Viejita
IN DEVELOPMENT / SHORT FILM
Genres: Drama | Psychological | Latino Family | Magical Realism
Themes: Grief as a living presence / Aging and loss of autonomy / Memory, fantasy, and fragile reality
Logline: After a fall forces her into in-home care, a grieving Colombian widow struggling with memory loss begins to blur fantasy and reality, confronting her loneliness and buried prejudice in the shadow of her late husband.
Tagline: “The heart remembers what the mind forgets.”
Producer Statement: Written and directed by Mario Valdivieso, VIEJITA is an intimate, culturally grounded character drama that explores aging, grief, and the fragile border between memory and fantasy. Set in a Colombian immigrant household in Chicago, the film follows a proud widow whose cognitive decline and unresolved prejudice collide when her longing for her late husband manifests as a dangerous romantic projection onto her caregiver. Blending psychological realism with restrained magical undertones, VIEJITA is a festival-driven short with emotional precision, strong lead-performance potential, and resonance with Latino, aging, and mental health audiences.