luciérnagas directed by Miguel Gerardo Berry Espinosa Berry Espinosa Jorge Ruiz Laffond

After the death of her husband, Carmen faces a situation for which she cannot find words. For two weeks she has told her daughter that her father has gone on a trip, postponing a truth she does not feel capable of confronting. During that time, she decides to create a story using artificial intelligence and a cloned version of her husband's voice, intending to prepare the child for accepting his death.

Through this process, Carmen artificially prolongs a presence that no longer exists, moving across an ambiguous terrain between care, denial, and self deception. Fireflies reflects on grief, motherhood, and the difficulty of letting go of those we love, posing an uncomfortable question: to what extent is it legitimate to delay the truth when pain feels unbearable.

Fireflies emerged from a reflection on the way we manage loss in a world where technology plays an ever greater role in our daily lives. We were interested in exploring how artificial intelligence, conceived to make life easier, can intervene in both grief and artistic creation.

In our short film we do not aim to portray technology as a threat, nor as a solution, but rather as a reflection of our own contradictions. Carmen's conflict is profoundly human. Our protagonist is unable to tell her daughter that her father has died, prolonging a lie that becomes increasingly difficult to sustain until she finds the strength to face the truth.

“Fireflies” premiered at the festival “Notodofilmfest,” where it was a finalist and nominated for Best Screenplay. With limited resources and a modest budget, a small team of professionals was assembled, and in a single day of shooting, with very little time for postproduction, they managed to bring the project to completion.

The film marks an intimate contemporary exploration of mourning.