As a magical moon creeps in the twilight, different timelines entwine in the town of Manzanillo, located in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. The youth and the elderly unite and collide in a tale where the town is able to exist as it is: both beautiful and abandoned, mysterious and monotonous. As if in a dream or a memory, mixing a documentary style and science fiction, this story is a search for the complexities of what it means to grow up in a place like Manzanillo.
International Title The Moon Will Contain Us Year of production 2023 Length 18' CountryCosta Rica/USA Shooting Format16mm Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Dialogue Spanish, Creole English Director Kim Torres Producer Mandarava Bricaire Production Company Mercuria Co-producer Raul Garcia Jr. Executive ProducersKim Torres, Mandarava Bricaire, Pietro Bulgarelli Screenwriters Kim Torres, Julieta Seco, Mandarava Bricaire, Pietro Bulgarelli CinematographerPietro Bulgarelli Editors Julieta Seco, Kim Torres Composer Carlos Bergen Dyck Image Post Production Alonso R. Víquez Sound Designer Thomas Becka Sound Recording Nayuribe Montero Jiménez Sound Mixer António Porém Pires Cast Joel Arthurs Campbell (as narrator), Dichan Brown Goodman (as himself), Fiorella Nahomi Será Bonilla (as herself), Luna Oporta López (as herself)
Director's Statement For the past decade I’ve been going to Manzanillo on a constant basis, ever since my father moved there. I quickly realized that one of the most beautiful things about this place was that the kids owned the streets. Every night, when the sun goes down and the air cools a bit, you can hear the far away voices, the laughs, the singing and the fighting as they wander around the few blocks that make up the entire town.
If today was the last day on Earth, I thought, What would these kids decide to do? Would they still walk all night long, as if in an eternal spiral?
This question sparked up a conversation with the youth and the elders in the town, to reflect on what it’s like to live in a place like this. Even though it’s located near touristic beaches, Manzanillo has always remained a territory of t he locals. It is mainly inhabited by Afro-Caribbean families that have lived there for decades. The elders speak in Creole English and remember a more simple past very fondly. On the other hand, the youth are not so interested in staying in this town that has been historically neglected by a racist Costa Rican government and recently impacted by organized crime. The spirit of community that permeates Manzanillo is what keeps the place afloat, and what also made filming there so special. During the whole process of making the short film, there was a very intimate and playful environment where we were able to create alongside the kids and teens that participated. Their free spirit was a guide in the process, everyday there was a new adventure and possibility that didn’t stick to the established plan, but flowed along with the reality that was constantly engaging us to integrate it and not impose on it.
