PROFANIA Exclusive: TRAUMA's Lucio A. Rojas Wraps Filming of Next Horror Film, We Have Your First Look!

After six months of pre-production and seven weeks of shooting, filming finally wrapped on “Profanía”, the new production by Fascinante Films (Chile), written and directed by Lucio A. Rojas (Trauma, Apps) in co-production with Ronin Films (Argentina) and Panic in Frames (Spain), with executive production carried out by Víctor Paniagua, Valentina Lellín and Rojas himself.

 

Filming took place in the Argentine province of Córdoba, with a crew made up mostly by local artists and specialists, which in and of itself is a milestone when it comes to genre film Ibero-American co-productions.

 

“Profanía” tells the story of an army patrol headed by Sergeant Bruno (Germán Baudino.) During the martial law period that takes place in Argentina in late 2001, the patrol is on a control mission deep in the fields of Córdoba, where they awaken a dark, perverse entity, who will submit them to a nightmarish evening while they fight for their lives. 

 

“I have a fascination for stories that take place in fantastical contexts, that are situated during important historical moments that are also specific to a region. That period in Argentina wasn’t just a dramatic one, but it was also a watershed moment in terms of the relationship between civil society and local authorities. So it felt very attractive to me to generate a story in a universe that was already convulsed and complex. What could go wrong in a country that was in flames, if we added perverse creatures from the underworld? Well, it turns out, just about everything. That was a very attractive idea for me to develop,” reflects the director on the context in which the story takes place.

 

The film stars Germán Baudino, Cristian Cavo, Tutú Vidaurre, Vitorio Cucinelli, Clara Kovacic, Antonio Kassab, Matías Albarracin, Daniel Merlini and Ximena del Solar.

 

On the  project, its director Lucio A. Rojas points out: “The project came to be during 2021, it began taking its current shape in early 2022 and ended now with a bang. The movie is a hybrid of action, horror, fantasy and gore. It’s very ambitious, speaking technically, artistically, and performance-wise; and it presents us with a fantasy scenario that we’re sure will become a production referent upon its release. It was an intense shoot, difficult, as one would expect from a film with the enormous amount of practical effects that can be seen in “Profanía”. We are very proud of this partnership between Chile, Argentina and Spain; and of being at the forefront of the first co-production of its kind and scale between said countries.”

 

The movie stars Germán Baudino (History of the Occult) one of the main figures in current Argentine genre film. “I will never forget the experience that was this project. Lucio created a universe that will be impactful. All areas involved get to shine (Art, FX, Wardrobe.) It’s a pleasure to have been part of this epic movie, a mix between action and horror. This story melds the human with the monstrous.

 

Filming was as intense as the story demanded it to be, somewhere between realistic and fantastical. Starting from a historic event, and thanks to the way the genre is developed, the story goes into fantasy realms where a creature, the likes of which we’ve never seen before in local fantasy films, will take hold of the screen. It was a huge pleasure to have been part of this alongside several tremendously talented people.”

 

In Argentina, executive production was the work of Valentina Lellín, who points out: “It has been over 10 years since I got involved in the promotion and production of horror films in my province. When I met Lucio, we set for ourselves a pretty important challenge: to generate horror films that were federal, feminine and of international quality. “Profanía” is the first big bet; an ambitious film that will undoubtedly change the production of horror films in Córdoba. The team was formed by 95% local talents, both in its technical crew and its casting, all of whom are also mostly women.”

 

The movie has on board another referent in Argentinean horror cinema, Clara Kovacic: “Fantasy is one of my favorite genres and one of the hardest to make. In South America it is still a scarce type of film to find. So this movie, I feel, breaks a stigma, it feels like one of the best experiences in my career and one of the best screenplays I have read. This is the beginning of a great story.”

 

From Chile, the film had the participation of Tutú Vidaurre: “It was a tremendous film experience. A huge project that captivated me with its screenplay ever since I read it for the first time. The project was developed during the whole year in order to end up with a top-notch film that reaches international production standards. I’m very proud of having been a part of this story, which I believe will be a regional milestone and I hope will allow other similar projects to be developed in the future.”

 

Alongside Vidaurre, the cast also had Ximena del Solar from Chile: “I sincerely believe that the movie will offer an extraordinary range of emotions and conversation points for moviegoers to ponder. There’s drama, action and fantasy. It’s all part of a story that exposes realistic characters full of humanity. For me, this is one of the main pulls of the story.”

 

One of the film’s most important aspects was its special effects, for which the team headed by Armando Minino made hundreds of prosthetics, practical camera effects, and dozens of gallons of blood. “It’s a movie in which I allowed myself to be completely free in developing a series of elements that I’m sure will delight horror fans. I feel – and this is a personal opinion – that there is a conservative veil that has become a constant in regional fantasy films in the past few years. The fact that I had complete freedom for my team to tell the story in the exact way we dreamt it up made us feel, at all times, like we were looking at a movie the likes of which have rarely been seen in Latin America. That only makes us more motivated to make sure audiences will watch it,” Rojas pointed out.

 

Argentine Clara Kovacic, a specialist when it comes to this type of film, adds: “I’m grateful that I finally got to work with Lucio in the director’s seat. I believe this is the biggest, most complex movie that I’ve faced in my career and I am grateful to have had the chance to be a part of it, this time playing quite a complex character in an epic fantasy, which I believe will become a cult classic within the Latin American fantasy genre.”

 

The film will now go into an extended post-production stage that will begin in January 2023. About it, Lucio A. Rojas points out: “We think the film will be in post-production for the better part of 2023. Even though the movie has a good amount of practical effects and special effects that were caught on camera, it also has a decent quota of VFX that will be made in Spain during the year, as will also be the case with sound design.”

 

Plans for years to come include the development of an ambitious filmmaking project in Córdoba. In this regard, Rojas adds: “This is the first project in this alliance between Fascinante Films and Argentina and Spain. Next year we will make another film in Córdoba, and we expect to make way in establishing a cinematic creation hub focusing on fantasy films within the province, which in time should consolidate as a distinct voice and element not only within Argentine genre films, but at a South American level as well.”