Five minutes. One mask. A boy's entire world of silence.
A young boy hides his emotions behind a Diablo Cojuelo mask in an attempt to appease his hyper-masculine father and protect himself from his school bully.
Acting
Derrick Delgado's silent face does devastating work.
Direction
Dominique Nieves packs a feature's worth of tension into five minutes.
Director
Dominique Nieves
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Diablo Cojuelo (limping devil) mask originates from Dominican carnival, traditionally worn to mock colonial oppressors—here repurposed as a child's shield against patriarchal violence.
Director Dominique Nieves made this as her NYU thesis film; it later qualified for Oscar consideration despite its runtime, proving brevity can carry institutional weight.
US
