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The Black Dune

Two 14 year old boys find a map for what they believe to be a treasure hidden in the desert near their summer beach house. Against the warnings of the beach's caretaker, they venture out in search of it.

  • Daniel Elkin
    Director
    The Man of the House (2024), Cheat Code (2022), Epilogue (2020), Charlie, Charlie! (2017)
  • Daniel Elkin
    Writer
    The Man of the House (2024), Cheat Code (2022), Epilogue (2020), Charlie, Charlie! (2017)
  • Roy Muroya
    Producer
    Con Amor, Ivana (2018), Bajo el Balcón (2019)
  • Alejandro Carrillo
    Key Cast
    "Gallo"
  • Gabriel Puiggros
    Key Cast
    "Chino"
  • Lolo Balbin
    Key Cast
    "Robert"
    La Hora Roja (2022)
  • Paul Keller
    Executive Producers
  • Danna Ben Haim
    Executive Producers
    De Vuelta al Barrio (2019-2021), Baby (2018)
  • Christian Valera
    Director of Photography
    The Erection of Toribio Bardelli (2023) - Peru's Oscar Submission 2023
  • Alfredo Benavides
    VFX Supervisor
    Knock at the Cabin (2023) - M. Night Shyamalan
  • Daniel Garate
    Drone Operator
    Mysteries from Above (2022), Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted (2019), Blue Frontier (2018)
  • Paloma Arrieta
    Production Designer
  • Sebastián Legaspi
    Sound Engineer
    Romulo y Julita (2020), Locos de Amor (2016), Baby (2018),
  • Abel Camacho
    Ronin Operator
    Los Amantes Ordinarios (2023), Con Amor, Ivana (2018)
  • Michelle Alvarez
    1st Assistant Director
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    El Cerro Negro
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy, Coming of Age
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 17, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    Peru
  • Country of Filming:
    Peru
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Oxford Short Film Festival
    Oxford
    United Kingdom
    April 4, 2025
    Winner: Best Cinematography
  • Shared Visions International Film Festival
    Wilmslow
    United Kingdom
    June 7, 2025
    Winner: Best International Short
  • Ealing Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 29, 2024
    UK Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Daniel Elkin

Daniel is a film writer / director and editor. He was born in Colombia but raised in Lima, Peru. At age 20 he moved to Manchester to study advertising, but with a world of production opportunities in the UK now available, he decided to follow his life-long dream of becoming a filmmaker.

After doing some freelance videography work and other personal projects, in 2018 he founded his own production brand 'Green Lens Chronicles', under which he's completed 4 short films, all of which were screened at small and medium film festivals, in cities like London, Manchester and Boston, with his most recent short 'The Man of the House' nominated for 3 awards at the 2023 Birmingham Film Festival. In 2023 he returned to his home country of Peru to shoot his 5th, and most personal and ambitious short yet, "The Black Dune" set in the coastal desert of Lima, which he has now completed post-production for in the UK.

His multicultural background, blending Latin American heritage and upbringing, with his current residence in the UK, enhances his understanding of diverse cultures and human emotions. He aspires to create more bridges between Latin American and European co-productions, and becoming a driving force to push forward the industry in his country of Peru, which currently lacks opportunities, representation and exposure internationally.

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Director Statement

After making 4 shorts in my adoptive hometown of Manchester, UK, I decided to go back to my home city of Lima, Peru, to make a passion project that I've had on my mind for 5+ years. I pitched the script to my former Film Teacher, Paul Keller, at the (British) high-school where I attended growing up in Lima, and he helped me pitch it to the school's trust board to try and get financing for the film.

I wanted to give back to the school and particularly the film programme, which really kickstarted my true interest in becoming a filmmaker. So the idea was to give the film students (16/17 year olds) a "work experience" style of opportunity, where they could work on set with us and learn from a professional, very experienced crew, on how a "real" film set works. Apart from some small assistant roles, they would also be in charge of making a behind-the-scenes short documentary of the shoot, to include in the film's press material for festivals and to give them hands on experience with cameras and editing software. We also casted our two brilliant leads out of the school's drama students.

With some financing secured, we managed to put together a crew of some of the most established film professionals in the Peruvian film industry, as well as supremely talented up-and-coming crew.
It was a very gruelling, 3-day shoot in the hot desert of Lima, but we managed to realise our goal of making this film, and telling this story, a film of a genre slightly different to what usually comes out of Peru.

Making this film was a huge sacrifice for me - my job in Manchester, most of my savings, so that I could go to Peru for 3 months and complete pre-production and production, but the result speaks for itself. Working with British people in the roles of; executive producer, colourist, music composer, and sound designer, I was able to make this my first of hopefully many future co-production between UK and Peru, something that is a long term career goal of mine.

The film is incredibly personal as it was shot near the beach house where I spent all of my summers growing up, which we recently had to say goodbye to. I wanted to express what a magical, almost surreal place it was, and what it meant - and still means - to me.