El efecto Darma is a film written, produced and directed by José Luis Rojas, and stars Álvaro Lucas (¡Corten! [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]) and Dunia Rodríguez (the series Locked Up). Its shoot, which kicked off on 31 July and continued for five weeks in and around Madrid, has just wrapped.

It’s a story about love, film, friendship and chasing one’s dreams. Set in 2002, it depicts the lives of a group of youngsters and their passion for the seventh art. According to the filmmakers, it draws inspiration from movies such as Lost in Translation, Cashback, Day for Night and Bowfinger, and it is an ode to cinema, bristling with cinephilic references and set during a period when the digital world was just beginning to win the battle against the analogue one.

Its synopsis introduces us to Jon (played by Lucas), an aspiring young filmmaker who decides to shoot a movie with the help of some friends. During filming, he will meet Darma (Rodríguez), a mysterious new colleague. Right from their very first meeting, Jon can tell that this girl is one of a kind and that he will inevitably end up falling in love with her.

José Luis Rojas began his journey as a director in 1999: since then, he has written and directed 12 short films, four medium-length works and one web series. In 2009, he won the Kodak Award with his short Sinox, with which he was also selected for the New York Short Film Festival and the San Francisco Short Film Festival. In 2011, the filmmaker premiered Mala elección, a short that won the Jury Prize on CreatRivas.net. His most recent project was the web series Cuando cae la noche. At present, he is engrossed in the editing of the documentary Rivollywood, which he directed together with Raúl Ruiz and which should see the light of day in 2022.

“El efecto Darma is a love letter to cinema, a film replete with romantic cinephilia. It’s a story about friendship, chasing our dreams and love. It’s about how some people leave an impression on us throughout out lives, leave us with unforgettable memories, and have a unique and incomparable effect on us,” remarks the director. “Behind El efecto Darma we have an incredible cast and crew who are managing to faithfully transpose every one of the scenes from the screenplay onto the screen, pouring all of their energy and talent into every shot. The shoot is proceeding totally normally, but in accordance with strict health-and-safety measures on account of COVID-19: however, this is not stopping us from enjoying every single second of our work.”

Producer Diego Pérez adds: “El efecto Darma is a story that’s full of that passion that spurs us on to do things in life. It’s laden with dreams, love and, mainly, film: the latter is the main protagonist of this tale. It’s a unique and original movie that will mobilise us in many senses of the word. A real breath of fresh air.”

El efecto Darma – which relied to a certain extent on a crowdfunding campaign – is being staged by Molonko Films and Kante Producciones.