On this episode of the podcast we speak to writer, director and premier visual effects artist Miguel Ortega. His recent animated short has been a hit at every festival it has been to. Yet this tale of two sisters at odds with one another – a take on the Cain and Abel story as it were – has more to offer than an animated re-telling of something you’ve seen/heard before.
Well, leave it to Ortega and regular collaborator/co-creator Tran Ma to give you an experience like none other. The Voice In the Hollow is a ghastly and impacting 10-minute animated African horror story; these two are treading new ground with every creative step. The story has an edge that leans toward The Twilight Zone, but the short pulls zero punches and leaves no feelings spared in its wake. It is dark, brutal and that was by design.
They say that art imitates life, and as we learned speaking with Ortega, Hollow followed on the heels of his last project which, to paraphrase what we were told, didn’t end well and it left the creative team in a dark place. So instead of listening Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” on repeat while eating on Cheetos, the team dug in and channeled their efforts into something. The result of which is now seeing their work praised by industry titans like Kevin Smith and many, many others.
Even without all that lead in, The Voice In the Hollow stands on its own – both for the quality of the story and the jaw-dropping visuals. While just a fraction of a feature film’s run time, this passion project has all the efforts of a three-hour epic wherein Ortega has given his wunderfilm layers and layers and layers of narrative and visual depth. In terms of the latter, Ortega and Ma use a combination of vintage film techniques, typography, even scale and focus pull consistent with ’60s cinema. All that helps give intrigue and style to the foreign nature of the story.
This film won the “Afrofuturism Short” category at the Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival and today we were joined by Amanda Ray who runs that most awesome organization. We talk to Miguel about his work on this project, discuss the highly interesting story of how he got Swahili voice-work, and many more nuggets from the production. Oh, and breaking news is that The Voice In the Hollow has been picked up by a pretty notable and equally talented production company. So expect more from this world, but for now enjoy our time with Miguel!
The Voice in the Hollow is a short film by Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma that delves into themes of envy and horror, reimagining the tale of Cain and Abel in an African setting. It’s not just a story, but an exploration of dark emotions, brought to life with the power of Unreal Engine. Discover more of the team’s work on Instagram: @half_mt_studios.
The mission of the Atlanta Sci-fi Film Festival is to provide screens for the finest independent sci-fi films locally and internationally, increase cultural diversity and interest in the genre, and inspires the local sci-fi community by cultivating engaging art.
Creating independent sci-fi films is becoming easier with today’s rapid-paced technological development. ASCIFFF nurtures new talent and supports concepts that are not often presented in mainstream media or studio films. The festival was founded in 2015 by Amanda Ray with the goal of fostering rich science fiction storytelling and challenging perceptions of the intersection between technology and art.
