Francisco de Goya retired to La Quinta del Sordo to focus on his work and spend his final days in peace. Weeks after settling into his new countryside home, he became incredibly ill and got frequent visits from the ghosts of his past. As he found himself rapidly approaching death, he turned to his art once more to dig himself out of the hole that was consuming him, nearly losing everything in the process.
The Quinta’s Ghost began as a bright, tranquil story about a successful elderly man who went away to enjoy the fruits of his labor from the perspective of the house he retreated to.
Reflecting all of his best qualities made La Quinta del Sordo feel like a palace when in reality, it was “an ordinary country house.” But just like any relationship, the honeymoon phase ends, and the inner demons are revealed.
Unaware if the environment or the host is the poison, The Quinta’s Ghost is a true reinforcement of people’s inability to run from their problems, the prevalence of one’s reality being mirrored back to them, and that there is always a way out of those low, dark moments.
Writer-director James A. Castillo had an idea of telling a story about a man facing immortality. With Goya being an important character in Spanish history, and Castillo having a long-standing interest in creating a horror animation, he found the perfect recipe to represent this narrative.
“These paintings came from a very internal place. [Goya] had to suffer a lot for us to be able to enjoy them.” — James A. Castillo
Watch my exclusive interview with Emmy-winning director James A. Castillo and producer Raul Rocha, where we discuss their latest project, The Quinta’s Ghost, art, creativity, the business of art, animation, AI, and more.
Also available on YouTube.
The Quinta’s Ghost, produced by Martirio Films and Illusorium Films, had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
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