Oso

A young father breaches barriers to see his daughter again before a darkness consumes him.

Cast
Paolo Aguilera
AllisonTrujillo-Strong
Lia Mountis

CREW:
Director/Writer/Editor – Mateo Márquez
Producer – Natasha Albors
Director of Photography – Jacob Malin
Production Designer/Wardrobe – Sydney Amanuel
Assistant Director – Alex Backus

AC – Matt Iacono
Alex Backus – Kevin Villafuerte
G/E Swing – Cole Buroff
HMU – Callie Fillion
Sound Op/Mixer – Lucas Miller
Art Production Assistant – Graeme Bettler
Production Assistant – Kendall Carpenter
BTS Photographer – Denisse Jimenez

POST:
Composer – Matt Politoski
Sound Designer – Roni Pillischer
Foley Artist – Annie Taylor
Colorist – Mary Perrino

Night Spark Pictures……Production Company
Besties Make Movies……….Co-Production Company
Greenwood Cinema Rentals…….Production Rental Services
SVA Alumni Program………Additional Production Support

A friend once told me the beginning of a true and powerful story about their life. Over the next few years, it unraveled slowly before my eyes and I witnessed how it shaped not only my friend but me as well.

It sparked in me immense sadness, frustration, and curiosity to explore their story further. I wrote a proof-of-concept screenplay based less on the truth of their life and more on the emotional impressions it left on me; I called it “Oso.”

It became clear early on that a factual representation of events was not the correct approach to accurately portray this tale. We needed to create a supernatural mechanism to feel the character’s psychosis. This meant blending or blurring the lines between genres to explore the visceral depth of this narrative. The creation of a monster or bear was born to fulfill this idea.

We would shoot the world in two separate dimensions, one rooted in reality and the other in the realm of the bear. Using a shallow depth of field, lighting tricks, and sound design, we sought to slowly blend this character’s dual perspective into one. The end result, I hope, is a disorienting and thought-provoking experience for viewers, as they feel trapped inside the mind of our unreliable hero.

I hope that the script and specific visual and auditory language will help foster empathy for a troublesome yet heartfelt character. I am excited to share this small excerpt of a much larger tale with audiences. I am thankful to everyone involved and deeply indebted to my friend for allowing me to share their real fictitious tale.