A FEATURE FILM WRITTEN BY EDUARDO MONTEIRO
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
Carl Sagan
Late last year, I chose to present LUZ in a different way.
Instead of sending links or attachments, I created a physical piece.
A box containing the script, the story, and the tone of the film.
This film is not about what we see.
It's about how we learn to see.
If you received it, this is a continuation of that moment.
If not, this is where it begins.
NARRATIVE OUTLINE
LUZ is the story of a man in crisis who travels to the Atacama Desert to cross his own inner desert. He arrives full of questions and soon finds himself inside a small van with strangers. Imperfect people. Intense people. Fully human people.
Among them are a quietly singular Chilean couple whose presence slowly reshapes the way he experiences the journey.
It is a road movie that moves between philosophy and humor, delicacy and chaos, laughter and reflection. Rainer Maria Rilke beside Phil Collins. Leonard Cohen walking with Carl Sagan.
It is also a story about the world we live in now. Endless screens. Constant noise. Performance. Loneliness. And our growing difficulty in paying attention to one another.
At its core, LUZ is about attention. About how truly seeing another person can quietly change everything.
At the end of the journey, Eduardo discovers that his namesake, the Chilean friend who seemed to understand him more deeply than anyone else, is blind.
And suddenly everything reorganizes itself.
The small gestures.
The silences.
The way love moved through the spaces between words.
FILM SLOGAN
What we see is never everything.
LOGLINE
After losing his job and the relationship that defined much of his adult life, a Brazilian man travels alone to the Atacama Desert hoping to clear his mind.
Inside a small van filled with strangers, and beside an unusual Chilean couple, he slowly discovers that what we see is never everything.
SYNOPSIS
After losing his job and his relationship, a Brazilian man travels alone to the Atacama Desert hoping distance might quiet the noise in his life.
After a disastrous arrival involving lost luggage, a burned phone, and growing frustration, he ends up inside a small van with an unlikely group of travelers and a quietly singular Chilean couple.
As they cross surreal landscapes together, karaoke bars, awkward conversations, unexpected friendships and small gestures slowly begin to shift something inside him.
What starts as an escape becomes an experience that challenges the way he sees love, loneliness, and the people around him.
CENTRAL THEME
In a world increasingly obsessed with being seen, LUZ explores what it truly means to pay attention.
Through unexpected encounters, humor and human connection, the film suggests that loneliness often begins when we stop looking beyond ourselves.
NARRATIVE ARCHITECTURE
The screenplay of LUZ is built upon solid storytelling principles and a deeply personal writing style that values subtlety, visual poetry, and emotional precision.
Every scene, gesture, and image serves a clear dramatic purpose within the characters’ emotional arcs. Elements such as the Licancabur volcano, Eduardo’s binoculars, the star Antares, the Wow Radio, and the mysterious old Andean woman are not mere aesthetic details; each carries symbolic weight in the protagonist’s inner journey and in the transformation of others.
The narrative trusts the audience’s sensitivity, rather than explaining. It invites the viewer to feel and discover through sensations, visual echoes, and quiet metaphors.
ARTISTIC REFERENCES
The references that helped shape LUZ blend personal passions, extensive research, visual delicacy, and deeply intimate emotions.
The film’s aesthetic resonates with sensitive works that treat time, silence, and intelligent dialogue as essential to storytelling. Films such as “Paris, Texas”, “Y Tu Mamá También”, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, “The Motorcycle Diaries”, “Incendies”, “Roma”, “Departures”, “A Hidden Life”, “Invisible”, “Nomadland”, “Sideways” and “Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus”, among others.
In music, inspiration comes from composers like Jóhann Jóhannsson, Brian Eno, Jean-Miche Jarre, Ólafur Arnalds and Max Richter, who translate the desert’s vastness and the soul’s depths into sound.
Chile’s cultural roots appear in the voices of Inti-Illimani, Violeta Parra, La Noche, Zalo Reyes and Fernando Milagros, creating a bridge between the Atacama’s landscape and the emotional memories of its characters.
There is also the freshness of Bratty, Gepe, Tom Bernardes and Nick Mulvey, whose music breathe with the story, alongside nostalgic appearances by Madonna and Phil Collins. Melodramatic ballads from the 1980s add unexpected depth and humor, playing from the fictional 103.3 Radio Wow Atacama, a recurring sound element in the film’s universe.
Visually, LUZ remains natural and honest, with real sunlight, the authentic sounds of the desert, and frames that embrace silence, emptiness, and the unique atmosphere of the local nature. These elements highlight the film’s sensory, existential, and deeply human dimension.
HUMOR, SYMBOLISM AND HIDDEN LAYERS
Throughout the narrative, LUZ weaves delicate moments of humor and meaning that deepen the audience’s connection with the characters as the journey unfolds.
Mario’s obsession with Phil Collins, Eduardo’s recurring encounters with the enigmatic street flautist, and Tyler’s constant distraction when speaking with Seung introduce lightness and intimacy without breaking the film’s lyrical tone.
At the same time, the story is rich in hidden layers. Subtle visual and narrative easter eggs reference philosophy, astronomy and contemporary pop culture. These discreet elements invite attentive viewers to read between the lines, adding depth and resonance while preserving the film’s emotional delicacy.
PHILOSOPHY, ASTRONOMY
AND HUMAN CONDITION
LUZ offers a subtle critique of modern society, not through confrontation but through quiet contrast, touching on themes of narcissism, vanity, egocentrism, relentless acceleration and the pressures of self-demand.
As the characters let go of their digital performances and surrender to the silence of the desert, echoes of four philosophers I personally admire begin to emerge:
• Lucian Blaga (incomprehension)
• Byung-Chul Han (egocentrism)
• Rainer Maria Rilke (interiority)
• Yukio Mishima (impermanence)
The screenplay was carefully written to gently weave in their central ideas: the mystery of what remains hidden, the fading of the ego, the power and value of artistic presence and the fleeting beauty of existence.
It carries an echo of astronomy, touched by the poetic vision of Carl Sagan, opening a space for humility before the infinite and for tenderness toward the shortness of our lives.
These reflections are not presented as direct references, but as a quiet philosophical breeze that moves through the film, subtly shaping its emotional and existential atmosphere.
“Someday, anywhere, at any place, inevitably, you will find yourself.
And that, only that, may be the happiest or the bitterest of your hours.”
Pablo Neruda
TONES AND GENRES
The film’s predominant tone is poetic and contemplative. Melancholic in spirit, with elements of social critique and touches of acid humor. Sensitive in its approach, the narrative favors emotional restraint and a minimalist aesthetic, marked by visual lyricism inspired by Terrence Malick, Alfonso Cuarón, Wim Wenders, Hirokazu Koreeda, and Chilean filmmakers Pablo Larraín and Andrés Wood.
Its blended genres are anchored in existential drama. The film unfolds as an emotional road movie centered on journey and transformation, while also embracing subtle human comedy through gags and eccentric characters.
AUDIENCE AND UNIVERSAL APPEAL
LUZ is a film for anyone who has ever felt small or lost in the face of the world. It speaks to an adult, sensitive audience without elitism. To men and women of all ages who value genuine stories with characters that reflect who we all are: melancholic, impatient, loving, funny, insecure, sharp, and above all, human.
The film naturally resonates with festival audiences, while also reaching a wider and curious public, including those who may not grasp every metaphor. And that’s okay. LUZ also smiles at those who simply want to feel.
It is for those who enjoy laughter and emotion. For those who have crossed, or are still crossing, their own personal deserts and can recognize life’s greatness in small and unlikely encounters.
It is for those who seek cinema with soul. With no intention to impress, but every intention to touch.
For those who value an honest screenplay, one that surprises gently and reminds us that life can indeed be lighter. With more acceptance, and less self-imposed pressure.
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus
CHARACTERS
The characters in LUZ are shaped through everyday behavior, contradictions, humor and small emotional shifts rather than dramatic declarations.
Their transformations emerge through shared experiences, awkward conversations, moments of intimacy, silence, and the subtle ways people affect one another without realizing it.
Even secondary characters carry their own rhythms, wounds and peculiarities. Together, they form a small temporary family whose presence gradually changes the protagonist and, quietly, each other.
The film favors observation over exposition. Its characters do not announce who they are. They reveal themselves the way people do in life: slowly.
These are the souls who share the road and turn a simple journey into an unforgettable story:
EDUARDO MONTEIRO
After losing almost everything, the protagonist discovers that sometimes it takes strangers to show us who we really are.
LUZ
Through a subtle and generous way of loving and caring, Luz sees what few hearts can perceive.
TUTI (PLAYED BY ANA REEVES)
With acid humor and little patience, Tuti carries the experience of a life filled with mischief and untold stories.
TYLER
Spontaneous and clueless, he speaks with absolute certainty, even when he has no idea what he's talking about.
MAJA
A Danish woman seeking distance from her past, believing the desert might offer a fresh start.
FERNANDO
A provocative street musician who knows the local culture like few others and shares it in his own unique way.
EDUARDO MUÑOZ
A man who crosses his personal desert with inspiring dignity and joy. A quiet lighthouse in the vastness of the place.
MARIO (PLAYED BY DAMIÁN DELGADO)
Twenty-three years driving the Atacama roads with a big heart, collecting stories, passengers, and an unlikely kind of wisdom.
BIA (PLAYED BY EVELYN CASTRO)
A Brazilian woman with a radiant smile and a way of winning over everyone around her.
SARAH
A rigid and anxious woman whose irritability conceals an unspoken pain she refuses to face.
SEUNG
Quiet and observant, Seung speaks little, preferring to watch the world through his camera.
YOUTUBERS
The YouTubers represent a superficial world in which appearance and exposure overshadow genuine feelings and values.
MESSAGE OF THE FILM
LUZ is a quiet reflection on attention, loneliness and the small ways people change one another.
In a world increasingly obsessed with being seen, the film suggests that perhaps what we long for most is not visibility, but genuine presence.
Through humor, unexpected encounters and shared moments, LUZ invites us to notice what often goes unseen: the fragile gestures, the imperfect people, and the brief connections that give meaning to our lives.
Not everything important announces itself.
Some things reveal themselves only when we finally slow down enough to notice.
What we see is never everything.
STRUCTURE AND STORY MAP
Act 1: The Weight of the Luggage
Block 1: A DISASTROUS START
• Scene 01 - Security Point
• Scene 02 - I Was Just Thinking About Something
• Scene 03 - Visible Effects in 4 Minutes
• Scene 04 - Reflections
• Scene 05 - Maleta Amarilla
• Scene 06 - Bag of Chips
• Scene 07 - El Guardián del Pueblo
• Scene 08 - The Room
• Scene 09 - The Yellow Poncho
• Scene 10 - It Works
• Scene 11 - Qurintucha
• Scene 12 - El Cielo Más Claro del Mundo
• Scene 13 - Sharp Snap
• Scene 14 - Scream
• Scene 15 - The Mysterious Figure
Block 2: WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
• Scene 16 - Tengo Un AirTag
• Scene 17 - Sólo Abren a las 10
• Scene 18 - Mário Atacama Premium
• Scene 19 - I Got It, Thank You
• Scene 20 - Call the Paparazzo
• Scene 21 - Phil Collins
• Scene 22 - Andean-Romantic Sanctuary
• Scene 23 - Tocayos
• Scene 24 - Esta Es el Alma de Atacama
• Scene 25 - Tuti con T
• Scene 26 - Muddy Water
• Scene 27 - Loneliness
• Scene 28 - The Myth of Perfect Love
• Scene 29 - She's a Capricorn
• Scene 30 - The Mysterious Figure Again
Act 2: Silent Transformations
Block 3: BONDS, SILENCES AND A SPECIAL PAIR
• Scene 31 - On the Way to the Geysers
• Scene 32 - Wild Atmosphere
• Scene 33 - Let's go, Edu, let's go!
• Scene 34 - Put the Phone Down, Bia
• Scene 35 - Chaski Sonqo
• Scene 36 - Indian Rock
• Scene 37 - Encarna al Neruda
• Scene 38 - T de Traigo Buenas Noticias
• Scene 39 - Ahora No Vas a Parar?
• Scene 40 - Under Pressure PLOT POINT 1
• Scene 41 - Too Much Pisco Sour
• Scene 42 - Don't Let Me Out of Here
Block 4: THE DESERT MIRROR
• Scene 43 - A Lagoon for the Morning After
• Scene 44 - Lagunas Escondidas
• Scene 45 - Promise of Silence
• Scene 46 - Maybe That's What Life Is All About
• Scene 47 - Returning to San Pedro
• Scene 48 - Pachamama
• Scene 49 - Silence
• Scene 50 - You Are More Than Welcome to Try
Block 5: FAREWELLS AND SURPRISES
• Scene 51 - Thanks, Atacama
• Scene 52 - Hijo de Puta
• Scene 53 - They Are About to Close the Gate
• Scene 54 - Que Alegria Te Ver Aqui, Meu Filho
Act 3: Eduardo, Eduardo & Luz
Block 6: EPILOGUE
• Scene 55 - Bienvenido, Tocayo
• Scene 56 - 4 Seconds That Changed Everything PLOT POINT 2
• Scene 57 - Pero Tampoco un Peso
• Scene 58 - What Problems, Luz?
• Scene 59 - Nuestro propio desierto
• Scene 60 - The Video That Inspired LUZ
• Scene 61 - Title Cards
TECHNICAL SHEET
PROJECT OVERVIEW
• Original title: LUZ
• Genre: Poetic drama / Emotional road movie
• Estimated duration: 120 minutes
• Format: Feature film / Color / Digital
• Country of origin: Brazil / Chile
• Languages: Portuguese / Spanish / English
• Status: Completed Screenplay / In Development
LOCATIONS
• Brazil: Opening scene / airport interiors
• Santiago, Chile: Urban settings / flashbacks / Luz and Eduardo's apartment
• Atacama Desert, Chile: San Pedro de Atacama and region
SCREENPLAY INFO
• Software: Final Draft 13
• Pages: 126 pages
• Language: Written in Portuguese (English and Spanish versions available)
• Registration USA: WGAW #2307192
• Registration Brazil: Biblioteca Nacional #000984.0313143/2025
• Actual version: LUZ V.31 (revised)
KEY CREDITS
• Writer (Original screenplay): Eduardo Monteiro
• Director: [to be defined]
• Co-director: Eduardo Coelho
• Director of photography: [to be defined]
• Editing: [to be defined]
• Executive production: [to be defined]
• Associate production: [to be defined]
• Sound design: [to be defined]
• Production & Art direction: [to be defined]