Private Project

Clinging to Air

After spending 25 years as a domestic worker, Edilsa faces the reality of unemployment in an era where all the rules seem to have changed.

  • Roberto Thomas-Díaz
    Director
  • Roberto Thomas-Díaz
    Writer
  • Ann Marie Cano
    Producer
  • Roberto Thomas-Díaz
    Producer
  • Marisin Luzcando
    Key Cast
  • Alejandro Jaen
    Director of Photography
  • Heriberto Pinzon
    Original Score
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    En El Aire
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 3, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Panama
  • Country of Filming:
    Panama
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Roberto Thomas-Díaz

Storytelling is at the core of Roberto’s penchant for creating. From an early age, he would write short stories that used his imagination and surroundings as main characters, developing a constant influx of resources that transformed into the tools he would later turn into a career.
Roberto is a London Film Academy alumnus. Part of his credits include:
Clinging to Air (short, 2023)
God & Homeland (short, 2017 - Official Selection of multiple festivals)
Hoy Te Libero (short, 2016)
In 2022, he was awarded the Ricardo Miró Literary Award (Panama's highest literary accolade) for his play 'An Elephant In The Room'.
His work as an audiovisual artist has also been featured in collective exhibitions like Trampolín (Casa del Soldado – Panama City, 2017) and América Late (Casa América – Madrid, 2017).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Living in inequality, one becomes accustomed to certain realities that may feel astonishing to others. Age discrimination in the workplace does not cease– it turns individuals who do not fit the current market's profile of what is employable into "disposable".
When technology plays an important role in the improvement of one's quality of life, how can those who haven't had access to it survive?
‘Clinging To Air’ navigates the difficulties old age represents for hundreds of people that still, at their retirement age, are forced to continue working. The reflection of a daily existence that becomes progressively harder. A system where the lack of humanity is a minor consequence for some, but for others it’s like they are clinging to air.