This paper analyzes aspects of art direction and photography in the film "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation", directed by Cao Hamburger. The historical period of the narrative, the context of its production and the elements of representation of the military dictatorship and exile are discussed. Through different images, the aesthetic characteristics of the work are studied, such as the different incidences of light and the high attention paid to reflections. One realizes that, through the work of art direction and photography, the compositional elements have acquired a consonance, forming a visual identity that dialogues with the story being told.