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Your new movie Lilith's
Awakening - in a few words, what is it about?
It’s
about a repressed woman, who embraces her dark side, and experiences
her
wildest fantasies.
With
Lilith's Awakening
being a vampire movie - is that a genre especially dear to you, and some
of your genre favourites?
I
love vampire films with female protagonists. Since I was a little girl I
always
wanted
to be a vampire, fly away and have powers over nature. I grew up
watching
this films. There’s a kind of forbidden sensuality in this films that
always
attracted
me.
All of your film's character
names are lifted from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula
- care to elaborate on that?
I
used the line “what if...”, as in: What if instead of a
prince
of the darkness, that seduces Lucy and take her away
from
her beloved Jonathan and society - it is a woman in his
place,
a princess of Darkness? What if ... that princess lives
inside
Lucy’s head? In her dreams? What if she was Lucy’s
shadow,
her hidden part? Vampire tales are all about sexual
repression.
The Victorian times of Dracula
can be easily found
in
the American Midwest nowadays.
Thinking
about the character of Abraham Van Helsing - what
kind
of a person would dedicate his life to hunt vampires and
what
vampires represent? Vampires are certainly associated
with
lust - so much lust that only a cross can stop them. So
the
one who hunts the vampire in our story was transformed into
Abe, the controlling father who listens to the preacher’s
words
and tries to make his daughter behave as all the other
women
in town.
What
kind of man is Jonathan in Dracula? A pretty regular guy
who
wants a better life for him and his beloved Lucy. He
travels
to Transylvania because he wants a raise and of
course,
he doesn’t believe in anything supernatural like
vampires.
Jonathan means “the son of…” - which could
mean
the one who follows the tradition. That’s exactly the kind
of
guy our Jonathan is in Lilith's
Awakening.
And
we did a twist in the resolution of the story, of course.
This
time, Lucy (we used the name Lucy instead of Mina
cause
it means “Light” - same thing was done in Nosferatu)
might
want more than have a regular family with kids in the
end.
(Other) sources of
inspiration when dreaming up Lilith's
Awakening? Repulsion
from Polanski and The Hunger. You've chosen a deliberately slow
pace for Lilith's
Awakening very much opposed to most modern horror movies - so do
talk about that aspect of your movie for a bit!
The
slow pace gives space for sensuality. Also, as it is not an obvious film,
the
slow
pace allows the viewer to think, come to his/hers own conclusions and
wonder
what’s the film really about.
What can
you tell us about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand? The
film never ends until it ends. From
what I know, Lilith's
Awakening was your thesis
project for the David Lynch MFA Program - so do talk about the
program for a bit, and to what extent was the good Mr. Lynch involved with
your movie personally?
I
developed the screenplay of Lilith's
Awakening at the MFA, but it’s actually a
co-production
from
my film company, in Brazil, Ganesha Filmes with
Outsiders Arts. While I
was
developing the screenplay we had 3 Skype sessions with David. We could
ask
him anything, but there was a condition. We could never tell him what the
story
was about.
In
my particular case, the problem I was having with the screenplay was that
I
was
getting blocked with the story. I tried to write it 3 times, with
different
characters
the same story, and again and again I would get blocked in the same
place.
So I asked David, “what should I do?” He said something like this:
"Don’t worry,
Monica. It’s just like that. You are going the right way. Imagination
doesn’t
exist.
Your brain is connecting with an idea in the universe, and it’s trying
to bring
that
idea into real life, into a story that you will tell. And the brain needs
to try it
with
different characters until it finds the right ones. But why are you
getting blocked?"
he said. And then he said, "You are lying. In some point of the story you
are
lying."
So
I went back home thinking where could I be lying in the story. And I found
out
what
was the problem. And when I fixed it, boom. The story evolved and I could
finish
the screenplay. Receiving the guidance of Lynch was a remarkable
experience.
He helped me see that we have to stick true to our story, no mater
what.
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What can you tell us about your
key cast, and why exactly these people?
I
was watching a reading from a TV series directed by a friend and Sophia
Woodward was
among
the actors, reading, in a café. When I first laid my eyes on her, I had the
immediate
feeling that if God had had a daughter, she would have been Sophia.
She
has an aura of light and virtue coming from her, the same light that the
character
of Lucy should have.
Working
with Lucy was amazing. She gave herself to me, and totally trusted my
vision
all the way. She was brilliant.
Lilith,
played by Barbara Eugenia, is the perfect opposite of the character of Lucy. She
should
transmit sensual dangerous beautiful darkness with her eyes. And I think
no
one could do that better than Barbara. Actually, I first found Barbara -
and then
I searched her opposite, Sophia.
Do talk about
the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
I
like small crews with people you can trust. When I get that kind of
environment
with
a good DP as Gregor Kresal and a great actress like Sophia I am happy and
creative,
and everything flows as it should.
The
$64-question of course, when and where will your movie be released onto
the general public?
On
June 11 we will have our premiere at Dances with Films. We still have at
least
1 year of the film festival circuit to do, and I hope we can find a good
distribution
deal to release it as soon as possible.
Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Lilith's
Awakening yet?
We
are having our world premiere still. But we had a private screening in
Fairfield
to the ones who worked in the film, or rented their places to the shooting
and
it was quite remarkable. A lot of people would talk to me afterwards and
say
the
film wouldn’t leave their heads, that it was haunting them. I guess
that’s the
best
I could hear, cause I love when films have that effect on me.
Any future projects you'd like to
share? I’m
working on the screenplay of a triller in a music conservatory.
What got you into making movies to begin with,
and what can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Lilith's
Awakening?
I
would not say I pursue filmmaking - I would say I am a filmmaker. It’s
part of
me.
I have no other way in which I can express myself better, without it I
would
be
lost.
I
have a couple of awarded short films, Halloween was the one who took me to
the
MFA, awarded in Spain and in the US, and awarded by Lynch himself. The
other
one is a Spanish short called Now you should be Punished, that
travelled
more
than 100 film festivals all over the world. It was screened at the National
Museum
of Modern Art of Spain, Museo Reina Sofia, and it was also awarded in
Spain.
I
have also shot documentaries, directed actors in 5 different countries
such as
Argentina,
Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Spain, and have shot some publicity
in
Spain.
How would you describe yourself as a
director?
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I
guess my language is transcendental and sensual. And I love to make my
actors
shine.
Filmmakers who inspire you?
Lynch,
Bergman and Polanski. Your
favourite movies? Repulsion,
Mullholand Drive, Nadja. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? Ahahahaha…
don’t know what to say.
Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else?
www.lilithsawakening.com
Our Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/lilithsawakening/
Thanks for the interview!
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find Monica Demes at adultvideouniverse.com
