Dominga Sotomayor [pictured], one of last year’s Rotterdam Tiger winners for Thursday Till Sunday, is co-writing and co-directing a new short film, The Time Before, with European Film Award winner Katarzyna Klimiewicz.

The pair have launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise 10,000 Euros to complete the financing for the short. Full details here.

The film is inspired by a poem by Polish poet Wisława Szymborska called Road Accident, and Dominga’s personal childhood experiences while living on the Chilean island of Chiloé. The story is a mood piece that builds tension as a family waits for a missing member to join them for a celebration.

Sotomayor says: “I want to explore the complexity of the family and group relationships. I’m interested in daily situations, familiar, but always seen at a distance; a certain idea of style and form that’s uncomfortable, and from where I stand, a reflection on mise-en-scène. For me, this is related with how what’s familiar can become strange at the same time.”

Katarzyna Klimkiewicz adds: “When something horrible happens in our lives, we always ask “why?” But we never ask the same question, when good things appear in our lives, when we encounter beauty and peace. Is it because it is not a perfect peace? I want to make a film that is about this imperfect beauty of a moment.”

The Polish-Chilean co-production, which was initiated at CPH DOX’s DOX: LAB, brings together producers Rebeca Gutiérrez (Cinestacion Ltda., Chile) and Jan Naszewski (New Europe Film Sales, Poland).

The 10-day shoot will start in March on Chiloe Island.