Experiencing Interruptions?

A Profane Prose

A frustrated poetry tutor accepts a private teaching job at the home of a retired prosecutor, but the encounter takes a dark turn when she discovers the woman’s link to her family’s past.

  • Juan Vilchez
    Director
    Familiars
  • Juan Vilchez
    Writer
    Familiars
  • Marina Jacoby
    Key Cast
    "Valentina"
    The Counterfeit Mind
  • Cintya Chaves
    Key Cast
    "Aura"
    Chimera
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Una Prosa Profana
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    24 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 30, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Juan Vilchez

Juan Vílchez is a Nicaraguan filmmaker and screenwriter born and raised in Ocotal, Nicaragua, currently based in the Bay Area. He graduated in Communication and Public Relations with a postgraduate degree in Neuromarketing from Universidad Americana. His work often explores themes of power, memory, and poetic realism to confront complex social and spiritual questions through grounded, atmospheric storytelling. His perspective is shaped by his upbringing in Central America and his experience navigating identity, displacement, and resilience as an artist in exile.

Juan’s short films Somos, Minotauro, Etéreo, and Familiars have been selected at international festivals including the Ícaro International Film Festival, where his work has been recognized for its emotional depth and visual boldness. He is an Academy Nicholl Fellowships screenwriting alum, with a feature script that reached the competition’s advanced rounds.

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Director Statement

This project was born out of exile. It’s a story inspired by the dictatorship that continues to affect Nicaragua, and by the frustration of those of us who have been forced to flee. It follows a young poet who feels unable to express herself, unseen and silenced. That sense of artistic suffocation is something many exiles know intimately. Every Nicaraguan understands the real fear of speaking freely.

But what happens when one of the people responsible for that repression, a former prosecutor for the regime, now calls herself an artist? That contradiction is what sparked this film. I wanted to explore what happens when someone affected by state violence ends up working for one of its enforcers. What if, under different circumstances, these two women weren’t so different? What if the aggressor is just another reflection of the protagonist, a different side of the same coin?

My hope is that audiences connect with the themes of censorship, authoritarianism, and moral compromise. Not just as a reflection of Nicaragua’s history, but of the stories shared by so many across Latin America, and increasingly, in the United States today.