Burning
the Light
A remote work consultant takes a drug that makes her perfectly productive and extinguishes the last version of herself she had left.
We live in a time that rewards optimization. Faster, more focused, more productive. There are apps for it, supplements for it, entire industries built around the idea that the best version of yourself is the most efficient one.
I kept asking: what gets quietly removed in that process? What is the thing we trade away without realising we are trading it?
This film is my attempt to look at that honestly. With curiosity. And with the uncomfortable suspicion that most of us already know the answer.
Sonya has a good job, a good apartment, and a life that looks exactly like it should. The only problem is that she has slowly disappeared from it.
When she discovers a drug that promises to make her feel present again, she takes it. It works perfectly. That is the tragedy.
Burning the Light is a film about the version of yourself you agree to give up, and the moment you stop noticing it is gone.
Quiet realist drama for the first two acts. The final act breaks register entirely: slow motion, pulsing color, the apartment as a sealed liminal space. The drug doesn’t just change Sonya. It changes the film.
The Zoom grid border as portal. A box of photographs and train tickets held in the hands. Morning light crossing the floor, almost reaching her feet. Her eyes opening once inside what looks like joy.
Digital. Single primary location. Controlled lighting throughout with practical colored light in the final sequence.
Short Film
Dark Comedy Drama
Approx. 8 minutes
English
2026
Script available. In development.
Ricardo Serrano is a filmmaker and motion designer originally from Seville, Spain. Since 2010 he has created work for brands including Disney, Microsoft, Amazon MGM, FIFA, Formula 1 and Sony across Spain, the USA, China, the UK and the UAE.
In 2014 he founded W·A·C, a creative initiative to develop stories through narrative and experiential projects.
A few past projects:
If you are interested in this project, please get in touch.
ricardo.serrano.design@gmail.com