Looping

Haunted by the loss of a loved one, Taylor documents daily life with a phone camera as part of a therapeutic process. But something strange begins to unfold when every attempt to leave the house resets the day. Trapped in a cycle, the days repeat, each morning an echo of the last, forcing Taylor to relive the same gestures, the same silences, and the same pain.

  • Hugo Baroni
    Director
  • Hugo Baroni
    Writer
  • Hugo Baroni
    Producer
  • Gustavo Carvalho
    Key Cast
  • Thabata Stimas
    Director of Photography
  • Pedro Lucas
    Cast
  • Hugo Baroni
    Cast
  • Hugo Baroni
    Editor
  • Gustavo Carvalho
    Editor
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Looping
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Thriller, Mistério, Ficção Científica
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 11, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital (iPhone 4K)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Universidade Católica de Santos
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Hugo Baroni

Director and screenwriter focused on psychological dramas, exploring themes such as grief, guilt, and depression through a sensitive lens. I seek a balance between emotion and contemplation to create transformative stories. My volunteer work with Rotaract shapes this perspective: I bring the same empathy from social projects into filmmaking, believing in cinema as a powerful tool for human understanding and connection.

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Director Statement

Looping explores the paralysis caused by grief and depression, using a temporal cycle as a visual translation of anhedonia. The film does not merely seek to portray pain, but to transfer the weight of the protagonist's lived paralysis to the viewer. This is reinforced by a visual duality: the alternation between a smartphone camera and an "objective camera." The choice of a mobile device is an integral part of the narrative, representing Taylor’s effort to deny his loneliness. By speaking into the phone, the protagonist acts as if he were talking to someone who is no longer there, creating a bridge to the past. This contrasts with the objective camera, which observes him from a cold distance, reinforcing his isolation.

The use of a smartphone is a deliberate choice to explore the intimacy of contemporary youth. Visual artifacts, such as digital noise in low-light scenes, handheld camera instability, and raw ambient sound, serve as vital narrative tools. The grain mirrors Taylor’s perception, while the lack of stability reflects his internal state. The objective is to create an impact, placing the viewer inside the protagonist's suffocating mind and as a witness to a cycle that seems to have no end.