Maleficarum Interview, Clip 8

In the eighth clip, I talk about the roasting scene in Maleficarum...  

Maleficarum is available for DOWNLOAD and ON DVD!

Maleficarum Interview, Clip 7

In this clip, I talk about the wooden horse, otherwise known as the Spanish Horse torture in the movie Maleficarum.

Maleficarum is available for download here and on DVD here!

Maleficarum Interview, clip 6

In the sixth part, I continue talking about the torture in Maleficarum...

The movie Maleficarum is available for download and on DVD!

Maleficarum Interview, clip 5

In this segment, I talk about the torture in the movie Maleficarum.

Maleficarum is available for download here and on DVD here !

And has been listed on IMDB here!

New Production!

The poster of Dead But Dreaming

I'm really excited to announce the new production of Pachamama Films/Decadent Cinema, Dead But Dreaming, slated to begin shooting in early 2012!

I'll be producing and acting in this one, much like Maleficarum. Veronica Paintoux, myself, Mila Joya, and Jac Avila are starring, and we're casting soon for lots of other parts. There are lots of interesting speaking parts in this one.

This movie is sizing up to be quite a production, read big. We're already looking at a lot of exotic locations in Bolivia. The diversity in Bolivia and the cost of production will give us some really spectacular scenes.

Since the movie takes place in different parts of the world and in different times, this is a real challenge for me, but one I'm happy to rise to.

I just love making movies!

Maleficarum Interview, clip 4

Here is the fourth clip of an interview with me about the movie Maleficarum, in which I talk about how it was to play Mariana de Castro.

Maleficarum is now available for DOWNLOAD and on DVD.

The art of suffering, or suffering for one's art.

Mariana looks up at her lover in torment.

I was looking at a series of vidcaps from the movie Maleficarum today and it hit me how much I suffer in that film. Yeah, yeah, it's not like I didn't realize it before, but I really cry a lot in that movie. And it made me think about suffering as an actor and the suffering of artists in general and whether we really have to suffer for our art or if it makes us suffer inherently.

Those are real tears people.

In my case, it is my choice, not only do I write and direct films with a dark slant to them, but I act in them as well. This means that I have to delve deep into my inner darkness rather frequently.

Some may ask why I would want to do that at all, ever. People don't want to feel bad? Right? We want to feel happy, like, all the time, and I'm no different. Feeling bad is not the goal of most, at least consciously.

But suffering in art is so different from suffering in real life.

When we were shooting Le Marquis de la Croix, I found out that my father had been diagnosed with fronto-temporal dementia, that he was having hallucinations about a man upstairs in his house, whom he claimed was trying to kill him, he couldn't articulate very well, and he could no longer do various things for himself.  It was difficult maintaining my concentration during the remainder of the production, I felt like I was holding myself together with my own arms. When we wrapped on Le Marquis de la Croix, I went to Maine and spent 6 weeks assessing the situation, putting my dad in assisted living, dealing with his estate and living the horror that is having a parent with such a disease.

That looks like some dirt there too.

Before all that happened, I played the part of Jane in my second movie, Barbazul, who does not exactly have a happy ending. And I played Mariana de Castro in Maleficarum, who has it decidedly hard.

This is a sad scene.

Francisca doesn't seem to be waking up.

Suffering for a part in a movie is something that requires an actor to reach deep inside themselves and pull out the most horrifying moment they ever experienced.

For Mariana in Maleficarum, I had to summon up those moments, it was difficult, I had to think about the moments in my life when I've suffered, the moments when I've felt real fear (there were some moments in the shooting when I was actually afraid, like the roasting scene). In the end, I went deep into fear itself, the one that lives in our primitive brain, for my motivation.

For Jane in Barbazul, I had to imagine what it would be like to be murdered by a serial killer. When I was directing the other actresses, I actually cried silently while we were shooting one of the scenes. If you don't believe me, you can ask Miguel, the cinematographer, he saw me.

A day of shooting scenes like that left me with the impression that the world was falling apart at the seams. When you go so far into an emotion, it stays with you, it's like a thin invisible cloth that covers you, enveloping you in sadness. Hot showers and chocolate were mandatory after those days.

And now, now that I've experienced real suffering, and I'm on the verge of playing another very tragic role, I feel... not reluctant, but like I have more to work with.

Acting is about transmuting feelings into a performance. So, now that I have the opportunity again, I'm glad to be able to do that. Who, in the passage of normal, everyday life has the chance to transmute, or transform their feelings into something else? As strange as it may seem in the context of having to suffer, I feel lucky to be able to do that.

Mariana questions all this.

Realization,  hopelessness.

For me, it's like a kind of art therapy. I'm not sure how I would deal with those feelings otherwise.

In transforming suffering into art, I free myself from suffering, I can look at my performance from a place of strength. I feel proud of what I have done, and when it touches others, I feel even more proud to have given a strong performance.

I'm always writing about transformation, it seems, but as an actor, a writer, a director, I transform myself or others into something else on a constant basis. I think this is one of the more important roles of artists in society; we can speak for the soul.

Mariana is pretty convinced this is her fault.

At this point, you might be nodding your head, or thinking I'm a nut, but either way, art has made its way into most peoples' lives in one way or another. Art can also help us escape, like in a potboiler novel. Or it can entertain, or make us think, or feel something, or come to a greater understanding of beauty, or darkness. Art can help us find beauty or humor in that very darkness.

So, am I looking forward to suffering next year? Sure am. Pain has a place in the life of an artist as does its opposite happiness, because we can give it back in a different form, give it over to others. Artists should be givers, even if what we give is not pleasant to look at, it has a purpose.

Maleficarum Interview clip 3

Locations, locations, locations... Another exciting installment of me as a talking head. This time I talk about the locations in the movie Maleficarum.

Maleficarum is now available for download HERE and on DVD HERE! 

Maleficarum Interview clip 2

Here's the second part of an interview avec moi about Maleficarum. I talk about the props and torture instruments in this one...

Click here to buy the download of Maleficarum! To buy the DVD, click here!

An Interview with Jac and me about Maleficarum

I'm pleased to present an interview that Jac and I did with Mike Haberfelner about Maleficarum, you can read it RIGHT HERE!

I'm very proud of the work that we all did in this movie.

To download Maleficarum: CLICK HERE

To buy the DVD of Maleficarum: CLICK HERE

Maleficarum - Interview clip 1

Here's the first clip from an interview with yours truly talking about Maleficarum... in this part I talk about the costumes. Maleficarum is available for download HERE and on DVD HERE.

 

I really like that shirt. It was my mother's in the '70s. She finally relented last year and let me have it. Nice.

Happy Spanksgiving!

Francisca and Mariana in chains

Instead of taking a holiday like most Americans on Turkey Day here I am, at the computer, working as usual. We also shot more segments today of an interview with yours truly about none other than Maleficarum.

Tomorrow I'll be editing the first part of an interview we shot before, about the pre-production of Maleficarum, which I hope to share with you very soon on YouTube. The plan being to put up segments of the interviews with me, my fellow cast and crew over the next few weeks.

It's fun to talk about a movie after its release, because essentially, the pressure is off. It's out there in the world, and in the case of Maleficarum, it's doing well and we've had tons of really great comments and critiques of the movie on various websites and forums.

And something has happened with this film that's very interesting. People are discussing it like students do in film class. Analyzing, it, going over the details, asking why. It's super cool, and great for me. I love interacting with an audience that way, and the wonderful wide world on the internet has made that possible.

I'm also collecting questions from various forums about Maleficarum. So if you have a question for me about Maleficarum or a related topic, toss it on over into my Facebook inbox or write a comment right here! I'll be recording my answers on video and posting it up on YouTube.

So, stay tuned...

Maleficarum

We released Maleficarum the 31st of October, Halloween, so appropriate.  And what people have been saying on various forums is really heartwarming. Below are a couple of the very first comments, I'll be posting more as I collect them.

Here's an excerpt from one:

Just finished watching "Maleficarum", and I must say that I'm very impressed with the work. The burning at the stake at the end is one of the best ever done, even for more mainstream films. The effects and the acting were superb!

...you won't be disappointed!

Lighting is very well done... There's enough (blood) there to get the message across, without making it look like a bad car accident.

Hopefully the revenue from this movie will be enough to get another one in progress. Maybe next time, the accused really is a witch and casts a spell over the Inquisitor!

And here's another:

Just watched Malificarum download. Amazing. 

The movie was extremely well done and very convincing. Both actresses were really good. Please more movies like this.

To say that I'm pleased is an understatement. We all, crew and actors, really put our hearts and a lot of time and effort into this movie. We labored over the details, and spent months on the post-production making the effects that are now being appreciated.

You can buy the DVD HERE  and Download it HERE

The official trailer:

The Second Teaser of Maleficarum

The First Teaser of Maleficarum

So... the very first teaser of Maleficarum has been released, enjoy!