A Review by C. Dean Andersson of Sirwinakuy

You can read the review published on IMDB right here! I've syndicated it below for your viewing pleasure with a few photos. This made my month! Maybe my entire year!

In a previous review I was compared to Lars von Trier and Susanne Biers, now Alfred Hitchcock and Truffault. Very nice.

You can download Sirwiñakuy here or buy the DVD with its pretty cover here!

Is Amy Hesketh the next Hitchcock? Truffaut? Bigelow? No! Better than that!, 8 November 2012

Author: C Dean Andersson

I'm on the left...

Amy Hesketh and Alfred Hitchcock have the same initials. Coincidence? Yes, of course, and yet… The great French Director, François Truffaut, was a great admirer of Hitchcock, and there is a bit of Truffaut in Hesketh's work as well, but… her Sirwiñakuy is a beautiful film that neither Hitchcock nor Truffaut (nor even Kathryn Bigelow) could have made, because it is pure Hesketh. 

I kept asking myself as I watched it, how could this be her first film as a director? It seemed to be the work of a seasoned veteran. It took mundane scenes that should have bored me and somehow made me want to watch and find out where it was going next, because it was obviously, from the first, oddly turned, just enough, to keep me off balance and unsure of what was going to happen next.

Dracula (1931)

 A car ride begins to remind me, for no obvious reason, of Jonathan Harker's ride to Castle Dracula, leaving a known world for the possibly dangerous unknown. 

The journey to the unkown

A walk up a simple staircase turns into, without any obvious visual signals or threatening musical hints, the walk up the determinedly sinister stairs in the Psycho house where Norman Bates might wait at the top… or is Norman the man walking up the stairs, or even the woman with him? Or none of the above? See what I mean? It kept me guessing, and in the end, all of the trite stereotypes I'd imagined were blown away by what really happened. 

So, while I don't want to give anything specific away by describing particulars, I will say that if you like suspense mixed with unusual, non-sentimental romance, featuring expert performances by Jac Avila and Veronica Paintoux (and Chuqui the Cat), and a plot that should keep you guessing up to the very last moment, give Amy Hesketh's Sirwiñakuy a look, and then follow it with Hesketh's subsequent work. I can guarantee with almost 100 percent certainty that she will not ever pull her punches on you, won't leave you feeling cheated. And in the best showbiz tradition, I suspect her films, now and in the future, are always going to leave you wanting more!

A scene from Sirwiñakuy

1st Review of Le Marquis de la Croix

Le Marquis de la Croix

Bolivia 2012
produced by
Amy Hesketh, Jac Avila, Roberto Lopez L. for Decadent Cinema
directed by Amy Hesketh
starring Mila Joya, Jac Avila, Amy Hesketh, Eric Calancha
written by Amy Hesketh

review by
Mike Haberfelner (re)searchmytrash.com

A young tourist (Amy Hesketh) stumbles into a museum dedicated to the (long deceased) Marquis de la Croix (Jac Avila). She catches the guide (Eric Calancha) depicting the last years of the Marquis, when he was held in solitary confinement - well, solitary confinement in theory at least, actually, against a healthy sum of bribe money, he was given an endless supply of beautiful young condemned-to-death female convicts to torture and kill at his leisure ...
The Marquis's latest victim is Zynga (Mila Joya), a young gipsy who might be innocent of the crime she has been accused of, but her innocence only attracts the Marquis all the more to her, as he forces her to fellate him. whips her, strips her naked, puts her on the rack, humiliates her in every way imaginable, and whips her some (well, a lot) more, until he has broken her spirit and she begins to feel her torture and humiliation as normal and accepts him as her master. And then he crucifies her ...
Of course, this story can't be verified or falsified, as it only exists in the Marquis's memoirs, which might be 100% made up. Then again, this could happen to everybody, even our young tourist ...

One thing up front: Le Marquis de la Croix is not a film for everybody, as it doesn't shy away from showing exactly what it's talking about - which means you see a naked woman being tortured and humiliated, a lot. And while Mila Joy does look just gorgeous in the nude, you might not want to see her treated that way ... but on the other hand, at the end of the day, this is just a movie of course.
With the obvious out of the way, Le Marquis de la Croix, despite its very graphic content, is more than just mere torture porn, as in its off-screen narration (by the Marquis himself) it mines the de Sade-like philosophy of its villain and gives fascinating insights into his depraved mind - but in a twisted way that reminds one of Nietzsche's "if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
So once again, this film isn't for everybody - but if you can stomach it, it's also a quite fascinating little film.

Oh, and if my review at all got you interested, you may want to get the movie from here:http://movies.vermeerworks.com or http://vermeerworks.com/store/dvds/

review © by Mike Haberfelner

Maleficarum - Dean Andersson's View

As requested, here's horror writer *Dean Andersson's take on Maleficarum! (Contains Spoilers!)

 "Amy—I downloaded Maleficarum and just finished watching it. That fan I talked to at the convention—he did not praise the film enough. It was so much more than even I had expected. I’m not a filmmaker, so I’m not sure just how Jac pulled it off, but one thing I do know is that you and Mila totally sold it. Incredible. Look, I’m sitting here with tears drying on my face. That is impossible. I’ve watched so many films. They almost never strike that deeply. You two and Jac’s direction made the women’s plight so horribly believable, so real, and yet heroic. 

Several scenes are going to keep replaying in my head. The moment when Mila’s character was looking up at you, and she almost said okay to the confession, then turned and spit at the Inquisitor instead, I felt like cheering, even though I, and she, knew it was going to mean even more horror. And the scene where your character was over the fire while Mila’s character kept begging, “Enough!” with her face twisted by anguish for you, but the men, like statues, ignoring her, painted a perfect picture of impersonal authority that unfortunately doesn’t stop in our world with the historical Inquisition. And the scene where they allow her to sit and you crawl to her and she strokes your hair, there was such love in that scene, how could it help but tear at a viewer?

 And then your agonizing crawl to her after your rape, you made each movement seem so hard, so painful, but your wounded character was so heroically determined, I felt like shouting “Somebody HELP her, damnit!” I guess you could say that by then I felt very “involved.” And your character’s prolonged burning—have you seen Oliver Reed’s death by burning scene in Ken Russell’s THE DEVILS? I always loved Reed’s work, but I swear you could have taught him some new tricks. Really. I kept hoping someone would rescue you in time. But it went on and on as the flames slowly grew—then the surprise ending, very satisfying, and even though your character was scarred and crippled, the two women survived! And triumphed. Excellent.  

You mentioned that the director’s cut had uninterrupted torture scenes, but I think having the torture scenes interrupted by the “reality show” testimonies and flashbacks kept the viewer from becoming numb to the brutality of what was happening. Still, yes, I’d like to see Jac’s director’s cut sometime to compare them.  

But if he feels as I do about the insanity of the Inquisition, and I’d guess from the film he just might, you can tell him that in my opinion he drove that message clear through the wall and out the other side. Obviously, everything about the film (even that incredible choice for music during the tortures…sweet piano chords? Brilliant contrast! And their repetition became a little like Chinese water torture to the ears) left me very impressed! Thanks so much!"

When you get this kind of feedback for a movie it's fabulous. I am so very pleased that this movie affected Dean in this way. Films should be like mirrors to our souls, so each person will see and feel something which is deep inside of them. They will react and respond, and I love every minute of that. Each time someone sees something unique in a movie in which I have participated, I feel that the great cultural dialogue becomes more and bigger than all of us.

*Dean Andersson, also known as C. Dean Andersson, is a prolific horror writer of such novels as I Am Dracula, and Torture Tomb. You can find out more about him and his books RIGHT HERE! And here on Amazon.com.

Maleficarum and the Magic of the Internet

It's amazing, the chain of events that lead more people to discover a film even a year after its release. I was very pleased when Dean Andersson, horror writer, contacted me on Facebook. Here are his own words about why:

"I do occasional writer-guest appearances at Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror conventions... On a panel discussion about horror films, an audience member asked if any of the panelists had seen MALEFICARUM. Sadly, forgive us, none of us so-called “experts” had. So, he gave an enthusiastic description. I knew, from other conventions, that this particular horror film fan had a low B.S. quotient, so I paid attention and took his MALEFICARUM enthusiasm seriously. I mean, he likes my horror, Dracula, and Norse woman warrior Heroic Fantasy novels, so he obviously has good taste, right? Right.

I ran into him again later at a convention party, and we discussed MALEFICARUM. It was soon evident the film had gotten through his horror-jaded, been there, seen that, thick outer crust, dragged him inside, and turned him inside-out, in a good way. He said he had not been expecting much. He figured it would be just another boring SAW or HOSTEL clone. But he claimed the quality of the acting, writing, cinematography, direction, the works, in MALEFICARUM had combined to make him care about the 'victims' and 'feel the horror from their viewpoint.' That aspect, plus the unflinching theme of religion-sponsored violence and explicit depictions of torture and its effects, especially against strong women, had reminded him of my 1987 novel, TORTURE TOMB, although TT is not historical—well, it wasn’t when it was written, anyway—and of the way it had affected at least one reader (and the way I suspect MALEFICARUM is affecting some viewers). 

Anyway, after the convention I looked up MALEFICARUM on the Internet. The first thing that struck me was the riveting poster, no news to you, the lighting, the potent textural contrast of unyielding stone versus human flesh, that whole aura of “Inquisition Mystique,” but it is the way the strong image all leads to the focus of the two manacled hands touching—defiant love in the midst of hopeless horror—that signals the film is very special, or at least so it seems to me.
I watched the MALEFICARUM trailers (no, I have not yet seen the whole film) and saw immediately the fan at the con had not been exaggerating. Then I watched most of your video interviews and became even more impressed with the dedication to authenticity and theme. I also found the interview Mike Haberfelner conducted with you in 2010. After which I discovered you on facebook, you quickly confirmed the friend request, and I decided to share my MALEFICARUN experience from that convention with you.  

It’s been 25 years since TT was published. It was popular with a number of readers but generally condemned for various reasons, some obvious, some not, by members of the “respectable” horror community. But with my editor’s support, bless him (he died a few years ago), those two books did what I had intended, said what I wanted said, and I moved on with other books. Then, in 1999 I attended a World Horror con in Atlanta and discovered to my surprise that TT and RPM had become sought after “cult classics.” But from the enthusiasm of that hard to please horror film fan with whom I talked at the convention, I think, perhaps, where the term cult classic is concerned, and I doubt this comes as a surprise to you, MALEFICARUM already, deservedly, is."

It's always the goal of an artist to put one's work out there and connect with like-minded individuals as a result. Sometimes it happens through osmosis, and other times by mere chance. But it's so great when it happens, so Jac and I have to thank this Horror Fan, wherever you are, for the introduction!

I must mention that I read Dean's book I Am Dracula when I was a kid and it was a prize in my collection* of vampire novels. I can't wait to read more of his books and rediscover those I already read.

*now lost to the sands of time... another story for another day...

The release of Le Marquis de la Croix

So the day is fast approaching for the release of Le Marguis de la Croix. But... you ask... when will that be?  October 31st. Yes, Halloween, one calender year to the date of the release of Maleficarum!

And since everyone has been so patient, I have a trailer for you. It's on youtube, so we had to conform to their strict policies. No worries,  there will be an uncensored trailer up on VermeerWorks very soon!

More Press for Barbazul

We just got back from another interview on Bolivian television, this time at channel ATB. So, here it is below! I'm going to go take a nap now, getting up before 7:30AM is not in my nature...

Press for Barbazul (Bluebeard)

We've had quite a bit of written, radio and TV press about Barbazul (Bluebeard) here in Bolivia. It looks like a lot of people are pretty excited to see my second film! Horror films are always more of a "scream"... stop me before I do more of a Cryptkeeper impression. Seriously.

Here are a few links to written press (all in Spanish, I wish I had time to translate, but Google can do an ok job for me in a pinch):

El Diario Bolivia

La Prensa Bolivia

El Deber Bolivia

Cine y Punto

Opinion Bolivia

Bolivia.com

And here is one interview Jac and I did at Laser 98 radio and one on FidesTV here in Bolivia! There were more, but we couldn't record all of them due to time restrictions, alas. Again, I wish I had time to transcribe these. No rest for the wicked.

Barbazul Debuts in Bolivian Cinemas October 11th

Pachamama Films prepares the debut of Barbazul, a new Bolivian film, for the 11th of October.

Barbazul is Amy Hesketh’s second film, the American filmmaker residing in Bolivia, director of the controversial film Sirwiñakuy. This new production made in Bolivia debuts October 11th in the Multicinein La Paz and the Cine Centers of La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba.

Barbazul is based on the classic fairytale  ”La barbe bleue” (Bluebeard, 1697) by Charles Perrault, author of Cinderella, which tells the story of a wealthy and feared aristocrat with a blue beard who has the bad habit of killing his wives. In the original story the sinister aristocrat, with many wives already under his belt and whose fates are a mystery, convinces a neighbor to give Bluebeard his youngest daughter’s hand in marriage. The bearded villain takes his new young and terrified wife to his castle, gives her the keys to all of the rooms and the liberty to open each one, with the exception of one room.

Read the whole article at Pachamama Films...

Obscure Video and DVD Blog: INTERVIEW WITH AMY HESKETH

After a really nice review of Maleficarum appeared in Obscure Video and DVD Blog back in July, he was nice enough to ask me to do an interview as well. You can read it on his blog or right here below!

INTERVIEW WITH AMY HESKETH

Amy Hesketh, not many know the name that read this blog, but she is a very talented and beautiful young woman who starred in a film I reviewed here called Maleficarum, about the Peruvian Inquisition and it has developed into my most read review and has made traffic to this site triple.
My blog deals with older movies, cult films,a few newer low budget gems and the like, but Maleficarum struck me as a cross between Jess Franco films and the witch finder films of the 60's and 70's.
I consider Amy a very "Jess Franco" type director with a similar vision (I hope she doesn't mind me saying that).
Amy was very kind to link the review to other sites and I decided to see if I could do a small interview about her and her other projects.
Here, below are the results of that request and some interesting pics of her upcoming projects.
WARNING: THE PICS CONTAIN NUDITY....


I know you were shown the movie Fright Night with Roddy McDowell when
you were six,
but are there other films of that genre that you like and got you
interested in movies?


Four films that I saw when I was younger are Return to Oz (1985), Warlock (1989), Tale of a Vampire (1992), and Boxing Helena (1993). I realize that it's a bit strange that three of these films feature Julian Sands... I also realize that some of these are not movies for young people. My dad was great about not censoring my viewing, he let me watch what I wanted. These movies made a big impact on me. I realized very young that horror, violence, obsession, sex, art, and perversion were the "good stuff" in movies. I think my work features a healthy dose of the "good stuff".

What kind of film would you ultimately like to direct?


I'm so happy to have the freedom to write and direct almost any movie that tickles my fancy, I have several scripts and ideas on the burner for the next few years. Eventually I would like to be able to obtain the film rights to a rather famous book that was slated to go into the public domain last year and didn't.




Can you give us a little info on the movie you are now directing
called Le Marquis de la Croix, such as when it will be released?


Le Marquis de la Croix and Barbazul I directed in 2011and they'll both be released this year, Le Marquis will be direct to DVD/VOD in the Fall, and Barbazul will debut in Bolivian theaters October 11th.

Le Marquis de la Croix is inspired by the writings of the Marquis de Sade. The film features a man who is writing in prison, played by Jac Avila.. It's implied that le Marquis was locked up for obscenity. He pays for a young woman, a gypsy, Zinga, played by Mila Joya, to be brought to his cell. He writes about and commits all kinds of atrocities to her. It's intense. I really tried to bring the writings of de Sade to life in this movie in a very graphic way. At the same time, I wanted to keep it a bit fun, a bit campy, old-timey exploitation, done in a post-modern way, with a sprinkling of social commentary. I think I succeeded in doing all of that.

Barbazul (Bluebeard), is based on the children's story by Charles Perrault about a man (with a blue beard) who kills his wives. He's a serial killer. This, again, is a very graphic movie in terms of violence and nudity. It seemed as though other movies made about Bluebeard skimmed over the more intense elements of the story. There was a hole in the cinematic trajectory of Bluebeard. I'm not one to squander an opportunity so I made Barbazul much in the fashion of the 1960's/70's Italian exploitation horror flicks of yesteryear but, like I do, went farther with the "good stuff". It's a tense and terrifying movie, but has enough (very) dark humor to appeal to a wider audience.






 

Have you always wanted to both act and direct or does one interest you
more than the other?


I started taking acting classes when I was 6 years old and I've wanted to direct since I was about 10 or 11 years old . Both have their value and interest to me. Being on both sides of the camera makes it easier for me to ask for more from my actors and to understand what they're going through. I've acted in difficult roles and done extraordinary things, so when I tell them to do something that may sound a bit crazy I'm pretty sure my actors think "Well, at least I don't have to sit on a wooden horse for 5 hours like you did!". One actress told me straight out that it's amazing that I think up these crazy ideas for movies and everyone just goes along with me like what we're doing is normal. Like the Pied Piper of Crazy Art Movies. I doubt anyone who works with me would want to continue to do so if I made "normal" movies, they would think I had completely lost my mind.


What are your five favorite movies of all time and why?


Well, if I can only choose five...there are so many more that are not on the list below.

Pretty much all of the movies I love have one thing in common, a depiction of the point when the personality is stripped away and something is revealed beneath: the animal, instinctual, something sick or undefined. It's what I explore in my own movies. Call it an obsession.

1)The Night Porter (1974). Dirk Bogard and Charlotte Rampling, two amazing actors in a very sexy film. It's audacious, crazy, wonderful. I would love a role like Charlotte's. Dirk Bogard in a Nazi uniform gives me a frisson.
2)Le Mepris (1963) Brigitte Bardot in what I perceive to be her most revealing role. I have a thing for the miserable, lost and existential.
3)Jules et Jim (1962) Weird threesome, dark, existential, what's not to like?
4)Weekend (1967) In my opinion, Godard's most important film. It also embodies the spirit of film-making for me.
5)Antichrist (2009) When I saw this in the theater in NYC, half of the audience walked out. I was leaning forward in ecstasy, hoping it would be 8 hours long.
 
 


My blog is usually about off the wall and older films yet Maleficarum
seems, at least to the people who read it to fit right in. How do you
feel about that and account for it?

I'm very glad that Maleficarum fits into your blog as we admire the movies you write about here. Maleficarum, as well as the other films that we make, is made in the style of the older audacious exploitation films of yesteryear. Those films were shocking in their day, and our films are shocking now. We take those older films as inspiration and build upon that, going farther with the "good stuff". Essentially we make the movies we, ourselves, would like to see, but can't find because they don't otherwise exist.

Maleficarum is interesting to viewers in many different ways, historically because we use actual transcripts of testimonies from the Peruvian Inquisition (it's amazing to think that people really said these things), in terms of how we graphically show the tortures as realistically as possible, no holds barred, and the story arc of the victims, the sad tale that it is.


Where eventually do you want your acting career to go?

I plan to keep pushing myself until I burn out... joking! I want to get to a point in which I've acted in every role imaginable, a point in which I can say, "you did good, kid". It could be a long time from now.





Is a sequel to Maleficarum planned?

We haven't planned a sequel to Maleficarum, however we may touch upon the theme of the Inquisition in a film again. We've had so many emails and messages requesting just that, it would be hard to let people down. ;)






I know from very personal experience that I get a rush from making a
movie. Do you have the same feelings when acting and directing?

It's the best! I get more of a rush from writing and directing a film than acting. Standing behind the camera when the actors do something really good, when the scene comes to life right there in front of you, pretty much exactly how you imagined it, is thrilling. Acting is more complicated for me. The characters I tend to play, having to enter into the soul of another and leave myself behind is draining. When I watch the dailies and see I did a good job, that's when I get a good feeling from acting.

An exception might be some scenes in Maleficarum. There was adrenalin involved when we shot the roasting scene. A lot of adrenalin. I was scared out of my mind. That's a kind of rush I guess.

My recent role in Diego Torres' experimental film La Montaña Interior was an exception as well. To have to hike up to about 5000 meters (16,000 feet), shoot some scenes, then take my shirt off in front of a glacier (a glacier!), shoot that scene before the clouds came in, and then go back down. That was a rush. More from the extreme cold than anything else...  

I gave myself a lead role (which I normally don't do) in my new film Olalla, inspired by the story by Robert Louis Stevenson. That could be a rush, and an opportunity for catharsis.



I hope you enjoyed this small little interview with someone whom I think will go BIG places.
Maybe I should have Amy in my next project? A huge thanks to Amy for the pictures in the interview.
 

Barbazul (Bluebeard) Trailer 1

I haven't been posting lately as I've had a lot of not so pleasant family issues to deal with. Good news is, I think I'm coming to the end of it, just in time to release some movies and shoot another one!

In celebration, here's the first trailer (YouTube friendly) for my movie Barbazul!

Great review of Maleficarum

Another great review came in from an interesting blog, which you can check out RIGHT HERE!

You can download the movie here or get the DVD here!

MALEFICARUM 2011

I get a bucket of water in my face.

Well, this is highly unusual for my blog to feature a film like this. Why do I say that? Well this film is very hard to catagorize. It is not a "torture porn" film like the recent crap being made, nor does it fit into any other genre of films I usually review.
I guess I would put it in the group of films like Inquisition, El Inquisador and Bloody Judge, but it isn't a witch hunting film either. It is a story that is at once horrific and will make you sit up and take notice.

It was not pleasant.

It involves two young women who are brought to the Inquisiton by the church, who really only wants the money and possessions of one of the women. They are accused of every stupid and silly things that people say about them and they are stripped and tortured in many various and painful ways by the church.
Both are whipped, burned, stretched on the rack and many other atrocities. This is not a pleasant film and the ending with burning at the stake for one of the women is not at all easy to watch.
Both women are beautiful and they are naked thru 99% of the film. The torture isn't presented in an exploitative way, but in a way that makes you understand the horrors of the acts against these women.
Lovely Amy Hesketh is Mariana de castro and Mila Joya is Francisca de la Cruz, the two women who are brought before the inquisition. Both women do a fine job and Amy REALLY suffers for her art here folks.

In fact, I liked it about as much as a kitten likes a bath.

Director Jac Avila knows how to make a damn good story and not make it too exploitative.
If you get the chance, you will want to see this film, but please know it has ample violence and both women are nude throughtout the entire film, except the very beginning and the end.

Highly Recommended!!

I answer some questions from fans

It took me long enough, but I finally got around to answering the questions my kind fans sent me about Maleficarum. Here they are below in five clips. Enjoy!

The movie Maleficarum is available on DVD Here and Download Here!

Interview 5 for Maleficarum

That's me, in split screen.

Here's another interview we did yesterday for Cadena A, here in Bolivia, about the movie Maleficarum. Hooray!

You can download Maleficarum or buy the DVD at these links:

DVD

DOWNLOAD

Las Vegas, baby!

I talk about the nudity in Maleficarum

Lots of news lately, Maleficarum is doing well in the movie theaters, and receiving all kinds of feedback. Not only that, but has inspired a debate in the Cinemateca Boliviana (more below), Sirwiñakuy is going to Las Vegas, and we did another TV interview for Maleficarum, which is posted right here below.

Wait, Sirwiñakuy is going to Las Vegas? Yes, you read correctly! I'm excited to announce that Sirwiñakuy will be shown in CineKink Las Vegas. If you're in that area, you can catch it Friday, June 8th, 2012 at 11PM at Theatre7  1406 South Third St. in the Downtown Arts District Las Vegas, NV 89104 (702.568.966). Hooray!

In Las Vegas June 8th!

I'm very excited about how Sirwiñakuy has been projected and seen in so many places now in the world, and the international response, which remains polemic.

Sirwiñakuy and Maleficarum can been had on DVD and download here:

DVD

DOWNLOAD

In other news, Jac has been invited to a debate in the Cinemateca Boliviana, about "censorship, curation, and cinematic exhibition spaces", which should be interesting. The Cinemateca has repeatedly claimed that they did not "censor" Maleficarum, but when you tell someone for months that you will show their film, you then see the film in question, and then write a letter saying that the film uses "explicit language" and you "do not have any slots to project the movie", because of said explicit language, that's censorship.

I might add that the Cinemateca Bolivia, while it carries that name, is not in fact a national organization, it's a private foundation that claims to represent Bolivian cinema. In my opinion, if they are going to carry on in the way they have been, refusing to show many Bolivian films (we are certainly not the only ones), and show instead commercial films such as "The Avengers", they should change their name and stop asking for funds on the basis of being the "Cinemateca Boliviana". In many countries it would be considered misrepresentation to ask for, and accept, funding from national or international groups and organizations on the basis of that name, when it does not represent the Bolivian cinematic industry and community, nor is it a national organization.

In other countries, France for example, the Cinemateque is a national organization, it receives funds from the French government, and from outside, and adheres to a strict code of showing national films and educating the public about film. It is a serious institution which would never show commercial Hollywood films if they were not represented in the context of education. The government utilizes the Cinemateque as a representation of a facet of their culture. Their directors and actors are often seen as ambassadors.

If the Cinemateca Boliviana were to be nationalized and transform itself into a serious institution, it would be more liable to receive funds from other organizations and institutions. It should represent Bolivian cinematic culture, and foster and grow said culture. If that is not their intention, or if they continue to refuse to follow through with their supposed edicts to show all Bolivian films, it would be better if they change their name and end the misrepresentation of the Bolivian cinematic community.

As a filmmaker in Bolivia, I care about Bolivian cinema, not just some of it, but all of it as a whole. Every Bolivian film should be projected, regardless of content, and in context. Bolivian cinema is growing, and the Cinemateca Boliviana should be involved in that growth, not blocking it.

Here's an interesting article about the Cinemateca and censorship, along with some good comments at the bottom.

Maleficarum Goes to the Movies

What am I looking at?

Today is the opening of our movie Maleficarum! In 3 cities and 4 movie houses! We're all very excited to see how the public reacts to the movie, but based on the reaction we had from the many who attended at the premiere, it'll be interesting. Speaking of the premiere...

What do you do when everyone has to walk to the premiere of a movie? Monday, May 7th, 2012, Jac, Beto and I sat in the Multicine on the avenida arce waiting to see if anyone else would arrive for the premiere of Maleficarum. We decided that if only a few showed up, we would simply go home and have a beer.

This is the guy who tortures me the entire movie...

But as it edged closer to 8 o'clock, more and more people began to trickle into the theater. We greeted actors and friends, and when it was suggested that we all take some pictures in front of the banner, as the flashes started popping in a frenzy, we realized that there was a crowd.

We posed for many photos, press, social pages, people with cell phone cameras, professional cameras. It was great, we all felt very proud of ourselves and everyone who participated in the movie.

One of the spectators asked if the movie was filmed in 35mm, the photography was that good. Another said that their video games are so violent that violent movies no longer affect them but they liked Maleficarum. And another said that Maleficarum surpasses The Passion of the Christ and Saw for its violence, that it's veeeeery strong. For each person who had a hand in making this project happen, it's your movie, own it and be proud!

Downloads and DVDs of the director's cut of Maleficarum can be had here:

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A large portion of the cast of Maleficarum!

Another Interview About Maleficarum & A Transportation Strike

Me, smiling.

Today I awoke to the sound of... nothing. No cars, not one vehicle in the street. A 48 hour transportation strike has been declared. Fortunately for us, that didn't put much of a damper on the turnout for tonight's premiere of Maleficarum! (I'll be blogging about that tomorrow)

So going back to this morning, Jac, Mila, Eric and I had an interview programmed for 11AM this morning in Fides, Bolivian TV. Eric made a big effort and walked down from his house in El Alto (loooong walk, folks), Mila walked from her neighborhood (not as long, but still), and Jac and I power-walked like maniacs as well. We all arrived to the TV station on time, hooray!

This is the interview below, enjoy!

My birthday and a second TV interview for Maleficarum

How nice of them to phonetically spell my name for the viewers!

Right on time, a birthday card arrived at my door from my mom! Inside it played James Brown's "Do What You Wanna Do". So great! My parents have always been supportive of what I wanted to do in my life even if they thought it was risky and crazy. If my dad didn't have advanced dementia, I'm sure he would have called me like he always did on my birthday. I'm so grateful to my parents for bringing me into this world and teaching me valuable life lessons (mom), and how to fix a car (dad), among many other things.

So, for my birthday I thought I would post the second interview, from last night. This one went a little better... since I was actually awake! While I still haven't managed to master the Spanish language, I communicate pretty well. 

First TV interview about Maleficarum

We've started the media tour for the premiere of Maleficarum in cinemas here in Bolivia, which means lots of TV interviews. I've translated part of the first here so you can laugh openly at me. It's ok, go ahead.

Please keep in mind that I normally don't get up before 9AM unless we're shooting a movie (I sleep a lot, ok?), so rising at 6AM was really early for me.

Also, I put on the clothes I was wearing the day before, like, picked them up off the floor and put them on. More thought should go into these things. I look like I'm from the far North (which I am...), or very cold. Very, very cold.

Hemos empezado el tour de medios aqui en Bolivia para el estreno de Maleficarum, muchas entrevistas pues. Yo puesto uno aqui para que puedan reirse un poco de mi.

Normalmente, me levanto a las 9 de la mañana, excepto cuando estamos rodando una película (me gusta dormir, ok?) entonces levantarme a las 6 es un poco tempranito.

Tambien me he puesto la ropa del dia antes que estaba en el piso. Parece que soy del Norte (si lo soy, pero...), o que tengo mucho frio. Mucho frio.

TV announcer: You're the producer and actress of the film, yes?

Me: Yes.

TV announcer: So, what's your role in the movie?


Me: I'm Mariana and I'm tortured by the Inquisition.

Jac: (Lots of talk about the movie Maleficarum, which I really should have participated in, but was basically a zombie instead.)

Vampires

As I've been finishing up the script for my next movie, Olalla, I've been thinking a lot about vampires. Mostly since my next movie involves vampires and we just wrapped on another movie about vampires, Dead But Dreaming, and we'll be shooting the second movie in that series soon as well.

The poster of the movie that ruined my 6th year

That will make my movie the third this year. So, what's with all the interest in vampires? For me it started pretty young. When I was about 6 years old my father showed me the movie Fright Night. I'm sure he thought it was appropriate for someone my age, being rated PG. It wasn't, it scared the living daylights out of me and I wore a scarf to bed for a year after that, even in the summer, thinking that vampires were going to come and kill me in the night.  Children tend to think that the world centers around them, don't they?

After the year was up and the vampires didn't come to kill me, I gave up wearing the scarf to bed and began thinking about the origin of the vampire myth. It was just around this time, I was 7 and in second grade, that I was learning about research papers and researching. So, I went to my school library and found several books about vampires. I read them all. In the midst of this, I began to understand the origins of the vampire in media.

She gives you that weird feeling

In my school library were a series of books about monster movies (Universal Studios) from the 30s-60s. The idea of the vampire in film began to take hold of me as a concept. My research broadened to the local library where I read more books and understood the vampire myth and where it came from. I thought about how amazing it would be to make a movie about vampires. It became a lifelong dream. Nay, obsession.

So, you must be thinking that I'm making a movie about the same kind of vampires as Jac's Dead But Dreaming. Nope. Dead But Dreaming's vamps are more classic, infectious vampires, bites, exchange of blood, and a little magical realism later, you've got a legion of the undead. Romantic vampires, with hopes and dreams, and vengeance, internal struggles. Good stuff, but not the same as my vampires.

In my research, I think I got to Robert Louis Stevenson when I was about 9 or 10 years old, I came across R.L.S.'s Olalla. It's the story considered to be the introduction of the concept of genetic vampirism, on which my movie is partly based. A soldier goes to a villa to convalesce, only to fall in love with the daughter of the decadent family who resides there. The family has a craving for blood. It's a strange story. At that time porphyria and related diseases were little understood, thus resulting in the idea that a "vampiric" disease could, or did, exist.

Olalla

My vampires are a family, a rather large family, who has learned to survive through the ages by keeping a low profile. They crave blood, they have to drink it, but it's not considered good form to kill thy neighbors, so they do it discretely. Some of them never even leave the house. And they tend to live longer than other humans.

My character* is named Olalla. She goes back to her family's home after a few years of attempting to escape them and her affliction; the prodigal daughter returns after having done something very, very bad.

For me, Olalla, inflicted with inherited vampirism, has a struggle that is literally superhuman. It separates her from the rest of humanity, it makes her a monster. At the same time, she has no desire to be like the rest of her family. Riddled by incest, they keep the line going, they do not mix their tainted genes with normal human beings. And there are other branches of the family as well. 

In an attempt to "educate" Olalla, so that she does not have to be "put down", her uncle Victor returns to the house to be her "teacher". What ensues is severe corporeal punishment, incest, nudity, bondage, all of the good nasty stuff that should be in a movie of this sort. You know what I mean. While I'm including a bit of camp, and it has its humorous moments like all of my films, it's a disturbing story.

*Yes, I gave the lead female role to myself. I really didn't want to do a casting for an actor who (might) do what I'll willingly do in a movie. I'm less trouble to work with ;)

Reasons

The very beginning of the film

With the release of Sirwiñakuy, I've been getting a lot more messages, emails, reviews, and commentaries. It's pretty amazing that people have taken so much to my first film. Something that not many people expect from their opera prima.

The beautiful response that I've had to this film is almost overwhelming, but it's made me think about why I make films. And since lately I've been feeling like I need a break from work, (you know, like, a vacation) I feel the need to revisit and coalesce the reasons that I make films.
 When I first released Sirwiñakuy in theaters in Bolivia the response was mixed, critics divided, some openly hostile, others supportive. The audience as well was divided, but didn't stop watching, word spread that it was a film that needed to be seen, and so it stayed on the big screen for 5 months.

Luis takes Anouk's wrist

Going with Sirwiñakuy to CineKink 2012 was a wonderful experience, and the response was touching. One woman told me that I expressed something with my film that she had never had the words to say. Others simply told me how much they liked and, how great the movie is.

And there were comments in magazines as well. Good stuff.

Now, with the release on DVD and download, that beautiful response has been coming in from all corners of the Earth. I'm amazed by how easily word of mouth spreads over the internet.

A Danish couple sent me some messages and the wife, a prominent Danish D/s blogger wrote a great review that can be read here in English and read here in Danish.

Things get interesting...

The messages read as follows:

Audiences are divided about whether this is rape or love-making

"On the odd click I found 'Sirwiñakuy' last night and decided to purchase and download it. My purpose was for my wife and I to take it in - in bed - as a pleasant conclusion to a 17 hour drive from Austria to Denmark. I feared I might fall asleep at some time during the 111 minutes. That never happened.

Here's a quote from the sparing conversation we had while totally enjoying your movie:

Her: This is an A movie. Not a B!
Me: I agree. It's an A+. .... I never said it was a B, I just said it was low budget.
Her: ... fantastic ....

We were particularly taken by the intricate expressivity of Veronica Paintoux, particularly the facial expressions, signaling the struggle of temptation, urge and reservation.

It takes an excellent director, a great actress and a good eye behind the camera to bring this out in such detail. Come to think of it, another director who has that ability is our own (ie. Danish) Susanne Bier, who recently returned from Hollywood with an Oscar. The movie also reminded us of Lars von Trier's work with dogma movies.
As I said: We were completely taken by the story, the acting, the directing ... and we will definitely watch your movie anew and find new facets on every occasion - just as we have with the classic 'Story of O'."

They went on to say in a second message:

A breach of boundaries?

"Your work is a sovereign example of someone having the guts to do what is right and true for them. Carl Th. Dreyer was criticized to death as Lars von Trier has been all along. I'm quite certain it escapes even Susanne Bier why she's currently (commercially) one floor above you in the tower of film.
In our opinion you're poised to become - you are - big. I think we most certainly 'got it' and the sensations you stirred with your work still linger with us. What more can anyone ask than to make a difference to someone. To give something to somebody. Not anybody but those appreciative and grateful somebodies. Eg. us."

A detail...

I would have to be made of stone for these words not to touch me. Touched, was I indeed. The second message made me tear up a little. It didn't hurt that they compared me to Lars von Trier, Susanne Bier, and Carl Dreyer. That's something that would put a smile on any young filmmaker's face.

To have someone say to me, "your movie touched (insert other positive verbs here) me", or "you said something with this film that meant something to me on a personal level", means so much to me. That I might have impacted another person, even one, in a positive way, that I gave something wonderful to another. That is a big reason why I make films.

Anouk admires Luis' ancestral home

Sirwiñakuy, being my first film, has a lot of "me" in it in terms of art. The soft light, the characters, the way the story plays out. Not every film has so much of one's self in it. This movie was something kicking around in my head and on paper for more than 10 years. It was a part of me. A part of me remains in the movie and will always be there.

I wanted the movie to be right. I wanted to wait for the moment when I could understand the characters, when I had the maturity to make this movie. The story needed to be told carefully, about this delicate, violent relationship. And so they tell me I did.

So... Soul-crushing criticism? Check! Bouncing back with the even better (and better written) complimentary criticism? Double check!

(You might want to have a snack handy while viewing)

I've since gone on to make 2 more films, very different each in their own way. And I don't believe in going back and re-editing. Every film is a new adventure, a new opportunity to learn.

This subject of putting my "self" into my movies has come up more lately because I'm finishing the script of what I hope will be my fourth film. It's about a family of vampires. I play a member of the family. Can a film director make a movie about a family without going over their own family issues? Is there a reason they're vampires? *cough* We shall see. This one is dark, most will find it darker than the last three films.

But even in a dark film, there is an opportunity to give of the light, a thing that shines for someone. Even tears or anger can be a gift sometimes...

You can get Sirwiñakuy on DVD right here and on download right here!