Horizontes
2019 · 4m
Directed by Miguel A.R.P
Tones: contemplative, surreal
Lost in a desert and within herself, Helena's dog breaks away and runs to a lighthouse, where together they discover an object that helps her find herself.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A desert-lost-girl-finds-herself-via-dog narrative could've been Hallmark treacle, but the surreal pivot to a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere nearly rescues it—nearly being the operative word, since the film seems more interested in aesthetic languor than actually committing to the weirdness.
Horizontes situates itself in a contemplative lineage of introspective magical realism, with the four-minute constraint forcing a disciplined economy of symbol and image that recalls the European short tradition—though the execution feels more atmospheric than formally interrogating its own devices.
The decision to let the dog lead rather than follow—making it the active agent in Helena's self-discovery rather than a passive mirror—reframes the entire emotional architecture, and that single compositional choice elevates what could've been sentimental into something genuinely strange and earned.