Purgatory is a surreal and visually haunting short film that explores the inner torment of a soul trapped in its own purgatory. Written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Adrián Landeros, with cinematography by Carlos Davis Colín, the ten-minute film merges cinema, painting, and music into a darkly poetic experience. It was awarded Best Director at the 2017 Optic Theater Film Festival.

After taking his own life, a pianist is condemned to relive the most painful moments of his existence. Within this liminal space—somewhere between memory, dream, and nightmare—he is guided by a mysterious painter, a woman who has also known suffering, and whose story mirrors his own.

Shot with striking technical precision, the camera glides through walls, floors, and objects, blurring the line between body and material, thought and image. The film unfolds in a claustrophobic and emotionally charged atmosphere, where sound and vision immerse the viewer in the protagonist’s fractured perception of reality.

Purgatoriy is not just a horror film—it is an allegorical descent into personal grief, a portrait of the psyche fractured by pain and regret. Its final moments, suffocating and tragic, leave the viewer inside the protagonist’s soul: fragile, disoriented, and eternally haunted.