Nia Bowers
The 22-year-old DP blacked out a soundstage, rigged lights she could raise and drop on the fly and shot a psych thriller now screening on two continents.
Here’s a quick way to gauge where a young filmmaker is at: ask about their gear list. Gaby Manzanares , a 22-year-old DP out of the Los Angeles Film School, shot her latest short on an Arri Alexa Mini with Zeiss CP3 primes and a Fujinon Cabrio 19-90mm zoom. The short is called To Shine Again. It’s a psychological thriller that’s been ripping through festivals on two continents. And the way she talks about making it, you’d think she’d been doing this for a decade.
The film, written and directed by Marcell Leon Viragh, is about a guy named Jon who gets trapped in a loop inside his own mind by his alter ego, Nate. Identity, childhood trauma, the voices in your head that won’t shut up. Heavy stuff. Manzanares connected to the material personally, and it shows. The whole visual language of the film is built around that internal chaos.
One sequence stands out. Jon ends up in a black, endless void — basically a prison inside his own psyche. To pull it off, Manzanares and her gaffer Scott Hadden and key grip Jaden Hardin blacked out an entire soundstage. Then they built a big soft overhead rig that she could raise or lower to shape how shadows hit the actors’ faces in close-ups. The cast could move freely. The light stayed precise. That’s the kind of problem-solving that separates a DP who knows the grip and electric side from one who doesn’t.
Before they ever rolled, Manzanares ran multiple lighting tests with Viragh to nail the look for each scene. She sat down with the VFX supervisor during prep to make sure the in-camera work and post pipeline were talking to each other. Not exactly the approach you’d expect from someone who graduated last year.
The festival run backs it up. Ten screenings so far across the U.S. and Europe. Best Short Film at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival. Best Director Short Film at the Alpine International Film Festival in Switzerland. Best Male Director at France’s RED Movie Awards. Screenings at Berlin Lift-Off, Pápa International in Hungary, IndieX, Independent Shorts Awards, Cal Film Fest, and a premiere at the Golden State Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Plus, a Best Thriller Short nomination at Indie Short Fest.
Manzanares, originally from Bogotá, Colombia, moved to LA at eighteen, switched out of performing arts into film, and hasn’t slowed down. She’s currently in pre-production on a Canon-backed comedy pilot.
Viragh sent you this script right after wrapping another project together. What grabbed you?
I knew right away it was going to be a really personal story that people who had a complicated and traumatic childhood could relate to. I related to some of the themes myself, and that informed a lot of my choices. Marcell trusted me to take risks — to develop a look that felt dream-like and surreal but could also ground you to reality at times.
How did you make Nate feel threatening through the camera?
I chose a composition where Nate entered the story by invading Jon’s frame, towering over him. He’d stand up into the frame from behind — almost like a predator approaching prey — walking from cold blue light into Jon’s warm, safer lighting. I wanted him to be a big, menacing presence on screen, always making Jon look small and weak, the same way he was making him feel. I also used “unnatural” lighting colors in scenes where you wouldn’t expect them, to create visual uncertainty — so you’re never sure if you’re in reality or back in Jon’s unconscious.
Walk us through the void sequence technically.
We blacked out the entire stage, then built a big soft rig from above that I could raise or lower to control shadows on the actors’ faces during close-ups. Marcell and I wanted the actors to have flexibility to move, but I needed full control over the light so each shot looked and felt its best.
Ten festivals, two continents. What does that mean for you?
Since I was a kid, all I wanted my art to do was have an influence — make someone laugh, cry, remember something, think about something new. Connecting with an audience through something I helped create is what I’ve always aimed for. These moments push me to keep going.