A writer of big city entertainment articles returns to his tiny hometown at the southern end of the world, 45 years after having fled this place to save his life.

In the Chilean Patagonia, where centenarian trees grow on abandoned tombs and the sea, drunk on rain, hides the roots of mankind, the writer will try to compose "sellable" stories about this area at the end of world. But by doing so surrounded by his old friends, he will have to face his past and leave behind his imposture. For the first time in his life he will be able to create a great novel in which all will become characters, and he ... a real artist.

"... and Suddenly the Dawn" originates from the attraction that award-winning film director Silvio Caiozzi felt for the stories and novels, inhabited by Patagonian tales and unusual characters, of Chilean writer Jaime Casas. In the process during which this literary idea becomes a script, the definitive plot line of the film appears: the awakening of a man who, regardless of his age, is capable of becoming a true creator by letting go of the masks behind which he had taken refuge.

This plot line arises from a trip in which the director accompanies Casas to his native Patagonia, where he observes the writer's reunion with places and friends whom he had not seen in decades. Therein takes form the idea of narrating in fiction the return of the protagonist of the film, the writer, to his place of origin.

The Chilean Patagonia reveals itself to be the perfect environment for this transformation by showing itself in all its integrity and beauty. It is the place where one does not know if the world ends or begins.

When writing the original screenplay, the director and the writer decided to cope with a tremendous challenge: to develop a particular way of narrative that includes literature and film in one single movie. Instead of using the common “flashback” resources, the memories of the main character materialize as recreations artistically manipulated by the imagination of the character himself: the writer Pancho Veloso.

The movie was shot in a period of six months at the Greater Island of Chiloé located in southern Chile. Since it was not possible to find locations that showed the particular and beautiful architectural style of wood and larch shingles from the past, it was necessary to move abandoned stilt houses to recreate an old Chilote hamlet. In addition to filming "And Suddenly the Dawn", it was possible to recover the heritage of a unique architectural style worldwide that is about to disappear. This way they could also recover the old Chilote tradition called “tiradura” or “minga” that consists in moving stilt houses pulled by oxen through hills, rivers, and sea with the help of friends and neighbors.

The movie premiered on August 30th, 2017 at the official competition of the Class "A" Montreal World Film Festival. It was announced at the Awards Ceremony held on September 4th that the movie "And Suddenly the Dawn" was awarded the "Grand Prix" for Best Film.

“And Suddenly the Dawn” will be representing Chile at the Academy Awards 2019 for Best Foreign Language Film category.