MOTE PILLO
Tomás Herrera Larrea
An Album Short Film By Tomás Herrera
When Gambexa—a star engineered to embody current trends—is suddenly discarded by the industry that manufactured her, she and her best friend, Toggoli, must escape into the real world. Their surreal journey through music leads them to rediscover their true purpose as artists.
Mote Pillo explores music as a vessel for community rather than a tool for exploitation, offering a sharp critique of an industry that commodifies talent for profit. Told through four interconnected music videos spanning four distinct genres, the film translates music into a single, surreal narrative.
Artist Statement
The taboo is the marrow of my practice, a way of moving through the world by tracing what is forbidden, obscured, or left unspoken. I build visceral encounters where silenced bodies and marginalized narratives emerge into view.
My work invites audiences to sit with discomfort rather than look away. Through a queer, neurodivergent lens, I unsettle inherited structures while advocating for voices pushed to the margins. Lived experience becomes material, shaped into immersive gestures that question who is granted visibility, and who has been taught to vanish.
Cast & Crew
Producer, Director, Writer: Tomás Herrera
1st Assistant Director: Kayleigh Davidson
Directors of Photography: Alexandra Ostroushko, Tomás Herrera
Camera Operators: Alexandra Ostroushko, Izzy Seow, Lucas Almonte Rivas
1st Assistant Camera: Izzy Seow
2nd Assistant Camera: Sophia Yoon
Sound Mixer: Lorrainne Alegado
Boom Operator: Jake Nadalin
Gaffers: Izzy Seow, Jake Nadalin
Key Grip: Yunhan Zhao
Grips: Sitong Zhong, Tongxing Peng
Production Designer: Tomás Herrera
Construction Crew: Mya Aleksic, Clayna Esteva Camacho, Alexa Gamboa Alcocer, Aurora Yol, Julia Aguilar, Sarah Thompson, Lars Vargas
Set Dressers: Mika Banafsheh, Mya Aleksic
Production Assistants: Clayna Esteva Camacho, Adi Gortler, Abigail Cruikshanks
Makeup Artists: Sarah Velasco, Mika Banafsheh
Hair Artist: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer
Wardrobe: Tomás Herrera
Choreographers: Aurora Yol, Sean Scott
Editor: Tomás Herrera
Sound Design: Tomás Herrera
VFX Artists: José Luis Herrera, Tomás Herrera
Colourist: Tomás Herrera
Credits & Title Cards Animator: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer
Puppeteers: Clayna Esteva Camacho, Tomás Herrera, Lorrainne Alegado
BTS Photographers: Sophia Yoon, Adi Gortler, Donny Tang
Composer: Tomás Herrera
Lyricists: Tomás Herrera, Alexa Gamboa Alcocer
Vocals: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer, Tomás Herrera
Recording Engineer: Clayna Esteva Camacho
Mixing Engineer: Tomás Herrera
Mastering Engineer: Tomás Herrera
Composer: Lennox Johnston
Lyricist: Tomás Herrera
Vocals: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer, Tomás Herrera
Recording Engineer: Clayna Esteva Camacho
Mixing Engineers: Tomás Herrera, Lennox Johnston
Mastering Engineer: Tomás Herrera
Composer: David Eguiguren
Lyricist: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer
Vocals: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer, Tomás Herrera
Recording Engineer: Clayna Esteva Camacho
Mixing Engineers: Tomás Herrera, David Eguiguren
Mastering Engineer: Tomás Herrera
Guitarist: Nora Kotkas
Violinist: Fiona Sjaus
Bongocero: Audrey Reich
Bassist: Henry Stensland
Vocals: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer, Tomás Herrera
Recording Engineer: Clayna Esteva Camacho
Mixing Engineer: Tomás Herrera
Mastering Engineer: Tomás Herrera
Gambexa: Alexa Gamboa Alcocer
Toggoli: Tomás Herrera
The Producer: Gabriel Brasil
Lily: Clayna Esteva Camacho
Jenna: Sarah Velasco
Backup Dancers: Aurora Yol, Clayna Esteva Camacho, Sean Scott, Sridhu Krishna
Band Members: Fiona Sjaus, Nora Kotkas, Audrey Reich, Henry Stensland
Hippie Dancers: Kayleigh Davidson, Mika Banafsheh, Maria Juliana Forero, Kamile Visnevskaja
White Suit Bodyguard: Kazuko Canela Zazueta
Black Suit Bodyguard: Abigail Cruikshanks
BTS Photography
Director’s Note of Intent
Mote Pillo explores the tension between art and industry, between the highly constructed and the roots where it came from. As a director, I see it as a journey from confinement to liberation, told through shifting visual languages. The first half is theatrical and stylized, lit by spotlights and shaped by control, while the second half opens into the real world with forests, parks, and cityscapes, where light and movement feel free, yet still touched by a dreamlike atmosphere.
Ultimately, the goal is to blur the boundary between what’s staged and what’s real, reflecting how performance and authenticity coexist within us. Mote Pillo is born out of love for art in its purest form: that spark we feel when we start creating. The film is a love letter to art and music with a twist of Ecuadorian humor.
ALBUM OUT JUNE 5, 2026
Available on all platforms
