11 · 07 · 12

Press conference with Sebastián Hofmann, director of Halley

"It is a film that challenges our own mortality, the idea that we are all decomposing," he said. "It's not a simple film, especially at 9 in the morning and without having had breakfast, so I thank all the press for coming." "Halley is a strong film, as a viewer you have to resist the temptation to look the other way," said Mario Giacomelli, Costa Rican journalist.

"The decomposition of the character is a metaphor of our own decomposition," the director responded. "I don't want the film to be considered a film of zombies. At one point I considered that, but when I began to write the script with Julio Chavezmontes we decided to leave that idea aside and we tried to make a more serious film: a living dead person who clings on to life," Hofmann said, in reference to the definition of his film within the terror genre.

Alberto, the protagonist in Halley, suffers from a fictitious disease. The filmmakers researched patients with AIDS and cancer to become familiar with their physical characteristics to apply them to their character. Chavezmonte, who was also the producer, explained: "The condition of our character is a fantastical version of a terminal disease. To make it more circumstantial we based it on some symptoms that AIDS victims have, and on personal experiences that friends and family members shared with us. It was very dramatic to see how his skin would disintegrate."

Halley is the story of a man who suffers a terrible affliction that causes his body to inexplicably decompose. Struggling with feelings of loneliness and shame, he decides to withdraw from the world. But before surrendering to his condition, Alberto forms an unusual friendship with the manager of a gym where he works as a night guard.

Halley will be screened on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 6:15 pm at the Cinépolis Centro and on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 4 pm at Cinépolis Las Américas.

To read more about Halley check out our previous interview with the director: here.