Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1536017
SUNDANCE NEXT PREMIERE1 "RAINS OVER BABEL"1 BRINGS PURGATORY TO LIFE1 The Sundance Film Festival's NEXT category spotlights innovative, bold and forwarding- thinking films and is home to a wide range of diverse projects that will shape global cinema in years to come. Described as a tropical Colombian steampunk fever-dream and filled to the brim with lively music and queer joy, the feature film "Rains Over Babel" premiered in the NEXT category at the 2025 festival, enamoring audiences with its colorful and mesmerizing world. A debut from Spanish Colombian writer/director Gala del Sol, the film tells the story of the city's Grim Reaper, La Flaca, who presides over Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory. Inside, a group of misfits converges, gambling years of their lives with La Flaca, daring to outwit Death herself. The fantastical world and vibrant characters in "Rains Over Babel" were brought to life in post by del Sol, who also served as co-editor, and Hadley Hillel, along with Assistant Editors Jose Varón and Felipe Aguilar, and Colorist Elliott Powell. "Hadley and I began by editing each scene separately in DaVinci Resolve Studio, starting with individual timelines for every scene. Later, we combined these into sequences to refine timing, rhythm, and structure. We used speed ramps to finetune the rhythm of certain cuts and enhance the energy in action sequences. Resolve's stabilization tools were fantastic, helping to smooth out some challenging shots," noted del Sol. "My favorite, and the most challenging sequence, was the climactic fight. It involved a montage of two fights happening in different times and locations, with the cuts matching movement. Resolve allowed us to easily experiment with rhythm and flow until we achieved a seamless, kinetic montage," del Sol added. "Outside of the edit page, we used Fusion for keying out green B A B E L R A I N S OV E R