Possibly the most globally appealing series to emerge from Chile in recent years, sci-fi thriller “Hidden Island” (“Isla Oculta”) holds a special screening of its first two episodes at the Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic) on Aug. 18 for festival guests, followed by a public screening on Aug. 21.
Co-penned by Julio Rojas, renowned for his hit serial podcast “Case 63,” alongside Felipe Carmona (“Prison in the Andes”) and Juan M. Dartizio (“An Unknown Enemy”), “Hidden Island” stars Daniela Ramírez, International Emmy-nominated for her performance in HBO Max’s limited series “Isabel: The Intimate Story of Isabel Allende.”
The six-part series follows Fabiola, a detective played by Ramírez, who returns to her hometown in the Chiloé Archipelago to investigate the disappearance of a Mexican archaeology student. As the case unfolds, she must determine whether it’s a straightforward kidnapping – or something far more inexplicable, tied to the legend of Chile’s mythical Friendship Island. Rumors surrounding the island speak of strange disappearances, miraculous healings and possible extraterrestrial activity. Rodrigo Susarte (“Gen Mishima,” “Invunche”) directed all six episodes.
For showrunner Pablo Díaz del Río of Rio Estudios, the project started taking shape six years ago, when he received three different proposals from various writers, all inspired by this legend. “The third one was brought to me by a talented Chilean cinematographer and close friend, Mauro Veloso. It was that version I chose to develop as a producer, and that’s where the project truly began,” he said. Mexico’s Raúl Méndez, who plays the journalist father of the missing student, is also a producer.
As an avid sailor himself, Díaz and his friends set out to find this mythical island one summer, heading towards Kent Island which has similar geolocation coordinates. It took them four days to reach this extremely remote island. While they did not see any extraterrestrials, he admits that strange things happened to them after they thought they saw a person dressed in white on this uninhabited island and the engine of their brand-new zodiac conked out.
Díaz recalls that when Rojas first joined the writers’ room, the first thing he said to them was that they were being too hesitant about discussing extraterrestrial life, that they were holding back too much.
“He said to us: ‘This is a legend that deals with extraterrestrial life and the audience is going to expect answers – or at least for the topic to be addressed without shame or restraint.’”
“That really blew our minds—everyone in the writers’ room—because we had been so cautious not to fall into a fantastical genre that didn’t feel grounded in a meaningful fantasy. We were constantly trying to approach the topic—whether it was extraterrestrial life or existence in another dimension, which could also mean life after physical death—without falling into clichés,” said Díaz, adding: “Julio was a great guide in that regard. He really encouraged us to dive into subjects that usually aren’t so explored in Latin America.”
“And I think we didn’t fall into clichés, that we managed to create a more philosophical, more existential series, with nods to sci-fi,” he noted, adding: “Although we didn’t have the budget to make an ‘Interstellar’ or an ‘Arrival,’ I think we held our own pretty well, given the resources we had.”
“Let’s say the series ends up talking about artificial intelligence and about humanity — about what we’re experiencing as humanity in current times. Fabiola will feel it as a kind of premonition, and she’ll have a vision for the second season, which takes place in the year 2028,” he added.
Principal photography began in October in the Los Ríos region of Chile where they shot for some nine weeks and had to deal with the challenges of rain, frigid temperatures and night shoots. Some interiors were shot at the Rio Studios, which has two sound stages of about 3,767 square feet each, so around 7,535 square feet in total. And they’re building a four-meter-deep (about 13 feet) underwater filming tank, said Díaz.
Rio Estudios is seeking a Mexican co-producer for Season 2, which will likely be set in Mexico. There is a similar mysterious island in Mexico called the Isla Vermeja, according to Díaz.
Backed by state-run agencies CNTV and Corfo, “Hidden Island” is co-produced by Filmo Estudios, the Santiago-based post production/VFX house behind such hits as Pablo Larrain’s “El Conde” and Maite Alberdi’s Oscar-nominated “The Eternal Memory” and her fiction debut, “In Her Place.” Paramount-owned free TV network Chilevisión is set to air the series locally.
Miami-based MGE, run by Esperanza Garay, is also a co-producer. The search is underway for an international distributor and platform.
The 21st Sanfic runs Aug 17-24.
Pablo Diaz del Rio, Rio Estudios