Ali Ikhwan
By Editorial Staff
In the landscape of contemporary animation, few projects manage to bridge the gap between deeply personal catharsis and expansive, world-building mythology. Beasts of Death (Bestias de la Muerte), the latest animated short from writer-director Sandra Powers, achieves this rare equilibrium. Recently debuting its first official trailer, the film serves as a hauntingly beautiful meditation on the stages of grief, filtered through the lens of ancient Andean folklore and a distinct, self-described "tropi-goth" aesthetic.
The eight-minute short follows 16-year-old Claudia, who, reeling from the sudden loss of her mother, attempts an ancient, forbidden Andean ritual. Her desperate hope—to resurrect the woman she lost—instead plunges her into a nightmarish, supernatural realm. There, she is forced to confront visceral manifestations of denial, rage, and bargaining.
The Genesis of a Personal Odyssey
Beasts of Death did not begin in a boardroom; it began in memory. For Powers, who has spent over 15 years as a highly sought-after animation editor—lending her talents to industry titans like Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra and Disney’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur—the transition from the cutting room to the director’s chair was a long-deferred ambition.
"It’s a very personal story," Powers shared in an interview with Cartoon Brew. "It’s based on an experience that I went through when I was younger, when I lost my mother. I’ve spent years creating for other people, but the urge to tell my own story became impossible to ignore. It’s incredibly difficult to jump from editor to creator in this industry, but the internal pressure to externalize this grief became the driving force."
The project gained critical momentum when Powers was selected for the Latino Film Institute’s Spark Animation Fellowship, supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity. This fellowship provided not only the necessary funding but also a rigid, one-year deadline that catalyzed the production process. To realize her vision, Powers tapped into her extensive professional network, recruiting former collaborators from Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur to form a core creative team.
A Chronology of Creation
The production of Beasts of Death is a testament to the power of international collaboration. The project brought together a diverse group of artists from the United States, Mexico, and Peru. The heavy lifting of the animation was handled by the acclaimed Mexico City-based studio Viva Calavera, while the evocative voice performances were captured in Lima, Peru, ensuring an authentic linguistic and cultural resonance.
- Pre-Production: Powers utilized the Spark Animation Fellowship to refine the script and storyboard, focusing on the metaphorical "stages of grief" that would dictate the film’s narrative structure.
- Production: The team utilized a hybrid workflow, blending traditional sensibilities with modern digital techniques. Powers’ own background as an editor proved invaluable; she personally restructured a complex seven-minute musical sequence over a single weekend, ensuring the narrative arc remained tight and emotionally resonant.
- Festival Debut: The film made its grand entrance at the Animayo International Film Festival, where it was met with immediate acclaim, ultimately securing the prestigious Audience Award—a sign that the film’s themes of loss and reconciliation resonated deeply with viewers.
The Anatomy of the "Tropi-Goth" Aesthetic
Perhaps the most striking element of Beasts of Death is its visual language. Powers describes the film’s aesthetic as "tropi-goth," a term that serves as a shorthand for her own upbringing. Raised in Miami, Florida, but deeply connected to her Peruvian heritage, Powers sought to reconcile two seemingly disparate worlds.
"The ‘tropi-goth’ thing comes honestly from my childhood," she explains. "It’s a collision of two worlds: the pastel colors, neon lights, and the humid, tropical atmosphere of 1990s Miami, contrasted against the darker imagery and folklore that fascinated me as a child."
The monsters that populate the film—the "Beasts of Death"—are not mere antagonists. They are physical manifestations of the emotional states Claudia must endure. Drawing inspiration from Supay, the shape-shifting ruler of the Andean underworld, the creatures represent the volatile, often destructive nature of the grieving process. By design, the film limits the journey to three core stages—denial, rage, and bargaining—to maintain a tight, eight-minute narrative structure that builds toward a climax of acceptance.
.png){kind=logo}
The Operatic Soul: Audio as Narrative
Music in Beasts of Death is not merely an accompaniment; it is a primary character. Influenced by her parallel career in opera direction, Powers collaborated with singer-songwriter Elizaveta to create a score that feels ancient yet otherworldly.
"Elizaveta’s voice is essentially the voice of the mother throughout the soundtrack," Powers noted. "We used hundreds of tracks of her voice, layering them to create textures that feel both comforting and deeply unsettling."
This "vocal architecture" creates an emotional bridge between the mundane world Claudia leaves behind and the supernatural realm she enters. The use of chanting and multi-layered vocal tracks serves as an audible representation of the lingering, spectral presence of the deceased, grounding the fantasy elements in a palpable, human sadness.
Industry Implications and the Path Forward
The success of Beasts of Death—both in its critical reception at Animayo and its successful execution under the Spark Animation Fellowship—signals a broader shift in the animation industry. There is a growing appetite for stories that prioritize cultural specificity and emotional depth, particularly when told by creators who have long been the "architects" behind the scenes.
Powers’ transition from editor to director provides a compelling case study for the industry at large. By leveraging her technical expertise in pacing and structure, she was able to navigate the constraints of a short-film budget while delivering a project with the polish and ambition of a feature-length production.
Key Takeaways:
- Directorial Autonomy: The film demonstrates that editors, often overlooked as primary creative voices, possess a unique toolkit for directing, specifically in managing narrative rhythm and emotional beats.
- Cultural Fusion: The "tropi-goth" style highlights the potential for new, hyper-specific visual identities that draw from the immigrant experience and dual-cultural upbringing.
- Support Systems: The role of the Latino Film Institute’s Spark Animation Fellowship highlights the critical importance of institutional support for emerging voices to bypass the "gatekeeping" nature of the animation industry.
Looking Ahead
As Beasts of Death continues its festival run, it stands as a poignant reminder that animation remains one of the most potent mediums for exploring the human condition. Whether the film will serve as a springboard for a feature-length expansion remains to be seen, but for Sandra Powers, the victory is already secured: she has successfully turned her own private history into a public work of art.
For those who have experienced the crushing weight of loss, Beasts of Death offers a rare, cathartic experience—a reminder that while we cannot resurrect the past, we can, through the stories we tell, learn to live with the ghosts we carry. As the film moves toward wider distribution, it is likely to be cited as a benchmark for independent, character-driven animation in the late 2020s.
Reynand Wu
Layla Zulfa
