Up-and-coming Argentine production house Sewati Audiovisual has boarded “Portraits,” one of the most frightening titles pitching at this year’s Morbido Lab for genre projects within the framework of a rescheduled and in-person Sanfic Industria.
Sewati joins original Buenos Aires-based producers Latitud Audiovisual, co-founded in 2017 by “Portraits” director Gabriel Musco and Ezequiel de San Pio and Walter Ponte, both producers on the film, with the intention of creating quality audiovisual productions. “Portraits” is the company’s second feature.
“Portraits” will be directed by Gabriel Musco, a graduate of the prestigious CIEVYC institute in Buenos Aires, who is quickly making a name for himself in the world of genre cinema after several impressive shorts – “The Limits of Love,” “Therapy in the Time of Zombies” among them – and his thrilling debut feature “Dark Fears,” about a kidnapping that takes an unexpected turn.
In “Portraits,” Clara Kovacic (“Baires,” “The Crimes That Bind”) plays a young woman who, after her husband dies in an accident, moves into an old apartment building hoping that a change of scenery will help her overcome the loss. Shortly after her arrival, a series of strange events begin to take place in and around her which make her suspect that the spirit of a former tenant is harassing her.
After raising her concerns with neighbors, she slowly uncovers a dark secret which is kept between the building’s walls and realizes the only way to save herself is to expose the truth of the past.
The entirety of the film takes place within the walls of a single old apartment building, think Spanish horror classic “Rec,” its hallways and common areas as well as the apartments of several tenants. In early concept art and a terrifying 90-second teaser the sets are dark and run-down with a palette dominated by several, if not quite 50, shades of grey. Large open spaces, high ceilings and a nouveau gothic aesthetic serve to enhance the looming presence of an aging building and the spirits which haunt it.
Sanfic and Morbido are now in their third year of collaboration, having started working together in August 2019, when the companies announced a collaborative venture which would see Grupo Morbido founder and CEO Pablo Guisa attend and participate in a genre-dedicated section of the Santiago International Film Festival’s industry sidebar, Sanfic Industria. Later that year, the first ever Sanfic Morbido Fest prize was awarded to Pilar Díaz, producer of Florencia Dupont’s “Aracne.”
“Portraits” is one of six project titles pitching at this year’s Morbido Lab, where producers and filmmakers will receive guidance from Grupo Morbido founder and CEO Pablo Guisa, and be given access to potential co-producers, financiers, sales agents and platform reps.
Portraits, Latitud Audiovisual
Credit: Héctor Cañas