A freight train cuts through the desert. Two bandits. One box of tequila. And a checkpoint that doesn’t go as planned.

Set in the arid heart of Mexico, this short film is a quiet tale about tension, instinct, and the importance of trusting what you’ve got...

From the start, our creative team set out to craft a narrative piece where a bottle of tequila could play a central role—visibly present, yet seamlessly woven into a story. The goal was to avoid the feeling of a traditional commercial. That premise, and the creative challenge behind it, gave shape to this cinematic tequila short film, created for Bandido Yankee Tequila Company on a remarkably limited budget.

Relying less on resources and more on imagination, the train car, for example, was built entirely in a garage using painted sheet metal and brought to life through practical effects: hand-held vibrations, shadows cast by branches moved in front of studio lights, and carefully choreographed lighting shifts that suggest motion. Wide shots of the train crossing the desert were generated using AI and layered with sound to heighten realism.

What could have been a constraint became the film’s signature: a high-production feel achieved through hands-on problem-solving and a cinematic language built on texture, rhythm, and atmosphere.