The Firefly (2013)

Interesting facts

The Firefly is a 2015 Colombian-American romance/fantasy drama film. Written and directed by Ana Maria Hermida, it stars Carolina Guerra and Olga Segura. The film has been regarded as "the first Colombian lesbian film". The film held its European premiere at the 2016 Barcelona International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

Production

The film was directly inspired by Hermida's life, but is not autobiographical. Hermida's younger brother died in a car accident in 2007, which was an extreme hardship for Hermida. Afterward, her brother's girlfriend, whom Hermida was already close with, asked to stay with Hermida in New York City for roughly a month. Hermida elaborated, "Knowing she was coming gave me strength.

The Firefly is non-linear, and contains numerous flashbacks. The film also features Gothic and Catholic imagery as symbolic channels for Lucia's grief and confusion. Hermida described these and related motifs as imbuing "goth magic realism". Hermida drew inspiration from her Catholic upbringing, as well as from the prominence of Catholicism in Colombia.

The project was filmed in 2013. Much of the filming took place in Colombia, the native country of Hermida, producer Luisa Casas, and lead actress Carolina Guerra. Hermida intentionally wanted to make a film that reflected Colombia in a positive and non-political manner, in order to counteract negative media portrayals and social circumstances of the country. The film utilized cityscapes of Bogotá to fulfill this effort.

During the post-production stages, Hermida started two different fundraisers on Kickstarter for the film, garnering $10,371 between May and July 2015.

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