I hold a very special place in my heart for this project for the following reason: the legend of “El Silbón” is perhaps one of my favorites in Venezuelan folklore.
I had long wanted to see it adapted for the screen. There have surely been other versions made, and more will continue to be made… it could be like our tropical “Dracula.”
Thanks to my friendship with Diego, this had been a topic of conversation between us for a long time (since decades); I even wrote a short film about it and was keen to produce it, but one thing led to another and I let the idea slide.
Diego Velasco, however, made a concerted effort to move forward and develop the concept into a feature-length screenplay.
The editing process was coordinated by Jorge Reyes—it was a real pleasure working with him—and also by Rubén Darío Triana, who provided immense assistance; we had great conversations about how to improve the cut. Jorge kept a close eye on the technical details, ensuring that what I did in the cut flowed through the pipeline exactly as it should.
I must also mention the valuable input we received from Pipe (Juan Felipe Orozco) and his brother, the writer Esteban Orozco, as well as from writer Carolina Paiz, who was incredibly helpful with the reshoot scenes. They were closely involved throughout the story’s long pre-development process and later during post-production.
Given this team and the various perspectives involved, my strategy was to focus on ensuring the director, Diego, felt comfortable. Rather than trying to compete by imposing a specific decision or idea, I listened to him after gathering all the input and worked on determining what would best serve the story. If there were doubts about certain scenes, we clarified them by assembling additional versions, testing different approaches, and even deciding which lines of dialogue were unnecessary in order to streamline the narrative.
Synopsis
Shattered by the death of their daughter, a grieving couple retreat to a remote farm they’ve unexpectedly inherited. But isolation gives way to obsession when they encounter a mysterious cult that promises contact with the dead. As rituals intensify and unearthly forces begin to manifest, the couple are pulled into a waking nightmare where grief becomes a gateway — and the cost of reunion may demand far more than they’re willing to pay.
Pictures from the screening:
