Short Film Created by UC Chile Students for Their Degree Represents Chile at Sundance

A few months ago, Martín André began receiving several calls from an unknown number. He chose to ignore them, unaware that he was being contacted by one of the world’s most important independent film festivals: Sundance. 

Sorrow Doesn’t Sleep at Night (La pena no duerme de noche, in its original Spanish title) will be featured as part of the Official Selection of Animated Short Films at the prestigious international competition. The audiovisual work was directed by Martín André and Josefina Montino as a thesis project for their Audiovisual Communication program from the Faculty of Communications in 2023, and produced by Jacinta del Real. 

“When I didn’t answer their calls, they sent me a message on WhatsApp. It was the festival’s short film programmer asking me to call her back as soon as I could. It was very exciting and surprising news,” the UC Chile alumnus recalls. 

This year’s festival includes productions from 28 countries, and 90 short films will be screened. The Audiovisual Communication graduates will travel to Utah, United States, to present their film during the festival, which takes place between January 22 and February 1. 

“It’s an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss, one that will allow us to make a name for ourselves and position ourselves. We are proud to represent Chile at such an important festival,” affirmed Josefina Montino. 

A School Short Film

Using nine minutes of stop-motion animation, the short film tells the story of Pedro, a man who, after the death of his daughter, moves into a house in the middle of the forest with his cat. The ghosts from his past start tormenting him, materializing in the form of a monster, driving him to the brink of madness. After attempting to escape and take refuge, he must face his fears, even if it means destroying his home. 

Martín mentions that, despite not being familiar with the animation method, they were determined to tell this story through this language: “We had to work long hours and for many consecutive days of the week. Animation is incredibly slow, but we really wanted to tell the story in stop motion and we were willing to do whatever it took,” he recalls. 

The building of sets, crafts, props, and puppets was a challenge that, as Josefina Montino explains, they managed to overcome successfully thanks to teamwork: “We put it all together, contributing both ideas and manual labor, because it took many days of work. All the effort and love that our team put into it is reflected in the final work. We created a world from scratch, which conveys many things.” 

The Prisma Factor 

The film is part of the Prisma catalogue, the distributor of the UC Chile Faculty of Communications, which is dedicated to the dissemination of productions made by students of Audiovisual Communication. 

“A few years ago, I don’t think we would have even imagined Sundance as an option, and I believe that this has created a culture of believing in ourselves, that what we are making are great short films, that they’re being recognized at an international level,” comments Marcela Santibáñez, faculty member from the Faculty of Communications and Director of Prisma. 

The work carried out in conjunction with the distributor led to Sorrow Doesn’t Sleep at Night having its international premiere at the Fantastic Fest film festival in Austin, Texas, in September 2025. 

In addition, the short film has participated in national events such as the exhibition by the Chilean University Film and Audiovisual Network showcase in the 2025 Viña del Mar Film Festival and the 2024 Chilemonos Work in Progress.