Dolores — full short film, via Miyu Distribution / Bang Bang. Watch on YouTube.
A child’s curiosity takes a frightening turn in Dolores, the debut short from Mexican filmmaker Cecilia Andalón Delgadillo. Its cornfield is the threshold to an underground world where play and danger become difficult to tell apart. The film is available to watch above through Miyu Distribution’s Bang Bang channel.
Dolores is seven years old and wants to play. Fleeing a fire demon, she falls into a hidden grave occupied by two corn-husk figures who would like her to stay permanently. A curious armadillo becomes her possible guide back out. The official synopsis sets up a compact adventure whose small cast gives each encounter a strong physical identity. [1]
A world connected by its materials
Andalón Delgadillo connects the setting to western Mexico’s pre-Hispanic shaft tombs. The threatening figures retain corn husks in their construction, linking the buried world to the field above. Art director Mario González helped develop their appearance; the director and artist Ángel Meléndez built the puppets. [2]
That material continuity is an effective way to make a fantasy environment feel internally connected. The surface world does not simply disappear when Dolores falls underground. Its vegetation and textures reappear in the bodies of the creatures she encounters, giving the danger a connection to the place she came from.
Staging a miniature descent
The production also used camera movement and physical transformation to expand the world beyond a sequence of static tableaux. Animator Pablo Bedolla spent a week on a full-circle shot around Dolores and the two skeletal figures, with the set planned to accommodate it. For an armadillo transformation, Nabí Orozco animated a clay form coming apart so the action could be reversed. [2]
The production account places the shoot at El Taller del Chucho and describes a local collaboration involving more than fifty people. Post-production took place at UNIVA, and the music was recorded at ITESO. The report also notes the film’s 2025 Ariel nomination for animated short. [3]
The film credits list Gilberto Torres for cinematography and Arturo Tornero Aceves for editing, with music by Enrique Vázquez Lozano and Enrique Luam Vázquez Rodríguez. These contributions help bind the puppets, environments, and timing into a continuous dramatic space. [4]
Dolores gives its supernatural encounter a distinctly handmade physical presence. A small figure facing unfamiliar beings is a simple dramatic arrangement, but the corn-husk textures and carefully staged miniature spaces make that vulnerability concrete. The stills below invite a closer look at the world surrounding her.
Images from the production
Dolores: official film stills supplied through Miyu Distribution. Film by Cecilia Andalón Delgadillo; production at El Taller del Chucho, Universidad de Guadalajara.
References
- Miyu Distribution — Miyu's official synopsis.
- Cartoon Brew — Production interview and accompanying imagery.
- University of Guadalajara — The University of Guadalajara's account of the production.
- Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE) — Mexican Film Institute's catalogue.
