To create the short film, we were mainly inspired by the written work. However, witches, the sorcery of those centuries and the pictorial works that involve the enchantment, among some of these magical elements, were also a source of inspiration.

Among some paintings we highlight this interpretation of how Picasso imagined La Celestina in his Blues Stage (1901-1904).

As a result of this drawing of La Celestina, we wanted to reinterpret the story of how we know this woman today, asking questions such as: Would she feel in love within herself at some point? Did she had a bad experience falling in love and that is why she came to him so much? Questions that we have solved in our free version and that offer another point of view of the character that goes a little further to the viewer.

In addition, throughout history witches have been treated as inhuman beings who only sought the misfortune of the others. From Let Love Die we wanted to give a slight change to that thought, making both the character and the audience doubt Celestina’s feelings for Calisto.

For this, the search for potions and how to create them was also key to inspire us and work on the world for witchcraft. Plants like Rosemary or lavender that have anesthetic and hallucinogenic properties helped us to learn more about this.

In addition to the potions, the cauldron, the vines, the books, the candles and other objects related to sorcery, we highlight two symbols as the most representative: The red thread and the orchid. In the narrative of the story, both take a relevant importance. The red thread is part of the original story, being the element that Celestina steals from Melibea in order to put a spell on her. At first, Melibea does not trust the gossiper’s intentions and does not want to receive her for a long time in her house, but the witch takes advantage of that moment to steal Melibea’s “cord” or red thread and put a spell on it. In a short time, the young noblewoman calls her to return home and thus apologize. The enchantment is created thanks to the magic that the protagonist attributes to the element of the young woman.

In the case of Let Love Die, that objetct has been mantained, also representing the love between the two nobles: Calisto and Melibea. However, this time it will not work in the same way as the story but will cause the opposite: Melibea will hate Calisto.

Having said that, the orchid is the element that plays the representative role of the love and affection of these characters. This flower that we included in our narrative symbolizes Celestina’s weak point: The love that she feels but never has shown. When she meets Calisto she is planting orchids in her garden. Calisto offers her Melibea’s attribute (the red thread) and some coins to do the job for him. Moments later, she leaves, and he stays looking at the flowers. He feels a strong connection to them and touches them causing that one of the petals breaks. This simple gesture will sentimentally unite both characters throughout the narrative. With this, Calisto is going to try to destroy Celestina’s life through love. Will she be able to fall into her own trap?