Experiencing Interruptions?

Fragments of Silence

A young and subordinate sculptor wants to exhibit her works of art in a gallery, but to achieve this, she must confront her narcissistic father, who is directly opposed to her path and interests. This desire to attend the exhibition will trigger irremediable consequences that reveal the dark truth of the family.

  • Mariana García
    Director
  • Mariana García
    Writer
  • Leonel Santamaría
    Writer
  • Regina Flores
    Producer
  • Mariana García
    Producer
  • Leonel Santamaría
    Producer
  • David Arauza
    Key Cast
    "Vicente Ortíz"
  • Marysol González
    Key Cast
    "Veronica "
  • Sara Gabriela Flores
    Key Cast
    "Mara Ortíz"
  • Project Type:
    Feature, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 12, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    26,788 MXN
  • Country of Origin:
    Mexico
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    DIGITAL 2K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:88:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey
Director Biography - Mariana García

Mariana Garcia Ballesteros is an alumni at Tecnológico de Monterrey majoring in Communications with an emphasis in Cinema. She has expanded her career as a photographer and cinematographic director. Her work as an independent photographer has gotten her involved in freelancing projects such as product, portrait. and event photography. During her professional internships she worked in Televisa Monterrey, as a video editor, production assistance, among other tasks. Her first work as a director was in her documentary ¨Utopia de Papel¨ and was given an Honorary Mention in the Festival de Cortometrajes de Escuela de Humanidades y Educación del Tecnológico de Monterrey in 2023.

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Director Statement

The fourth commandment—“You shall honor your father and mother,” inherited from traditional morality—requires us to honor and love our parents, but it hides a threat. Anyone who wants to follow it despite having been despised or mistreated by their parents can only do so by repressing their true emotions. – Miller, A. (2006). The Body never lies. (TusQuets).

This commandment offers the dispute of what has been imposed on us since we were children, putting our parental figures in a position of control and authority, thus creating a vicious circle of self-deception with the need to maintain a union within our family ties when passing of the years. Is this way of thinking purely a moral teaching? Or is it coming from an independent point of view? Why couldn't Mara obtain her own independence based on her person? Why are Vicente's ideals regarding the traditional family so strong in his daily life? How have these traditional Mexican norms implanted in women created a limited vision, leaving them subordinate within the family environment? Fragments of Silence takes as reference certain literary events that as a theme include fear as a decisive factor, creating this oppression between an authority figure and the victims. An example of some of them is "The Letter to the Father" by Franz Kafka, who throughout his life collects a lot of resentment towards the negative attitudes of his father's upbringing, as well as his demands to belong within traditional norms resulting in subordination. The mirage that we have with our main character, Mara and that of the author Franz Kafka, is the contradiction about the need for liberation and also the approval and acceptance of the oppressor himself. Through our main character a path of constant internal struggle unfolds, the short film exposes for approximately 15 minutes the contradiction between the true self against that of the implant self and finally about the fear of being anomie within society. How has this internal struggle been addressed within modern Mexican society? Is being aware of this internal struggle considered a privilege?