Daniel Rivera Ortiz
Director / filmmaker
Daniel Rivera Ortiz (Guadalajara, 1999) is a writer and film director. At 16, he screened his first short film in a state competition in Jalisco. He later directed the short film Allá Arriba (2021) and Aurora (2023), both screened at the Cineteca Nacional de México.
Mariposa Negra (bLACK MOTH)
Mariano, a little boy, faces loss for the first time. A Black Moth—an omen of death in Mexican folklore—appears to guide him on a journey through the meaning of time and grief.Technical Info / Información Técnica:
2025 / 00:13:29 / Guadalajara, MéxicoFiction Short Film: Family, Childhood, Magical RealismColor / 24 fps / 16:9 / Stereo / 2K / Black Magic Pocket 6k PRO
Director's Statement
Black Moth is an exploration of childhood grief. Time passes, and people die—how does a little boy experience that reality for the first time?Mariano (7 years old) faces this challenge with curiosity and imagination. In the old house of his recently deceased grandmother, elements of magical realism emerge. A Black Moth—a Mexican symbol of death—hovers through the halls and corners of the house, alive and ever-present. Dreams turn into nightmares—VFX is used as an expressive element of Mariano’s inner world. All of this is interwoven with the mother’s narration, as she describes how she sees her son coping with grief.This short film is my way of portraying the conversations I’ve had with my family about death, the dreams they’ve shared with me about loved ones who are no longer here, and the everyday moments where the memory of our departed—especially, my grandmother—remains a part of our daily lives.
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