top of page
Not all prisons
require bars.
Ramona is a short film that aims to highlight the unbearable conditions faced by the weakest members of our society. Our goal is to amplify their voices and give them a chance to tell their story through a dramatized, story-driven narrative that will bring attention to their situation.
Basic
information.
Title:
Ramona
Format:
Short Film
Duration:
30 min
Genre:
Drama
Location:
Paraguay, Asunción - Barrio Chacarita
Language:
Spanish and Guaraní
Tagline:
Ramona is a story about the struggle between man and the environment, showing how a simple fact, like the place of our birth, can have far-reaching consequences for our future.
Technical
characteristics:
Digital; 23,97 fps; rec709
The story.
Jose is trapped in a household with an ab-usive father. He is young, and determined to change his future and build a better life for himself and his mother, no matter the cost.
Ramona is a quiet and invisible resident of Chacarita who makes a living collecting and recycling waste. She carries dark memories of the past that accompany her every conscious moment.
The story puts the two characters on a collision course that changes their lives forever. In the dark corridors of Chacarita, caught between the real and the magical, Ramona is finally forced to face her past. Jose realizes that freedom comes at a terrible price. A price he isn't ready to pay.
Learn more about the story
Story
Asking the
right questions.
The project's goal is to point out the insurmount-able obstacles facing the poor, not just in Paraguay, but also in the world. Our wish is to start a public discourse that would lead to projects and solutions helping the disenfranchised help themselves.
Anže Štupar
Director and Author
The Environment.
Chacarita is one of the oldest parts of Asuncion. It offers no infrastructure, no access to healthcare, no security, and no future. It functions as a prison actively working against its poor denizens. Despite their best efforts, Chacarita keeps pulling them back into its dark embrace.
Ramona is a story about ourselves.
The story encourages the viewer to assume the position of the protagonist, step into her shoes for a day, and feel the overwhelming deterministic power of the environment.
Maria Jose Duarte, Producer and Co-Author
The Visual Story.
Ramona threads the line between the real and the surreal, combining traditional storytelling with elements of magical realism.
"Magical realism is what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe."
Matthew Strecher (1999)
Paraguayan masks and traditions positioned in the gloomy corridors of Chacarita will be used to create surreal moments that will keep the viewer guessing what is real and what is fantasy.
Foto: Elton Nuñez
Foto: Elton Nuñez
All of the shots have been pre-visualized using the incredible work of Bor Tomšič, who meticulously illustrated every expression and scene.
The image serves the story.
Every piece of equipment and every move of the camera is carefully tailored to serve the story. The visuals will follow the one and ultimate goal; the complete immersion of the viewer.
Maj Valerij
Director of Photography
Photography
Music
Sound&Music.
Sound design will be used to build tension and create harrowing soundscapes that will haunt your dreams.
RamonaTheme
00:00 / 00:43
The soundtrack draws inspiration from a 16th-century choral written by Thomas Tallis named Why fum'th in fight and its subsequent interpretation by Ralph Vaughn Williams.
The classical choral sounds contrast sharply with the story's modern setting and its violent undertones, creating a strong contrast between the visual and the musical storytelling.
Sound carries
emotions.
Sound is the second pillar of audiovisual communication, amplifying the emotional message carried by the story. Our team will aspire towards creating original sound effects and soundscapes that will stay true to the Paraguayan musical heritage.
Aldo Benegas
Sound DIrection
Voices.
The mixed choir Pomlad will help us deliver a powerful rendition of the original piece written by Tallis, while also acting as the delivery mechanism for a message in the Guaraní language, cementing the film's tie to the Paraguayan cultural and linguistic heritage.
Building bridges
with words.
Our choir is always looking for exciting new challenges. Singing in Guarani will be both a challenge as well as a privilege as we pay homage to the Guarani people and continue the tradition of mutual respect between our two cultures.
Alenka Podpečan
Choir conductor
Language.
Guaraní is an ancient language of the Guaraní people and one of the official languages of Paraguay. Our film hopes to capture its beauty and complexity with the help of experts working on its preservation.
Slovenes and Paraguayans have a tradition of mutual collaboration. Branislava Sušnik was a Slovene anthropologist who worked on the preservation of the Guarani language and heritage. She traversed the rugged terrain of the Paraguayan Chaco in search of undiscovered tribes, writing down their language and preserving their culture. Today, she is considered one of Paraguay's most influential women scientists and was even featured on one of their stamps.
The film hopes to continue the fruitful collaboration between the two cultures/nations and pay homage to the strong foundations set by Branislava Sušnik.
Language is a story of its own.
Guaraní is an inherent part of Paraguayan culture and linguistic heritage. Any story told in Paraguay must give homage to its beautiful and complex structure or fall short of delivering a message that would resonate with the country's rich history.
Arnaldo Casco
Writer & Translator
Cast.
RAMONA
Olga
Vallejos
VICTORIA
Laura Belotto
JOSÉ
Daniel Bellasai
NURSE
Deysi
Chiriho
PEDRO
Jose
Guerrero
JORGE
Federico Rojas
Crew.
Anže
Štupar
Author and Director
Maria Jose
Duarte
Co-Author
Mauricio Belozercovsky
Executive Producer
Carlos Martinez
Ojeda
Producer
Gina Stefania Ferrario
Production Assistant
Maj
Valerij
Director of Photography
Aldo
Benegas
Sound direction &
Sound Design
Juvental
Escalante
Location Sound
Engineer
Titus
Ibañez
Studio Sound
Engineer
Lucas
Zaracho
Musician-
Paraguayan harp
Eduardo Javier
Garcia Espinoza
Art Director
Cynthia Mabel
Aveiro
Costume Designer
Liliana
Blanco
Make up Artist
Arnaldo
Casco
Guaraní Language
Advisor
Alenka
Podpečan
Choir
Conductor
Want to know more?
Mauricio Belozercovsky
Executive Producer
+595 992 912 403
www.ramona-film.com mbelofilms@gmail.com
European inquiries:
info@ivejm.org
Resources.
Browse through our resource library and find out more about the project, including what we can do for our sponsors and partners.
Our partners.
bottom of page