El Castigo Directors Note

„The Punishment“ is a drama that narrates a couple’s crisis after their son’s disappearance due to an impulsive and disproportionate punishment inflicted on him by his parents in the middle of a highway.

The film starts in the middle of the conflict and thus maintains a certain suspense about the reason for the punishment. I want the audience to be emotionally involved and to accompany the characters as they discover their own secrets.

The suspense of the narrative is based on whether or not they will find the boy alive before the dreaded night arrives. Still, the interest is also activated by the gradual discovery of the most hidden truth of the characters. The audience will be an accomplice at all times of their lies, of what they are trying to hide, and this will allow them to participate in their contradictions, fears and weaknesses.

„The Punishment“ takes place in real-time. It is 85 minutes treated with absolute realism. This allows us to live the film raw and stripped of accessories, accompanying the characters closely and discovering with them the story that is gradually unveiled to us.

This film shows us a moment in the lives of these characters. Something that begins as a punishment ends up transformed into an event with no turning back. „The Punishment“ is a challenge, because of its form, and because it is a drama with real depth. Thus this film has a young spirit, daring, courageous and spontaneous, but at the same time, it is a mature film and totally necessary for the times we live in.