Las Tinieblas / The Darkness

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Note of intent

Since I started making and thinking in films, the exploration of the family, with their lights and shadows, has been a constant in each of my works and researches. I’ve been obsessed trying to better understand the space in which the most significant relationships are built. This gives us a sense of belonging, protection and love, yet, can also be the primary space of repression, authoritarianism and fear. Everyone has beasts inside, we’ve all been in apocalyptic worlds and our hopes have been covered by mist. Will we ever be able to transform all our darkness into light? 

Synopsis

In a forest always covered by a dense fog, Gustavo has maintained his three children locked in the basement of an old cabin making them to believe that a wild beast roams the depths of the forest. Marcos, the eldest son, has not been back since the last time he went hunting with his father. In an effort to find his brother, Argel will discover the mysteries and secrets that both Gustavo and the forest hide and will have to decide how far he can go to confront what is hidden in darkness.

Visual concept

The forest is a dark place though is illuminated by soft and diffused daylight. There’s no sign of life in the surroundings, and fog makes it a mysterious and oppressive place in which the characters and the audience will have the feeling of confinement. Inside a minimalistic wood/stone cabin, daylight will be realistic and will come from the windows. We rely on Vermeer’s and Rembrandt’s paintings, in which his characters are revealed with a soft. During nights, the atmosphere will be stylized but also very realistic, the fire of the fireplace, candles and gas lamps will be the only source illuminating the interior, so most of the frame will remain in full darkness as Caravaggio’s paintings.