Your new movie Dead
But Dreaming - in a few words, what is it about?
Dead
But Dreaming
is a vampire story as no other. It centers on
the drama of Moira, an Irish rebel collaborating with the independence
fighters of South America at the very beginning of the rebellion against
the Spanish Crown, in 1805.
The city
where this rebellion is brewing lives in fear of a mysterious killer
that is leaving a trail of bloodless corpses. Moira is arrested as a
suspect of these crimes, she is condemned to be flogged, and to die.
While she awaits execution she’s visited by a strange woman who feeds
on the blood from her wounds … but… you have to see the film to know
more.
Even
if you take a somewhat unconventional approach to the vampire myth as
such, the approach is deeply rooted in actual mythology. So how much
research went into that aspect of Dead
But Dreaming? And how much into the movie's historical
undercurrents?
Some
elements of the vampire mythology are in the film, but very few. As you
know, the legends of Vampires have their origins in Eastern Europe and
those legends vary a lot. I took some elements from some of those myths,
I also borrowed from some of the myths in South American lore as well as
some from Christianity and so on. But I don’t use them as a
“factual” base for the story but rather as the interpretations or
beliefs of Father Ferenc, a priest from the south of Hungary whose
family migrated to the new world. He tries to understand and to explain
to his lovely niece Varna what is happening and his theories as who
could be leaving those bloodless corpses of young men in the streets of
La Paz.
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He talks
about a demon who transforms itself into a beautiful woman to lure young
men and drink their blood. This demon has many names, Lamia Korinthia, Lamia Libys, Lamia
Philinnion, Mormolykeion, Empousa… But some say, and he
believes too, that she is Lilith “the first wife of Adam who was
expelled from paradise” and exists from the beginning of time. I never use the word Vampire in the film. Aphrodisia, one of the
characters, refers to herself as a bloodsucker. Asar, her maker and the
second vampire ever, sees himself as a sort of God.
The principal historical period is 1805, during the beginning of
the uprising against the Spanish crown. But the film also touches 10,000
BC and 57 BC to show the origins of the immortal bloodsuckers.
The largest portion of the story, the 1805 event, is based in real
historical facts including what happened to a woman accused of sedition
who was publicly whipped, paraded naked and then executed. The man in
charge of that event was Don Jose Manuel, who is one of the characters
in the movie.
The mission Moira undertakes is to get funds for the rebels so the
Gallego, a historical character, could build enough cannons for the
rebels. And so on. In fact the priest himself, a sympathizer of the
rebels is based on a priest that collaborated with said rebels. We shot
the scenes at the very church where the historical priest lived. So,
history is all over the film. However, there weren’t any vampires
around at the time, not that I know of. That’s simply a figment of my
imagination.
Other sources of inspiration when writing Dead But
Dreaming?
I cannot avoid being influenced by other writers, like Stoker or
Anne Rice, to name the best known, but I depart from what they set as
the rules of life and death for vampires. My vampires don’t
necessarily die if exposed to the sun, for instance, although I have a
little surprise on the second part. They get weak, they can’t feed
during the day and they look too pale. They do thrive at night, yes, and
that’s when they are powerful.
C. Dean Andersson, the author of I Am Dracula, wrote a wonderful review in
IMDb, he says: “Avila’s
serious yet playful Vampires enthralled me with their originality. I
would ordinarily assume a filmmaker who “got it wrong,” with regard
to Vampire traditions in film, simply didn’t know what he was doing.
But the way Avila handled breaking the rules came across instead as if
maybe he knew a secret truth and got it right while everyone else got it
wrong, because Avila’s Vampires helped me regain that otherworldly
feeling I associated with Vampires when I started studying them as a kid.”
My
bloodsuckers are strong and fast, very fast, at night, but they don’t
fly and they don’t have super strength. They do have their weaknesses
and they can be vulnerable. They can get hurt but not killed just like
that. How to kill them is the issue here. Really. No one knows and so
far none has been killed. They can be put to sleep and thus the origin
of the title, dead but dreaming… They may look dead, they might be
dead, but they are dreaming with their return as all the ancient gods
do.
Your movie features quite a few quite
authentic/impressive locations. Want to talk about those for a bit, and
how did you get those?
Bolivia is located in the very center of South America and it has
a concentration of locations in a relatively small, in geographic terms,
area. We have the Andean snowy mountains and a few hours away by car we
have tropical luscious valleys and everything in between, like modern
cities with colonial era streets a few minutes away from Moon-like
valleys, not far from amazing rocky formations that look like petrified
giant souls … and so on.
It’s not hard to work in these locations. We received the
support of the city that gave us access to museums, parks and streets
that we needed for the shoot. The easiest part of the shoot was to find
and secure the locations. We don’t need to travel far to find what we
need. The entire area is just amazing.
What can you tell us about the
overall look and feel of Dead
But Dreaming?
What people say about the film in their comments and critiques
describes it better. For a micro budget production it looks incredibly
expensive. That’s the impression people get. Some say that the film
reminds them of Sergio Leone’s Once upon a time in the West,
because of the locations and the music.
For other critics it brings a freshness to the theme and somehow
it returns the story to the basic premise of vampire tales. And so on.
By bringing different eras into one film, I wanted to play a
little with each. For instance if you follow closely the dialog between
Ferenc and Varna you can actually have the sense of a what a
conversation between a liberation theology priest who is, at the same
time, terribly misogynist and Sor Juana de la Cruz, a firm believer who
was, at the same time, a pious feminist, would be like. Ferenc and Varna
are characters that have enormous contradictions within themselves, just
like the vampires who love life but survive from the death of others.
Just like we do.
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In the 57 BC sequence, which is intercut in the movie, the entire
movie jumps back and forth in time, the dialogues are in English,
mostly, and are delivered in a tone that reminisces of the old Roman
epics from Cinecitta dubbed to English. I wanted the actors to play
their characters like that. While the Spanish/Bolivian characters speak
a beautiful almost poetic Spanish, the ancient people like Nahara, who
we’re not sure where she comes from, speaks ancient Etruscan; Asar
understands her, however Nahara doesn’t understand the dwellers of the
Island of the Sun who are about to sacrifice her and who speak an
ancient language that gave origin to Aymara and other Andean languages.
I think all that adds to the strangeness of the film, on top of
the amazing locations that give an otherworldly feeling to the entire
movie.
You have cast yourself in a
pivotal role as one of the ancient vampires in Dead
But Dreaming - so what can you tell us about your character, and
how much of Jac Avila can be found in Asar?
I had a previous script where the character was actually Vlad the
Impaler who sacrifices Nahara (The Light), an immortal, he drinks her
blood before committing suicide and thus becomes a vampire. But I would
be repeating the mythology already known and I would have been obligated
to stick to it. So, I opted to go way back in time, 10,000 years, at the
time when the earth was recuperating from a great cataclysmic event that
separated the continents. One person, Asar, from the “European” side
ends up in the “South American” side by accident, he’s lost there
and the people who are desperately trying to survive and recover what
they lost, make him a god, because he’s different. Which what happened
when the first Spaniards arrived in the Andes, they were seen as Viracochas,
gods.
Jac Avila as Asar |
The dwellers of the Island of the Sun offer him and the Gods up in
the sky, sacrifices. He has to drink the blood of the young women they
offer to him, if he does not they will kill him. It is during one of
those sacrifices that Nahara appears out of nowhere; she says she comes
from the gates of stone that surround them. No one understands her. When
Asar asks her in his language who she is, she understands him because he
“speaks the tongue of the ancient world” and she can understand.
Unfortunately Asar can’t do anything for her. Nahara becomes the
sacrifice, Asar drinks her blood … but she doesn’t die, the stake
that was plunged into her chest doesn’t kill her. She’s an immortal.
After drinking her blood Asar removes the stake. She’s very much alive
and jumps on him, drinks his blood, kills him… but he already has her
blood in him, so he returns as an immortal bloodsucker.
I gave myself this very exciting role because I wanted to play him
because he has most of the fun in the movie. And I think I do a good job
as the lecherous, seductive, somewhat romantic and even melancholic
bloodsucking god who is not that bad after all. He learns that he doesn’t
have to kill his prey, something that his creation, Aphrodisia refuses
to learn so she’s punished for it.
Is there something from me in Him who drinks the blood of the
innocent and the guilty alike to survive? Maybe.
Do talk
about the rest of your key cast for a bit, and why exactly these people?
The character that suffers the most is Moira, the Irish rebel who
is brutally flogged, and executed, a very difficult scene to play. Moira
is played by Amy Hesketh [Amy
Hesketh interview - click here], the actress who suffered so very much in
Maleficarum. Given her previous experience this film should’ve been an
easy walk for her; but it was just as hard. She does a superb job as
Moira.
Veronica Paintoux is Nahara the immortal. She brings something
otherworldly, eerie, scary to her character, she’s also very sexy and
seems to be in a permanent state of ravenous hunger. You don’t want to
meet her in a dark street, you would die of fright. She’s not scary in
an ugly way, no, she terrifying because she’s beautiful and ravenous.
Like one of those incredibly beautiful tigers that can swallow you
whole.
Mila Joya is the rebellious Aphrodisia, she brings her youth into
play. She’s serious while being playful, she’s a predator and a bit
naïve. She’s also a victim. She was crucified in 57 BC, falsely
accused of being a thief, no one helped her, no one felt any pity for
her, she was whipped and nailed to the wood and left to die, so she’s
very angry too.
Jorge Ortiz, the most sought after actor in Bolivia, with many,
many films in his career, plays the priest. He brings a convincing sense
of who he is to the character. His tone, his movements, his total
dedication to his beliefs, come through so well that it never feels
you’re seeing an actor.
Claudia Moscoso is Varna, the niece. She’s eloquent, well read,
extremely intelligent, defiant in a very passive aggressive way, a firm
believer in her independence and painfully aware of her limitations in
her own time. She is way ahead of her time. I was inspired for her
character on the writings of Sor Juana de la Cruz. She might be gay. She
says: “In this life we women have two choices, to be the bride of
Christ or to marry a man. I’d like to think that there’s a third
choice”
Beto Lopez plays Jose Manuel, the pursuer of the rebels, the cruel
general who has Moira whipped and garroted. Before the poor woman is
tormented, after a quick interrogation, he tells his soldiers, “Do
anything you want with her” and so they do. He’s mean. Beto gives
the character a cynic’s flair as well.
Those are the principal characters, but I have Erix Antoine as
Demetrios, the Roman hero in love with Chrysys, played by Courtney
Willis, the Palestinian courtesan who asks him to steal the valuable
mirror of her courtesan friend Bracchis, played by Jessica Mardesich.
Demetrios sends his minion to steal the mirror and Aphrodisia,
Bracchis’ favorite slave, who was going to be freed that very night,
gets the blame and suffers the cross for it. And I could go on. The cast is excellent.
What
can you tell us about the the shoot as such and the on-set atmosphere?
The way we work is like a bunch of kids playing a game. Although
the work is very hard, we try to have as little tension as possible. We
save that for the scenes. We are all friends, we know each other well
and when some people come into the set, people that we don’t know,
they are taken by that feeling of camaraderie and join the party. It’s
a pleasure to work like that.
I think that the cast and the crew, the hired hands, those who do
not work with us full time, can see the level of commitment we have to
our work and do their part as well. It’s particularly impressive to
see how they work when we’re doing those very difficult scenes, like
when Amy is flogged publicly, totally naked, and everyone is working
very professionally. It’s really, really nice. Because of the movies
we make, the “kind” of movies we make, we’re the buzz of the town.
Some people even hate us… a lot.
As
far as I know, the movie has only recently had its Bolivian premiere - so
what can you tell us about critical and audience reception so far? Everyone,
well, almost everyone, at the premiere loved the film. We had a Q&A at
the Cinemateca weeks after the film went theatrical and we had a good
crowd and in general the reaction was very positive. I think because of
its unusual story line, its totally unrestrained display of nudity and
violence, and so on, the reactions to the film can be from total amazement
to disbelief. People’s view of me as a director range from “he’s a
genius” to “he’s a pervert”. The
$64-question of course: Where is the movie available from?
The movie is available for download (VOD) and DVD in our store at
http://vermeerworks.com
It will be available in amazon.com early next year.
We have some other distribution offers that we’re considering,
but for now vermeerworks.com it is.
Any
future projects you'd like to share?
We’re shooting a new movie right now, directed by my brilliant
co-conspirator Amy Hesketh [Amy
Hesketh interview - click here], and with me in a protagonist role. This new
film is another vampire movie, but this time is the story of a family of
genetic vampires. It’s based on the little known story by Robert Louis
Stevenson, Olalla.
Amy plays
the title role of Olalla, Mila plays the role of Ofelia, her
younger sister, and I play the role of Felipe, the lecherous uncle of
these two beautiful women. We’re all vampires, we live a long time and
to keep the line we must stay within the family, thus we’re an
incestuous family. The story takes place in two periods, the 1800’s
and contemporary times. It has tones of a dark comedy as well. It has
very, very funny moments that are, at the same time, very bizarre.
We have an IndieGoGo campaign going to raise funds for an
incredible scene for this movie. People can help us make this movie a
really great one. We do have part of our goal covered already so the
shooting is happening, however we want to make it look grander.
To contribute to the campaign:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/olalla
We’re also going to start shooting the second part of Dead But
Dreaming. It will have a different title, and it is the continuation of
the film. It follows the story of the vampires as they move on in time
and geographic location.
I plan to cover the actual independence war, a bit of it. Jump all
the way to the 1930’s, later to the 70’s and finally our time, the
21st century, a time that can be both, the most fun and the most
challenging for my vampires.
And as if that wasn’t enough, we just began looking into making
Maleficarum II. It’s mandatory, we think. People can’t get enough of
Maleficarum, so a second part is looming in the near future.
Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else?
The IndieGoGo campaign
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/olalla
To keep up to date with our work, reviews, news, etc
http://pachamamfilms.com
To get our films in VOD or DVD:
http://vermeerworks.com
To read our personal woes, joys, etc
http://jacavila.blogspot.com
http://amyhesketh.blogspot.com
Our facebook page for Dead But
Dreaming
https://www.facebook.com/deadbutdreamingmovie
https://www.facebook.com/barbazulthemovie
https://www.facebook.com/pachamamafilms
Anything else you are
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Amy was recently at the PollyGrind Film Festival in Las Vegas with
her second feature, Barbazul, she had the greatest of times and learned
a lot, and something she became aware of is very interesting. We’re
living the dream!
That’s what fellow filmmakers told her. We’re making these
movies, so elaborate, like Dead But
Dreaming, with micro budgets, and
not only that, we are going about doing them at a rate that bewilders
those who see us hard at work.
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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One question often asked now, here in Bolivia, by journalists is
“how do you do it, how do you manage to make film after film?”
The reality of TRUE independent filmmaking is that it is limited
by the lack of funds. It’s the same for indies in Bolivia as it is in
the US and Europe, where there’s some government support for the arts.
So, it is very rare that you find a group of independent filmmakers
churning out film after film without institutional support.
I’m not saying we have all the funds we’d like to have, but we
do manage to sell our movies and get enough money to continue working,
pay salaries (You Have Employees?!!! Is the reaction to Amy’s mention
of paying people a regular salary).
I think we have a business model that is working for us, which is
somewhat similar to what Roger Corman did in the 60’s as an
alternative to the studios [Roger
Corman bio - click here]. Work with low budgets, with very talented
people and using creativity as the bigger resource. And, of course, with
awesome stories that people want to see and it works for us, at least.
The point is not to lose money in the process and so far we haven’t.
Thanks
for the interview! Thank you! Always a pleasure.
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