Zohe

Now David Contreras tells us about his movie "Zohe":

I enjoy stories of all kinds, in any genre.

Science fiction, in particular, feels beautiful and thrilling to me. It allows me to play, invent, and create fantastic stories with unusual characters —sometimes without even needing to explain why they act the way they do. I also believe sci-fi gives us the chance to speculate about parallel realities and imagine what our world or the universe could be like, often reflecting on human behavior and society in the process.

Zohe is exactly that kind of story: it follows an ordinary man who, after a great universal cataclysm, fights for his freedom and for love.

We shot the film using a Canon 7D. I had never worked with Full HD before, so it was a real pleasure to see that level of sharpness and image quality on screen.

Zohe was supported by the government of my country, and many public and private companies joined the project to help bring it to life. Still, finding the resources was far from easy —it’s been a long and complex journey.

Over the years, I've learned a lot, especially about creativity and improvisation. Things don’t always go as planned—sometimes because of limited resources, unpredictable weather, or other unexpected setbacks. When that happens, you need to react fast and find effective solutions. There were times during shooting when I had to completely rewrite scenes or drastically shorten them on the spot. With the actors ready and the technical crew in place, I would quickly analyze the surroundings and find a new way to tell the scene. I even started bringing white sheets of paper to the set to sketch out new shots on the fly when necessary.

Looking back at previous productions, I can say that poor planning was one of the biggest challenges. But this time, despite all the adversity, we made things work. We took a good step forward, and I feel like we made the most of every moment on set.

I’d like to end with a personal thought that I truly value: "Life is short. We’re just passing through this planet."