Written and directed by Amanda Valle, Loneliness Doesn’t Come Alone (La Soledad No Viene Sola) (2026) explores a deeply personal story for this female filmmaker.
We are positioned through the eyes of a younger Amanda Valle (Olivia Marie). She watches over her mother’s life like a passive spectator. But she’s invisible to her mother (Lia Briones), although not in an intentionally mean way. A voiceover narration by Melissa Marty describes her childhood and reveals the innermost thoughts of our young protagonist.
“Everything was part of a daily choreography that unfolded before me with the same cadence, as if the time itself had decided to suspend in an eternal loop.”
Loneliness Doesn’t Come Alone, 2026
The monotonous everyday routine of the mother is contrasted with the vibrant and brightly coloured backdrop which stands out for its bold orange walls. Valles’ use of colour here is extremely effective. The coral-coloured walls contrast with the teal-painted windowsills and the vivid red telephone.
Loneliness Doesn’t Come Alone: Delving Into Spanish Culture
But seemingly putting a stop to this monotonous everyday routine comes a new plan – her father looks after her every afternoon at 2pm. Soon realising he is unreliable in keeping his word – she sets to other plans like painting. However, when she decides to stay indoors, it means she’s wasting time as a child making valuable memories.
The memory she holds onto is a painting which she keeps with her as an adult. Fun anecdotes from childhood soon become absent as the voice recognises she was trapped between her parents’ failed relationship. That’s how this short film is relatable to so many. In particular for children who have experienced parental separation growing up.
Although the protagonist is heartbreakingly left alone for most of her story. She looks for activities to do whilst her parents run their own chores. It’s well-chosen setting delves into Spanish culture. From the Spanish streets to the music. She’s stuck between developing her maturity like lighting a match to playing in her childlike wonder through lying on the floor painting. But an important message here is the deep sadness that comes with growing up too fast and fast-tracking your maturity because of environmental factors.
The absence of her parents forces her to not only be ‘lonely’ but to find her own path ‘alone.’ Interestingly, even though she may be physically alone, mentally she stimulates her mind with activities. Painting makes the time go faster when she patiently waits for her mother to return home from work. On Saturday’s, whilst she’s taken to her mother’s work at the department store, she explores the aisle on her own but she’s not ‘alone’ as she utilises the environment around her.
Inherent Childlike Wonder
She repeats the same routine she’s used to at home – to explore and make use of her surroundings. It reminds us of the inherent childlike wonder to roam free and have adventures before adult responsibilities take over. A reveal at the end about her father forms a stronger bond between mother and daughter.
How she witnesses events that involve her father are very different to how her mother views these interactions (or lack of). This reminds us again that her viewpoint is young and childlike. She doesn’t really understand the full situation just yet. The ending is incredibly sentimental. The screen fills with real-life photographs of writer and director Valle as a young girl. Everything from the painting to her outfits and even the department store perfectly matches scenes in the film.
Amanda Valle’s Loneliness Doesn’t Come Alone masters capturing a young girl’s perspective on being alone played beautifully among the backdrop of Spanish culture. This very personal story speaks on universal themes that women can relate to within reminiscing about their childhood memories, including imagination, longing, and a desire for more.
Whilst children see the positive creativity in this world, adults’ mundanely coloured lives cannot match nor live up to the vibrant intensity of young minds. However, whilst the short film plays as a letter to her past self, it’s the mother-daughter duo in this story which makes the most impactful impression. Despite being alone, the desire to be alongside her mother is overwhelmingly strong and they become present for each other.
Rating: 4 stars
Loneliness Doesn’t Come Alone is part of Filmotomy’s coverage on the Femme Filmmakers Festival 2026.
You can read more reviews from the festival, including The Lord of the National Garden (2025) here.
