TECHNICAL::
Working Title: No War Without Humans
Estimated Duration: 18 minutes
Genre: Drama
Country of Origin: Puerto Rico / United States
Language: English
Creative Team:
Screenwriter/Director/Producer/: Bernice González Bofill
Total Estimated Budget: $30-60
Current Project Status: Development.
LOGLINE:
A mother's structured daily routine unravels as the horrors of war creep closer to home, forcing her to confront the terrifying reality that her orderly life and children's safety are more fragile than she wanted to believe.
SYNOPSIS:
The story follows Angela, a single mother of two children (Sam and Tim) living in a city on the brink of war. As a professional speechwriter working with military officials and politicians, she attempts to maintain normalcy in her family's daily routine despite the escalating conflict outside their apartment. The narrative is interwoven with a philosophical voice-over from a "Godlike Woman" who reflects on the nature of time, routine, and human existence. As the war draws closer, Angela watches her children's world slowly change - their schools empty, safety drills become common, and the streets fill with soldiers. The story culminates in a surreal sequence where Angela, overwhelmed by the horror of war shown on TV, desperately searches for her children amidst chaos. The final scenes reveal an empty apartment, suggesting the loss of her children to the war, leaving Angela alone in a desolate city being reclaimed by nature.
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
I created No War Without Humans to confront the quiet violence of normalization—how we continue daily routines while war,
displacement, and suffering unfold just beyond our view. Inspired by Monica Trixel’s poem ONE, the film blends poetry and realism to
explore how violence enters the home through language, screens, and silence.
As a Puerto Rican woman raised in a colonized country, I’ve learned to read the space between words, to carry contradictions. Angela,
the protagonist, mirrors this—she writes pro-war speeches while raising her children in a world slowly unraveling.
My work often explores the emotional residue of systems—how power and fear seep into the domestic and intimate. I’m drawn to
surrealism as a tool for emotional truth, using poetic rhythm, sound, and visual metaphor to expose what we repress. This film is a
quiet scream—a way to feel what we’ve numbed ourselves to.
ScreenCraft Short Film Screenplay Competition (2025)Quarterfinalist
Austin Film Festival (2024)Second Rounder