated short films in Spain, and this is not a final goal, it is the beginning of a great career. We are supporting very young creators who are currently working on the development of a feature film script. The preselection was a recognition of a way of understanding audiovisual creation through emerging talent”.
Baile con la Muerte is the result of the joint work of eleven alumni from the Degree in Animation & VFX at La Salle-URL: Berta Alsinet, Paula Anglas, Núria Aranda, Martina Berney, Joan Cortit, Laia Domene, David Martín, Carlota Massó, Roger Menta, Víctor Moya and Gisela Torres. “We had to form teams for our Final Degree Project and a group of classmates came together with a clear idea that we wanted to create something that would go to festivals and be visually impressive,” recalls Berta Alsinet, one of the authors. From a technical perspective, the short film stands out for its high-quality 3D animation, developed without the support of any artificial intelligence tools, with a handcrafted aesthetic based on manual work, textures and lighting, as well as a carefully crafted sound design. The proposal connects with contemporary references in national and international animation and reinforces the professional projection and talent of the students on the programme.
Brooder Lab, the bridge between the university and the audiovisual industry
One year ago, La Salle Campus Barcelona promoted the creation of Brooder Lab, an independent entity whose mission is to promote and support the best projects by alumni in the professional audiovisual sector. The Director of the Degree in Animation & VFX and Creative Director of Brooder Lab, Felix Balbas, explains: “With Brooder Lab, we transfer exploitation rights to students who want to create their own projects and help them circulate them through festivals and markets. Both those graduating now and those who will come in the future demonstrate that professionals trained in our classrooms master the tools and create cinema”. “The talent that is emerging is following in the footsteps of Baile con la Muerte through other Brooder Lab short films such as Davi and Ramen for two, with recent selections at high-level national and international festivals,” adds José Luis Montesinos.
According to Sergi Vizcaino, Project Coordinator at Brooder Lab: “The quality of the projects we are supporting at Brooder Lab is not the result of chance. It is the outcome of more than ten years of work in the Animation & VFX degree and a firm, sustained commitment to talent and academic excellence. Throughout this time, and especially through final degree projects, we have built a training model in which students not only acquire top-level technical mastery, but also prepare to work in teams, understand professional processes and face the real challenges of the industry”.
Ten years training animation professionals
The animation and visual effects projects created by students are the result of ten years of the Degree in Animation & VFX at La Salle-URL, the first university degree in animation in Catalonia. In the words of the Academic Director of the Degrees in Art and Technology, Gabriel Fernández: “If the Degree in Animation & VFX was the natural evolution of our tradition and experience in engineering studies, the creation of Brooder Lab and the quality of the projects we are now seeing respond to an academic strategy to incorporate an artistic approach from the very beginning, while taking care of the technical side and fostering innovation and creativity”. “Our goal has always been to train well-rounded professionals and, above all, individuals capable of adapting, collaborating and growing within a demanding creative environment. This preparation is now reflected in the careers of many alumni who work at some of the world’s leading animation and VFX companies,” adds Sergi Vizcaino.
“I remember the beginnings of the degree ten years ago, and all the achievements being reached today are incredible,” states Guiomar Corral, Director of the La Salle-URL Digital Engineering School, the centre that delivers the animation and digital arts programmes. “These strong results are the sum of three factors: the talent of the students; the excellence of the professors and facilities; and the effort of both the students and all the educators on campus,” she concludes.
Ten years of animation at La Salle-URL, one year of Brooder Lab and a major success, Baile con la Muerte, which consolidates a way of innovating and creating through education, talent and strong connections with the industry.
