In 2016, Covarrubias was a co-creator Paper Port, a tv series aimed at young audiences that blends stop motion and 2d animation. Around the same time Covarrubias connected with Díaz, a filmmaker from the documentary world who had often implemented animation in his work as a compelling storytelling device. Bestia is their first collaboration. Besides studying how dogs move, there was a very complex shot as the dog walks alongside Ingrid. That shot provides a certain tranquility to the short and reflects their quotidian life and even some warmth. That was one of the shots that I consider taking out of the film because of how long it was taking us. Matías animated that shot and it took him about three weeks because it was very difficult to make the dog in such a subtle manner. Interestingly, as we were animated that short we got a visit from Paul Harrod, who is the production designer for Isle of Dogs. Covarrubias: Animation let us into what happens in her head; it’s a medium that benefits those mental images. All of the surrealist and dreamlike elements that the short film explores exist because of the animation. As she looks at herself in the mirror we imagine that she is asking herself, “Am I really a woman or am I only a woman when I’m in my room because outside I’m just another military person without gender in the eyes of society?” Of course a lot of this is open to interpretation, but these are the things we questioned about her. I can’t speak about feminism because I’m a man, but thinking about gender, I’m conscious that she is a woman, but she was carrying out evil acts that were genderless. So we imagine she perhaps used those intimate moments she had alone to reaffirm her identity as a woman. Following the first-ever Oscar win for Chile with the animated short Bear Story, the success of Bestia reaffirms a hope for a rapidly growing industry in the South American nation. Speaking via Zoom from Santiago, Covarrubias and Diaz walked us through the thematic labyrinth that their uncompromising short represents. The interview is accompanied by behind-the-scenes photos from the production of the film.

Covarrubias: Matías Delgado was a key collaborator in animating the dog. He was the only other animator besides me. I knew that the dog had to contrast with the protagonist, especially at the beginning of the film. At some point Matías asked me if the dog could act tenderly and subtly, and I agreed. It had to be a docile dog, and not what you think of when you think of a tough police dog, even if it is a police dog. We were trying to confuse the viewer at the beginning in the sense that we introduce the story as if it were a run-of-the-mill tale about a woman and her dog. At first we know she teaches the dog things, but we are not sure what they are. Díaz: His visit was crucial, because after seeing our work he gave us letters of recommendation that were able to use to apply for further government funding in Chile. That was critical for us to finish Bestia in post-production. Having a letter from Mr. Paul Harrod definitely helped us. Paul Harrod, production designer of “Isle of Dogs,” visits the set of “Bestia.”

Díaz: It was difficult because the figure of Ingrid is made of a resin that looks like porcelain and has fixed facial gestures. She only has six different expressions. Wanna Watch Some Japanese Adult Video?I know you big-time JAV fans are used to the censored twats, but I still can’t stand that shit. I stayed in the Uncensored area, trying to choose which hot Asian bitch I’d be jerking off to. I found a hot taboo movie with a 20-year-old bitch in full HD, which sounded like it was right up my alley.

How would you describe the animation industry in Chile today in terms of resources and its potential for growth? The short film is about the past, but do you feel that with the recent social uprising and through the short itself the younger generations in Chile can relate to its themes?And what was the reasoning behind limiting her expressions from a practical and narrative perspective? Covarrubias: We made that decision given how much she could express with her body. We also wanted everything to be psychological and expressed through mental images only. At some point we considered using a narrator, but we decided not to approach it like a documentary, but to make a journey to the darkest corners of the human being’s mind. We did base our story on historical elements from the existing texts to give the film a historical foundation, but on top of that we built a fiction where we invented many places and situations that didn’t necessarily happen in reality.