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Andrea Pérez, a student in the Bachelor of Arts in Communication program with a concentration in Audiovisual Studies, was selected as a finalist in the DirecTV Cinema+ competition for her short film *That Place Was Mine*.
“The short film is about a woman who has to look after a house. At first glance, she seems like a normal person, but in reality, there are much darker things lurking inside her.”
This is the first time a short film by a university student has reached this stage, which was determined by the DirecTV jury and the public vote.
“That darkness stirs when she’s alone in that place. When I was thinking about the story, I wanted something ambiguous—if you want to believe the house is haunted, that’s a valid interpretation, but there’s also a reading that suggests the protagonist’s mental instability. I wanted to convey that instability by not making it entirely clear to the viewer what’s happening in the house. The protagonist gradually delves into the dark corners of her own personality.”
“I found out about the contest in late October, and that’s when I started getting things moving—thinking through the story, calling friends. Once we had everything mapped out with the director of photography (Xenia Jitar) and the assistant director (Lucas Gili), we reached out to the actress (Sofía Ott), who was a pleasure to work with. Then we put together an art department (Cecilia Pérez, my sister, and Micaela Feijóo) and continued refining the story. Camila Rodríguez handled on-set sound, and Gabriel Méndez was the gaffer,” he explained. “The tricky part is managing the script while also handling deliveries, organizing meals, and securing the location. The location was provided by the Alberto Soriano Cultural Space, a place that hosts really lovely events. I did the music with a friend who’s a sound engineer and musician (with whom I share a rock band) named Álvaro Riet. Working with him is always great; he’s very meticulous.”
“We shot on November 20; we worked 17 hours straight and were completely exhausted by the end. The house was full of cats, so every now and then we had to stop the shot because we could hear meowing or a cat would appear in the frame,” he said. “We formed a really great group and got along very well. The truth is that the work was impressive; as a team, we were able to bring the story to life.”
“I took the opportunity to do what I love with some amazing people and see if I had a chance to win a scholarship to the United States. Studying there is fantastic because you broaden your horizons and see different ways of working. Making it to the finals really got me excited because people get to see what you’re capable of; it feels great.”
After filming, Pérez handled the post-production work with Xenia and Facundo Sosa, “a director who did an incredible job with the color.”
The filmmaker competed for the chance to study at USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, the same university where Steven Spielberg and George Lucas studied.
Are you interested in audiovisual production?
Learn all about the Bachelor’s Degree in Communication with a focus on Audiovisual Media