Chile’s Oscar-Nominated ‘Bestia’ Director Hugo Covarrubias Preps Debut Feature ‘Baptism’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Oscar-nominated animation filmmaker Hugo Covarrubias will make his feature debut with the stop-motion film “Baptism,” set to pitch at Ventana Sur‘s Animation! sidebar later this month.

Sticking with the medium that earned him an Oscar nod for the 2022 short “Bestia,” Covarrubias’ project is an animated, regressive psychological drama that unspools across three decades, following the daily, social and political lives of a middle-class family in Santiago.

The film’s intergenerational narrative is visited through the perspective of Héctor, who, after learning that the VHS tape of his belated baptism has been lost, begins to revisit blurry memories of his childhood and youth, filling in the blanks of his family’s history during the years of Chile’s military dictatorship.

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“Baptism’ aims to capture the intricate tapestry of contradictions of a family and of our country through the different stages of the life of our protagonist,” says Covarrubias. “My vision revolves around the exploration of an individual’s rebirth, shaped not only by personal encounters but also by collective experiences. The film, crafted from fragmented memories, is a kaleidoscope of recollections—some crystal clear, others vague. It questions the subjectivity of memory, on whether the truths we cling to are shields fabricated to guard us from trauma.”

Covarrubias is co-writing with Alejandra Moffat, a co-writer on Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León’s Annecy jury winner “The Wolf House” and Cannes player “Chile ’76.”

“Baptism” is currently in development and being produced by Pista B (Venice’s best short winner, “The Bones”) and Maleza (“Bestia”). Regular Cociña and León producer Lucas Engel (“My Tender Matador,” “Dry Martina”) is producing and Juan Cifuentes Mera (2024 Annecy player “Data Flesh”) is executive producing for Pista B.

As a project, the stop-motion feature received the Fondo de Fortalecimiento, a public grant from Chile’s Ministry of Culture, the Arts and Heritage.