‘When I Existed,’ a Cannes Market Standout, Swooped On for World Sales by M-Appeal and Now Bound for Tallinn Black Nights (EXCLUSIVE)

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Berlin-based M-Appeal has boarded “When I Existed,” a buzzy, feel-good second-chance drama comedy and Kafkian social satire which proved a standout at the Cannes Market’s Ventana Sur Goes to Cannes showcase, marking an auspicious debut for Uruguay’s Alejandro Damiani and Martin Avdolov.

A select but discerning sales agent of Latin American movies, M-Appeal has picked up international sales on “When I Existed” (“Cuando Existia”) just weeks before the feature’s world premiere in the Critics’ Picks Competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

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The feature debut of writer-directors by Damiani and Martin Avdolov, “When I Existed” unfolds its humane modern parable when Silvio Bertolini retires after spending 40 years building Uruguay’s foremost gates construction company.

Attempting to draw his pension, and with his credit cards frozen, he discovers that the National Pension and Retirement Fund, also his bank, register him as deceased.

Sent from pillar to post – to the bank’s Accounts, Payments and Claims treading dark puddled basement corridors and joining seemingly interminable lines. He meanwhile reconnects with old friends from his sculling boat club of youth, and re-awakes – but is it too late? –to what it really means to be alive: Spending time with his wife who hopes retirement will open a new chapter in their life together.

Driving “When I Existed” is a notably modulated performance from César Troncoso, star of “The Pope’s Toilet” and “The Eternaut,” as Silvio, ranging from smiling containment of a reasonable man to outraged anger, paralysis from anxiety, wistful regret and lovelorn solitude. Silvia Kutica (“Avellaneda’s Moon,” “Argentina, Land of Love and Revenge”) plays Silvio’s now increasingly estranged wife of 40 years.

“When I Existed” is lead produced by Federico Cetta for Uruguay’s El Cielo Cine who describes as “a story of reinvention built around the things that truly matter.”

Structured as near any film of ambition these days an as international co-production, “When I Existed” is co-produced by David Matamoros at Barcelona’s Doce Entertainment and Andrés Rosenblatt at Montevideo’s Metropolis Films as co-producers. Matías Burgos at Moon Ideas, also based out of Montevideo, serves as associate producer.

“This story speaks to us in a world where we have the constant feeling that time is slipping away between obligations we don’t always choose,” said Avdolov. “What do we do with the time we have? Today we need small acts of resistance against a logic that tends to make everything increasingly automatic and artificial. For me, making this film has something of that.”

“What won us over about ‘When I Existed’ was its rare mix of humor and humanity,” said M-Appeal co-founder Maren Kroymann.

She added: “Silvio is a charming man who struggles to accept retirement, while his wife has been waiting for this moment, hoping they can finally enjoy life together. Their story is both touching and deeply relatable, reminding us how easily we can get caught up in our habits and lose sight of what matters most. It’s a film that makes you laugh, moves you, and reminds us that it’s never too late to reconnect with the people we love.”

‘When I Existed,’ Broken Down by Damiani and Avdolov

“When I Existed” is shot with unusual elegance but sense of humor by Manuel Branaa, a camera operator on J.A. Bayona’s Netflix smash-hit “Society of the Snow.” This is caught in the the lateral tracking shot with which it opens, crossing a dark granite stone tomb taking in the red and yellows of flowers left on it. Asethetically, it’s a highly pleasing composition, but the flowers are wilting.

Drawing a counterpoint between the open expanses of marshlands, where Silvio catches up with his boat club best friends of youth, the charcoal grey and black corridors and barred doors and windows of the National Pension and Retirement Fund’s labyrinthine office conveys a sense of claustrophobia – that of a man caught not only in a bureaucratic system but his own self-absorption.

“When I Existed” delves into “the nature of the system, the ego, bureaucracy, technological trends, the dangers of alienation, and the erosion of humanity,” said Damiani and Avdolov. “We poured our souls into even the smallest details – things that might go unnoticed by others, but which, to us, made the work feel complete and purposeful,” they added.

Damiani has worked for years in advertising, as a copywriter and designer, wining Uruguay’s fist Golden Lion, then in VFX rising to Creative Director at top Uruguayan VFX house Aparato.

Avdolov has transitioned to filmmaking from a career as a novelist (“Violeta Corazón,” “Camba”), short-story writer and author of the non-fiction “El Corazón Creativo” (“The Creative Heart”).

“When I Existed” is born from the deepest fear any human being can have: how are we supposed to live? No one teaches you that,” Damiani told Variety.

It is also semi-autobiographical. “Working on ‘When I Existed’ made us realize how much of ourselves we poured into the film’s protagonist,” they added. “For many years, we had channeled our energy and creativity into other people’s projects. Following the pandemic – and having passed the age of 40– we decided to commit ourselves to our own meaningful projects. We see this film as a reminder that we are not here to live someone else’s life;

Damiani’s 2016 short, “M.A.M.O.N. (Monitor Against Mexicans Over Nationwide),” went viral, hitting over 13 million views on YouTube.

El Cielo Cine

Of features, “El Cielo Cine” has produced with Argentina 2025’s well-received adopted son drama “Emi,” directed by Ezequiel Erríquez, and Santiago Giralt’s 2023 “Norma,” a later-life self-discovery tale starring and co-written by Mercedes Morán (“Neruda,” “My Sad Dead”) which scored a best comedy Platino Award nomination.