Pratik Handore
Netflix’s ‘Nowhere’ is a Spanish-language thriller drama movie that tells the story of Mia and her newborn baby who is left adrift at sea. Mia is a young pregnant woman who escapes a totalitarian regime by hiding in a cargo ship’s container. However, the container falls into the sea, and Mia is forced to give birth to her baby while facing the hostilities of the harsh sea environment. Given the threats that Mia and her baby face, viewers must be curious to learn if her baby in ‘Nowhere’ is real or CGI. SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Baby Is Not CGI
In ‘Nowhere,’ Mia is pregnant when she sets out to escape the totalitarian regime in her homeland with her husband, Nico. In the film, actress Anna Castillo plays the role of Mia. Castillo is known for her role as Margot in the romantic drama series ‘A Perfect Story.’ For ‘Nowhere,’ Castillo worse a specially made prosthetic womb for scenes in which she appears pregnant with her second child. However, while on her journey to safer land, Mia gets separated from her husband, and the container she hides in gets knocked off the ship. As a result, Mia drifts through the sea in the container, and her baby, a daughter, is born in the container.
Mia names her daughter Noa, as her husband had chosen the name shortly before they got separated. For most of the movie, the baby is present alongside Mia as the mother and daughter face the grueling challenges posed by the vast expanse of the sea. Given the dangerous situations faced by Mia and Noa, it seems natural for the makers to use a doll, CGI, or a combination of both to film the scenes featuring the baby. However, a majority of the scenes were shot with a baby playing the role of Noa.
Moreover, while watching the movie, if you notice some discrepancies in Noa’s appearance, especially the baby’s face, it is because multiple babies acted in the film to craft the character. As many as six babies appear in the movie, portraying Noa in different scenes. The child actors playing Noa in the film are credited in the end credits, and their names are – Ruben Moreno, Mia Rubiato, Kalel Navarro, Melissa Rodriguez, Luna Rodriguez, and Jose Luis Cortez. Despite the dangers of filming the water-based scenes with real babies, the film’s crew took utmost care and special measures to ensure the child actors’ safety.
Read More: Nowhere: Is the Netflix Movie Based on a True Story?
