Playing at Cinema Diverse Thursday Septemer 25 11:30AM THEATRE ONE Shorts
By Valerie Milano
Palm Springs, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/17/25 – Caring for a loved one with dementia is never a simple task, and when that person is a parent, the emotional toll can be overwhelming. Filmmaker Daniel Edjviles Carrera brings this difficult reality to the screen in his powerful short film Fiat Lux 5000, inspired by his own journey navigating his father’s fading memory.
At its heart, the film explores the relationship between Manuel Espinoza (played by Jonathan De La Torre) and his aging father (Francisco Javier Gómez). Manuel has chosen to be his father’s primary caregiver, but the strain has begun to erode his personal life, including his relationship with his partner (Bryan Mittelstadt). The film’s tension builds around this sacrifice: Manuel’s love is deep, but so is his exhaustion.
The turning point arrives when Manuel’s partner introduces an experimental device, the futuristic Fiat Lux 5000, promising to reconnect the father with memories thought to be lost forever. What follows is a burst of vitality: the father cooking breakfast, dancing to beloved music, and speaking with the energy of his younger self. Yet the joy is short-lived. As his revived memories drift back further into the past, long-buried trauma surfaces, exposing scars from violence and machismo that shaped his character. Soon, confusion between past and present drives the story toward a chilling conclusion.
Visually, Carrera and cinematographer Carlo Canlas Mendoza focus on intimacy, lingering close-ups capture unspoken pain, longing, and fleeting connection. The performances ground the sci-fi concept in raw humanity, particularly De La Torre’s portrayal of a son torn between duty and his own need for life beyond caregiving.
Fiat Lux 5000 doesn’t just highlight the heartbreak of dementia—it also examines the cultural and generational weight of memory, masculinity, and legacy within Mexican and Mexican American families. In doing so, it situates itself firmly within a tradition of Latinx cinema unafraid to confront mortality and the echoes of the past.
Carrera continues to establish himself as a vital new voice in contemporary filmmaking. With a growing list of accolades, including recognition at Cannes, Outfest, and Tribeca, his work consistently blends personal history with universal themes. Fiat Lux 5000 reaffirms his ability to merge intimate storytelling with bold, imaginative concepts.
This short film is a moving reminder that even as memory fades, the ties between parent and child, fragile, complicated, and enduring, remain unbreakably human.
