Waltz for Isabelle

Emiliano Figueroa

Born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, Emiliano is a 25 year old writer, director, and editor, with a deep passion for storytelling. Focusing especially on genre films, Emiliano has found a voice in fantasy, horror, and science fiction, combining its elements to create something new.
His first short film, They Live on Top (2025), is a black and white, science fiction noir that blends old cinema with themes of the modern, paranoid world. Now with his second film, Waltz for Isabelle (2026), Emiliano explores the gothic world, using vampires as an allegory
to parasitic people. Waltz for Isabelle won the prize of Best Midnight Movie at the 53rd Concordia Film Festival, and has been selected as part of the official “midnight” lineup of Dances with Films LA. Emiliano has already shot two other short films this year. Devils, his student Thesis project set in the 1910s that deals with themes of religion, guilt, and power structures; and Cryface, an experimental slasher inspired by the aesthetics of internet horror.
With all of these projects coming out soon, Emiliano is looking to shoot his first feature next year titled Los Fantasmas (The Ghosts), in his home state of Jalisco, Mexico. Los Fantasmas is a religious horror film that creates a unique nightmarish atmosphere combining elements of Mexican culture and catholic folklore. The script is done and the project is
currently in pre-production.

Director’s Statement

Waltz for Isabelle is a concept that was born from very specific inspirations and life experiences. I believe that this gothic piece is a cautionary tale about love, and how this feeling is so strong that it can disstort our perception of reality, driving us into a spiral of self-destruction that results in the death of our soul and humanity.