THE STORY
A sweet, vulnerable Cuban girl, Elena, falls victim to a fatal disease, tuberculosis. She lives under the roof of a
possessive German man, Carl, whose uncommon love challenges societal norms as he promises and struggles to grant her
immortality. Based on a true story, lost between life and death, Saving Elena breathes life into this dark, romantic,
and unrequited love story that takes place in 1930’s Key West, FL.
We first meet Elena Milagro Hoyos Mesa, alive yet ill, receiving medial attention from her would-be suitor, Carl von
Cosel, an x-ray technician, physician, and taxidermist. Carl succeeds in reviving her and takes her to his home.
Living in secret, the family is unaware of her whereabouts.
The tension builds as his delusions grow stronger: his obsessive attempts to cure her, keeping her in secret
from suspicious islanders, and the frustration of unrequited love throw him into a deeper madness. His delusion so
great, he eventually allows Elena to see her sister, Nina. Horrified at what has become of Elena, Nina has Carl
arrested.
The court hearing puts Carl on the “reality scale.” Amazingly, charges dropped and pronounced sane by the Lunacy Board, Carl can only “dream” of the love he once had. Under supervision, Carl is reunited with Elena for one last climatic moment.
STORY BOARD
SAMPLES & CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS
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