A scent of talcum powder. The remastering of the animated short Portrait of D

Abstract

This article details the process of remastering the short film Retrato de D. (2003), directed by María Lorenzo. This work is fundamental as it is the last Spanish production made using the traditional animation technique of painting on cels (acetate sheets). With an aesthetic inspired by 19th Century academic painting and narratives from authors such as Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker, the story explores the artist’s obsession with their creation: an unfinished portrait that consumes its author. Despite being part of the official selection at festivals like Annecy and Animafest Zagreb (2004), the short film was inaccessible for public screening due to the lack of a high-resolution or 35mm master copy.
The recovery of Retrato de D. is an example of author-led remastering that opens an exceptional path for the preservation of animation heritage. To carry it out, the original artistic materials, which were preserved in their entirety, were digitized. A deep review of the original art, digital cleanup of the initial audio, and new dialogue recording were performed, completing an exhaustive composition and editing process. This remastering, led by the director María Lorenzo herself and producer Enrique Millán, has allowed this key work of Spanish animation heritage to return to the big screen.