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Note of intent

Alarming as it is, the issue of missing children in Mexico is one we’ve become numb to. As a form of wake-up call, I crafted Diana, a woman who loses her only son even as she loses herself. I wove the plot around her, threading the drama through the helplessness, panic, guilt, and despair experienced by the character.
After an initial long take leading up to Christian’s disappearance, I aim to create a vertiginous narrative to leave the spectator breathless, as we follow Diana into the bottomless bit that is the disappearance of one’s child.

Synopsis

Diana is a forty-year-old woman, insecure and introverted. The only source of happiness in her life is her son Christian, a six-yearold boy. She and Jaime, the father, have just separated. One night, egged on by Christian, she honks her car until everyone in Jaime’s building wakes up. After having dodged her for several months, he finally agrees to talk about child support. Christian is playing outside the car. Diana hears the sound of screeching tires and gets a glimpse of a black van taking her son away.
From that moment, both of them embark on a frenzied search. Diana starts losing her mind and reveals her more aggressive side. She wants to plaster the city with missing posters, finds strange ways of making money to keep the investigation going, and does the unthinkable to find Christian. In a surge of panic, she tries to end her life by crashing her car, but the hope of finding her son will keep her afloat until the end.

Visual concept

A subjective approach will determine the selection of shots, lenses, and camera placements throughout the film. Subjectivity will also translate to warm lighting, artificially bright nights, and a camera for which only Diana is in focus, while everything around her remains lacking in depth and definition.
A progressively sober camerawork will depict a sad, barren reality. Sound will be muffled or sharp, depending on Diana’s state of mind. Contrasts will be essential to differentiate her descent into madness from her return to reality.