TAP TAP
Directed by Fernando Camacho;
Spain · 2026 · 18 min
Submitted to RTV International Film Festival 2026Synopsis
Joaquín, a teacher with a trauma-induced OCD, is bullied by his students. When Víctor, a sociopathic boy, targets him, Joaquín is pushed to the edge.
About the film
We step into the mind of Joaquín, a forty-something primary school math teacher, emotionally broken and isolated. As a child, he witnessed the suicide of his sister—bullied until her last breath. That trauma birthed a severe post-traumatic OCD, blending traits of Tourette’s with a visceral reaction to a specific trigger: the sound of tongue clicking (“tap tap”), which plunges him into panic, rage, and psychological torment. Joaquín lives unnoticed and exploited. Everyone around him—neighbors, students, even colleagues—takes advantage of his silence and instability. His main tormentor is Víctor, a twelve-year-old student with sociopathic tendencies, who soon discovers Joaquín's weakness. Víctor is also the son of Marta, Joaquín's neighbor, for whom he harbors a quiet, conflicted longing. When Víctor starts clicking his tongue in class to torment him, Joaquín breaks—snapping a ruler against his desk. This leads to a meeting with the school principal, who suggests he take a mental health leave. Spiraling downward and on the verge of suicide, Joaquín is interrupted by Marta, who unexpectedly comes to apologize and invites him to dinner. That night, as Joaquín reaches for human connection, hell breaks loose.
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RTV International Film Festival — Inaugural Online Edition · 2026