Sofia Bilbao’s immersive art has earned her plenty of hardware as she journeys through the horror genre

Photo Courtesy of Sofia Bilbao

Sofia Bilbao has been a storyteller her entire life—Whether it was writing books for her friends, telling stories to her classmates, or making videos of her doing projects for fun, Bilbao has always loved sharing a narrative. She says that the stories her dad told her as a kid about his fantastical sailing journeys from when he was in the Navy is what helped her realize her fascination with the art of storytelling. However, as much as she loved sharing tales, she didn’t initially pursue it as a career.

After ditching her original interests in archaeology for photography, she enrolled in a Catholic university in Uruguay focusing on an audio/visual communications degree, enhancing her passion for visual storytelling. Shortly after, she did a six-month exchange program at the University of Kansas where she took film classes and met professors who convinced her to apply to get her film degree. She took their advice and dove right into the arts KU had to offer.

“When I was in school back then, there weren’t any filmmaking programs [in Uruguay],” Bilbao says. “So when I came here, I came with the idea, Okay, I want to be a filmmaker. The wonderful thing about KU is that all the arts are really attached with each other. So if you are in filmmaking, you always are going to get some knowledge about theater.”

That knowledge is what led her to go after a minor in theater. Following suit, she was introduced to immersive theater and got started on her most recent project, PAЯALYSIS—a show intended to raise awareness about mental health. At the very least, she hoped it would  “spark conversations about mental health—specifically depression and sleep paralysis—through a raw, visceral experience that invites the audience to not only observe but feel,” Bilbao says.

PAЯALYSIS was born from a class at KU called “Fundamentals of Directing,” where the class focused on a project that tasked students to tell a story in 10 minutes. They were allowed to use a script that already existed or they could come up with a story on their own.

Her love of horror and fascination with putting something “unusual” in her projects led to her choice of PARALYSIS—a play written by a KU alum that she whittled down into the 10-minute requirement for class. Her rendition of the play left a lasting impression on her professor, as she was called back after graduation to make a longer version where she got to toy with immersive elements in the art.

“I came back to KU and did it, and it was a success,” says Bilbao. “Everyone, like every audience, really liked it. It was a 45-minute version because the whole script was an hour, or something, so I wanted to do an episodic thing that I do over there. What I did to make it more immersive was every single ‘episode’ was with a different music.”

Photo Courtesy of Sofia Bilbao

Coming from Latin America, Bilbao always incorporates Spanish music into her shows because it “sets the tone for what you’re going to see,” Bilbao says. Each song she used had some sort of focus on loneliness, anxiety, not belonging, etc., as each lyric was meant to set the tone of the specific scene or episode. She made sure to include both English and Spanish lyrics in the program for the show so that the audience can get the full experience.

Music is not the only aspect of PAЯALYSIS that makes it immersive, however. Quality of video can only do so much—There are things that those who only watch the video don’t see. Taking this into consideration, Bilbao made an instagram account and blogs for people to view before the show. It was created as a way to show the main character, Joy’s, life prior to the show, with the display serving as a sequel to the social media account.

Another way she immerses her audiences is by telling attendees to write down what makes them sad on a piece of paper and then throw it close to the stage. Her thought process behind the act is for individuals to surround the already mentally-disarrayed Joy with their negative thoughts, allowing for immediate audience engagement with the story.

One of the driving symbolic features that Bilbao uses to convey the message of how Joy struggles with his own mental health and paralysis is through the use of two doors on stage. One is the “real door” and the other is the “dream door” which helps showcase his paralysis versus his reality. By the end of the show, Joy removes the “real door” sign and puts it over the “dream door” sign and gets pulled through by his sleep paralysis monster, which is something Bilbao changed from the original script.

Photo Courtesy of Sofia Bilbao

“The [original] idea was that they go through the ‘real door’ and that’s it,” says Bilbao. “But I wanted to make it a different ending. Because, the thing is, as someone that has suffered from depression and anxiety, I don’t think that is something you decide—‘I’m going to be better’ and that’s it.” The conclusion is now more visceral, with Joy overlapping the names on the door, showcasing his acceptance to fall into paralysis. “That is the comfort, basically.”

Utilizing nuances and immersion, PAЯALYSIS highlights the difficulties of declining mental health. Bilbao tells everyone before the show that if anyone is struggling with sleep paralysis or mental health issues like depression and anxiety, it would probably be best to refrain from seeing the show. As someone who watched the recording, I will have to agree. The makeup, music, and mannerisms of the actor on their own would be enough to trigger any viewers who have suffered from declining mental health. Keep in mind, while the show covers themes of mental health, the avenue used to display the piece is still within the realms of the horror genre.

While being a more recent piece, PAЯALYSIS is not the only work Bilbao has completed—one of her more notable projects being Mabel—a two-and-a-half hour murder mystery feature that has been given nearly twenty awards. One of these was “Best Feature” in the Autumn Edition of the Reims Excellence Director (RED) Movie Awards—an international seasonal filmmaking competition with annual screenings in Reims, France. It was a huge accomplishment; and being only 24 at the time made for some pretty flattering misconceptions.

“Everyone thought that we were actors,” says Bilbao. “And I said ‘Oh, well, actually, I got nominated for Best Feature,’ and they would be like ‘What?!’ because, at that moment, I was 24. Being in the same category of people that work for ages—people that are 50 or 60 years old—they made amazing movies. Being recognized in the same category [as them] was like ‘What the fuck?’”

Photo Courtesy of Sofia Bilbao

With highly-acclaimed directors like Fede Álvarez (The Evil Dead), James Wan (The Conjuring), and Andrés Muschietti (It (2017)) as inspiration, it’s extremely challenging for Bilbao to run out of ideas when it comes to symbolism in film. However, not wanting to be typecast as a horror director, she has started to branch her ideas out, creating a Sci-Fi piece that she hopes to be able to use different techniques to achieve. She has looked to James Cameron (Avatar) on how to potentially include AI or CGI into her productions as he has done for the Avatar series.

With many future projects like that in mind, she wants the immersive aspect in her filmography to remain, as she has already started reaching out to organizations she hopes to partner with. With what she shared, it is clear that Bilbao is ready to bring a fresh outlook on the film industry with her unique narration.

Education remains as a top priority and direction for the local artist. She soon will begin her digital and immersive media masters degree in the fall at the University of Missouri – Kansas City where she will be able to focus even closer on immersive theater.