Private Project

Broken Dolls

A dollmaker, haunted by her recent divorce, struggles to remember what exactly happened the night her marriage ended.

  • Adam Andrew Holguin
    Director
  • Adam Andrew Holguin
    Writer
  • Adam Andrew Holguin
    Producer
  • Hannah Herman
    Producer
  • Libby Munro
    Key Cast
    "Claire"
    Wild Woman; Mommy Would Never Hurt You
  • Michael Ursu
    Key Cast
    "Travis"
    The Second Age of Aquarius
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 14, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Loyola Marymount University
Director Biography - Adam Andrew Holguin

Adam Holguin is a Los Angeles native with a BA in Creative Writing and BFA in Filmmaking. In 2022 he received his MFA in Film Production from Loyola Marymount University. He also has a background in animation and music production.
Adam has been making films for five years, and while still a young filmmaker, he has cultivated a strong body of collaboration amongst his network of trusted friends and creative partners. His work celebrates imagination and often explores elements of human psychology, spirituality, and small, intimate, windows in time.
A lover of nature, whiskies, and pipe smoking, Adam resides in his hometown of El Sereno.

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Director Statement

"Broken Dolls" was conceptualized as a process of heartbreak, an examination of grief. I wanted to portray stages one experiences with loss, betrayal, and denial. Expectations and resolutions are not always what they seem, and I wanted to weave that truth into the film’s narrative structure and make something that felt very visceral, abstract, yet real. My goal was to find the beauty in loss.
The story follows a woman struggling to find an output for her grief. It’s a moment-by-moment set up, but the journey is percolated with time jumps, lapses in cohesion and clarity due to her moments of dissociation. Claire is processing the past in real time.
To accurately convey the emotional needs of the story, I knew that the narrative could and should play with time and space, the emotional flaw of memory, and how untrustworthy it can be. Agony alters perception. I’m fascinated by the fact that our memories can be corrupted by a shift in our world views or emotional fragility.
"Broken Dolls" is my first foray into narrative driven avant-garde storytelling. It’s a cinematic exploration revolving around the hardships and fallibility of love and loss. The film’s themes on grief are timeless and a fundamental part of the human experience.
Ultimately, I wanted to tell a human story that is relatable, haunting, and poignant. While some shy away from such stories, I admire these moments most of all. This is my love letter to loss.

Adam Holguin
Writer and Director