{"id":1074,"date":"2026-07-20T13:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/?p=1074"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:00:19","slug":"the-emulsion-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/?p=1074","title":{"rendered":"The Emulsion of Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"566\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"1075\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06_CSH_The-Emulsion-of-Time_Poster-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06_CSH_The-Emulsion-of-Time_Poster-1.jpg 566w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06_CSH_The-Emulsion-of-Time_Poster-1-212x300.jpg 212w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 566px) 100vw, 566px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Costa Rican filmmaker travels to Jinotega, Nicaragua, seeking to reconstruct the image of his grandfather, a Chinese photographer who emigrated decades ago. Through family phone calls and the gradual development of a single photograph in the darkroom, he discovers that understanding his grandfather is also a journey to understanding himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:22px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Project Title (Original Language):<\/strong> La Emulsi\u00f3n del Tiempo<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Project Type:<\/strong> Documentary, Experimental<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Runtime:<\/strong> 13 minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Completion Date:<\/strong> May 20, 2025<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Country of Origin:<\/strong> Costa Rica<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Country of Filming:<\/strong> Nicaragua<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Language:<\/strong> Spanish<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:26px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/the_emulsion_of_time_-_teaser_v1-1080p.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"744\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Headshot-31396eae4f-headshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Headshot-31396eae4f-headshot.jpg 744w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Headshot-31396eae4f-headshot-279x300.jpg 279w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Director Biography &#8211;&nbsp;Pablo Wong<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com\/press_kits\/headshots\/003\/154\/122\/original\/31396eae4f-headshot.jpg?1746523938\"><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pablo Wong (Costa Rica) is a filmmaker, cinematographer, and photographer. He founded Destello Films, focused on independent cinema and international co-productions. He also teaches film at Universidad Veritas, where he received an Honorable Mention for Teaching Excellence in 2025. He is currently developing the feature documentary \u201cMapache,\u201d selected for the Script Incubator of BoliviaLab 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Awards &amp; Selections<\/strong><br>\u201cThe Emulsion of Time\u201d (Director) \u2014 Euro CineLab Award 2025 (Costa Rica); Work in Progress Section, Huesca International Film Festival 2025 (Spain).<br>\u201cGemas Sabbat\u201d (Director) \u2014 Official Selection, Corrosivo Film Fest 2025 (Costa Rica).<br>\u201cSelva Adentro\u201d (Cinematographer) \u2014 Honorable Mention, shnit Realtime Costa Rica 2025.<br>\u201cErnesto en la Tierra\u201d (Cinematographer) \u2014 Best Film Adaptation (Cinema &amp; Literature), Festival del Cinema Ibero-Latino Americano di Trieste 2022 (Italy); Audience Award (Best Documentary), XIII Central American Film Cycle 2022 (Vienna, Austria); Honorable Mention, Costa Rican National Film Awards \u201cAmando C\u00e9spedes Mar\u00edn\u201d 2022 (Costa Rica).<br>\u201cPrimera Cena\u201d (Photographer) \u2014 Honorable Mention, FotoVeritas 2025 (Costa Rica).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Director Statement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though Wong isn\u2019t my first surname, I\u2019ve always been known as Pablo Wong. Since I was a child, I\u2019ve felt a deep connection to my Chinese roots\u2014so much so that I\u2019m the only one in my family who\u2019s ever traveled to China. It wasn\u2019t a trip for sightseeing. It felt like something in me needed to return to where it all began.<br>My grandfather was a photographer. He died young, when my mother was only four. After his passing, my grandmother was forced to migrate to Costa Rica, and everything was lost\u2014his photos, his studio, his archive. All that remains is a single photograph that used to hang in our living room. And yet, his presence never truly left. My grandmother used to say I was the one who resembled him the most.<br>Now that I\u2019m fortunate enough to work in filmmaking and photography, I often feel I\u2019m continuing something he left behind. No one else in my family pursued this path. Though my parents raised me with a deep love for art and culture, I\u2019m the only one who turned it into a calling. And in the darkroom, watching images emerge slowly from water and light, I feel a quiet kinship with him. We shared the same process, decades apart.<br>The Emulsion of Time is a journey to find him\u2014or at least trace the imprint he left behind. It\u2019s a road trip from Costa Rica to Jinotega, the Nicaraguan town where he settled after leaving China. A place where little remains, except for scattered memories shared by my mother and uncles. Like photographic development, it\u2019s a delicate, uncertain process\u2014one that takes patience, intuition, and light.<br>This film isn\u2019t an attempt to fill the void. It\u2019s a gesture of gratitude. A way to leave a trace of what was\u2014and what, in some way, still is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" data-id=\"1077\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-1-1000105543-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-1-1000105543-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-1-1000105543-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-1-1000105543-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-1-1000105543-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-1-1000105543.jpg 1917w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"586\" data-id=\"1081\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-2-1000105561-1024x586.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-2-1000105561-1024x586.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-2-1000105561-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-2-1000105561-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-2-1000105561-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-2-1000105561.jpg 1888w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"587\" data-id=\"1079\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-3-1000105552-1024x587.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-3-1000105552-1024x587.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-3-1000105552-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-3-1000105552-768x440.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-3-1000105552-1536x881.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-3-1000105552.jpg 1884w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" data-id=\"1082\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-4-1000105562-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-4-1000105562-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-4-1000105562-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-4-1000105562-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-4-1000105562-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-4-1000105562.jpg 1917w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"587\" data-id=\"1078\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-5-1000105554-1024x587.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1078\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-5-1000105554-1024x587.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-5-1000105554-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-5-1000105554-768x440.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-5-1000105554-1536x880.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-5-1000105554.jpg 1885w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"578\" data-id=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-6-1000105559-1024x578.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-6-1000105559-1024x578.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-6-1000105559-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-6-1000105559-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-6-1000105559-1536x866.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Photo-6-1000105559.jpg 1915w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News &amp; Reviews<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Festival de Cine Europeo anuncia ganador del Euro Cine Lab 2025&#8243;Delfino CR<a href=\"https:\/\/delfino.cr\/2025\/08\/festival-de-cine-europeo-inaugura-su-24a-edicion-y-anuncia-ganador-del-euro-cine-lab-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/delfino.cr\/2025\/08\/festival-de-cine-europeo-inaugura-su-24a-edicion-y-anuncia-ganador-del-euro-cine-lab-2025<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Shorts CR 26&#8243;Shorts<a href=\"https:\/\/shortscostarica.com\/?action=p&amp;id=13348\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/shortscostarica.com\/?action=p&amp;id=13348<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Project Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/destellofilms.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u00a0Website<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/destello_films\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Screenings &amp; Awards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Euro Cine Lab<\/strong><br>San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica<br>August 14, 2025<br>World Premiere (Work-in-Progress, Costa Rica)<br>Winner \u2013 Euro Cine Lab 2025<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Huesca International Film Festival<\/strong><br>Huesca, Spain<br>Work-in-progress Selection (No screening)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Home is Distant Shores<\/strong><br>Cary, United States<br>May 9, 2026<br>US East Coast Premiere<br>Official Selection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>uestra Internacional de Cine Documental de Bogot\u00e1 (MIDBO)<\/strong><br>Bogot\u00e1, Colombia<br>November 5, 2025<br>Special Screening<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Festival Internacional de Cine Shorts Costa Rica<\/strong><br>San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica<br>April 16, 2026<br>Official Selection \u2013 National Competition<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival<\/strong><br>Houston, United States<br>June 14, 2025<br>Official Selection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sierra International Film Weekend<\/strong><br>Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia<br>December 2, 2025<br>Award Winner<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Costa Rican filmmaker travels to Jinotega, Nicaragua, seeking to reconstruct the image of his grandfather, a Chinese photographer who emigrated decades ago. Through family phone calls and the gradual development of a single photograph in the darkroom, he discovers that understanding his grandfather is also a journey to understanding himself. Director Biography &#8211;&nbsp;Pablo Wong &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/?p=1074\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Emulsion of Time&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-short-doc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1084,"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074\/revisions\/1084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}