By: Miguel Ernesto Yusty

GUAYABO is a film directed by brothers Miguel and José Luis Jiménez, two animators who have worked with Hierroanimación, directing award-winning short films. The film's concept originated with producer Euder Arce, who, upon contacting screenwriter Andrés Lopera, suggested as a starting point for the story that "friendship and business don't mix well." From this premise, the screenwriter constructs a thriller set during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which sharing women and intimacy becomes a journey to hell that two friends never wanted to take.

The film's tone is established from the script. Lopera is a seasoned and well-read writer, familiar with the world of business, money, and its excesses. Therefore, he knows how to approach a story in which power and youth combine to transgress even the most basic rules of survival. As a result, the story flows seamlessly, becoming a cinematic testament to one of the most dramatic periods in recent history, not only in his native Colombia but throughout the world.

As universal as first kisses or first loves, hangovers—or as they're known in Colombia, "guayabos"—are less frequently explored in film, unless it's in comedies or melodramas. That's why a thriller, like the one Lopera is writing, is a good excuse for society to look itself in the eye and suffer and laugh along with its reflection, because that's what cinema is for, too.