By: Tomas Ressa
Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles based on the myth of the same name from Ancient Greece. The plot revolves around Antigone, who defies the law to bring about the death of her brother Polynices, considered a traitor to the homeland. The main theme of this tragedy is the contrast between civic and divine order. A young student and film director, Carmen Morín, 19 years old, made a 19-minute short film called «Antigonia», based on the Greek tragedy by Sophocles and making a parallelism with the last civil-military dictatorship.
Mirada Crítica talked with the director of the short film, Carmen Morin, who told us about her inspirations, sources and motivations for the project:
-What is the background story? How did you come to imagine a parallelism between the tragedy of Antigone and the last civil-military dictatorship in our country?
CM: Greek myths are part of my life. In my home, the stories of Antiquity unfold in my daily life. My mother, Elsa Rodríguez Cidre, Professor of Ancient Greek at the U.B.A. (University of Buenos Aires) was a great inspiration for the realization of the Ant(íg)on(i)a project. Since I was a little girl, since she is dedicated to classical tragedy, she narrates myths and stories both epic and tragic. While Iliad and Odyssey have a place in my heart (epic tales), tragedies have always been my favorite. Stories like Bacchae, Medea and Oedipus Rex are such complex and profound plots, narratives that make your hair stand on end and emotions run high. I vividly remember the times when we would go to see theater with my family, particularly the time we went to see Oedipus Rex at the Cervantes theater. That night stayed in my memory, the wonderful staging with such extraordinary characters as Oedipus, Creon and especially Antigone and that gave me the motivation to immerse myself even more in Greek culture. On one of our morning walks with my father on the way to high school, he reminded me of Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone and I was instantly fascinated. Moreover, he revealed something to me that became the germ of Ant(íg)on(i)a, the main seed from which this film could be planted. The information my father gave me was that during the military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983), the tragic play with the most productions was Antigona. This happened because the Argentine people needed to make catharsis of the situation that the country was facing and there was no better way than going to see a play in which the main drama revolves around being able to bury our loved ones. A right that the Argentines were deprived of and today they are still searching for the bodies of the disappeared. Now, what was incredible is that Greek tragedy functioned as a kind of refuge for artists.
Practically, there were no artists disappeared for performing a «subversive play» since it was an ancient classical tragedy that in principle did not resemble reality, when in fact it was a social criticism of the dictatorship. The fact that the story was written by Sophocles in the 5th century B.C. was a shield against the military. But what would have happened if one of the military had realized this? What would have happened if a captain, Eduardo Glauco, had realized the intentions of a theater director, Polo Labdo, who was staging the play Antigone? The captain, Eduardo Glauco relates to the metaphor of the glaucous eyes of the owl of the Greek goddess Palase Athena. Eyes that penetrate the uncertainty of darkness, that can see beyond?
-What message do you want to leave to the audience behind the short film?
CM: The message of the short film is related to the concept that time is circular and that no matter how many centuries have passed, human beings always behave in the same way and make the same mistakes. History repeats itself over and over again. This continuous return is governed by universal values that belong to all times framed both in societies such as Ancient Greece as well as the Argentine society during the last civil-military dictatorship. As the character of the prosecutor Irene Dacidas says: «It is a moral principle, the right of the relatives to bury their dead, which does not come from written laws but from the firm laws of the gods, which are not of today or yesterday but of always, and that nobody knows where they come from…».
To deepen this concept, in the text «Time and History» Agamben states that the conception of time in Greco-Roman Antiquity is fundamentally circular and continuous. He also quotes a phrase from Aristotle: «The reason why time seems to be the movement of the sphere is that this movement serves to measure the other movements and also measures time… and even time seems to be a kind of circle… therefore, to say that the things generated constitute a circle means that there is a circle of time». Another phrase that I find very stimulating is also developed in Agamben’s text and is from Puech: «Circular movement, which guarantees the maintenance of the same things through their repetition and their continuous return, is the most immediate and most perfect expression (and therefore the closest to the divine) of that which at the highest point of the hierarchy is absolute immobility.»
-It is a production whose strength is in the story, what it proposes and how it tells it, with few resources and a lot of commitment. What challenges did you find in the medium? Do you have another production of similar characteristics in mind?
CM: The production of Ant(íg)on(i)a was absolutely independent, we didn’t have any production company to support us nor a budget
that could afford all the expenses of the short film. For that reason, the technical team had to make double the effort and apply their potential to the fullest. An example of this: Marcelo Acha was not only the actor who played the Colonel and Creon; he was also the costume designer. Since we didn’t have the money to afford costume rental for couture period costumes, we had to build them ourselves. The only thing Marcelo worked with were some fabrics he bought in Once and together with his neighbor, Carla Jeldes, who manufactures and owns a clothing store (Monolino Indumentaria), they undertook an arduous task to make the costumes for the short film. I could give many more examples of the challenges we had to face in this project; from getting free complex locations such as an old theater or a courthouse, as well as the realization of an original soundtrack with professional musicians. Working independently, although it offers enormous creative freedom, the production steps are very challenging. For example, now together with the executive producer, George Chiesa, (a great friend who has been an essential figure in the development of the project), we are in a stage of promotion, of registration to festivals; we have to think very well about each registration (which is in dollars) because obviously we cannot participate in all the festivals we would like to. This is a personal appreciation but obviously when thinking about another production I would like to maintain similar or even more ambitious characteristics. My conception of film production and filmmaking can be very strongly related to a phrase by Borges. According to Oubiña – one of the main professors of the University of Cinema – in his text «The cinema of Hugo Santiago» it is written that Borges thinks that unreality is the condition of art: creation depends on the imaginative artifice, not on registration and reproduction; it is the distance and not the pretended fidelity of representation that promotes aesthetic emotion. I find this phrase of Borges wonderful: «To enter a cinematograph on Lavalle Street and find myself in the Bay of Bengal or on Wabash Avenue seems to me much preferable to entering that same cinematograph and finding myself on Lavalle Street». That is my professional ambition; to build spectacular worlds of high production level so that the viewer can immerse himself in a journey to a galaxy far, far away. I’m not against minimalist stories at all. I have friends who are specialists in minimalism. But that component does not relate to my personal aspiration. Obviously for this I would be interested in having the backing or commission from major studios and platforms. I’m working hard to demonstrate my creative capacity and the concreteness of my projects.
-You are 19 years old, and already have a short film of this magnitude under your belt. What are your short and long term goals in the film industry?
CM: After having worked on several short film projects, I feel that the next step in my professional career is feature films. With Octavio La Caria, a great friend who has professional ambitions very similar to mine, we decided to create our production company called Kraken (@krakenfilmsco on Instagram). It is an audiovisual content production company that although it works with advertising and video clips its focus is on cinema. Right now we are in the development stage of Whiskey, Vodka & Cannoli, a film that is written and to be directed by Octavio and where I am the executive producer. As Kraken is an independent production company, our financing method for the film is based on crowdfunding campaigns (donation system). Soon, a Teaser of the film will be released and people interested in the project will be able to give us a contribution. More information at @wvcmovie on Instagram or you can also write to us at whiskeyvodkacannoli@gmail.com. We are currently looking for associate producers who are interested in being part of the film. To see the kind of content we make you can watch La Ratonera short film by Octavio La Caria which is currently on DirecTV Latam and Spain or on Amazon Prime UK & USA. Personally, one of my long term goals is to direct my own film and my dream is to one day be able to achieve an international co-production or perhaps be commissioned by the big studios and platforms (Netflix, Apple, Amazon, HBO, etc). Right now, I’m writing the script of the feature film with the advice of Sol Pérez (Screenwriting teacher at E.N.E.R.C; I.N.C.A.A. school).
-Who are your references in cinema and literature? Were you inspired by them when telling the tragedy of Antigone?
CM: Obviously I think that each one of us is the result of the books we read, the movies we watch, the trips we take and everything related to our culture. For that very reason Ant(íg)on(i)a is the synthesis of my artistic tastes and has many references to other arts. In terms of theater, the play Antigone by Sophocles was taken as a basis. In terms of literature, the novel that inspired the fundamental premise of Ant(íg)on(i)a was The Man in the Castle by Philip K. Dick, my favorite book. The premise of the novel is what would have happened if World War II had not been won by the Allies but had been won by Germany and Japan. That concept of «what-if» was very motivating to me when writing the screenplay for Antigone. It is very interesting that Philip Dick took a real event (World War II) and in turn built a fictional world, altering the outcome of the war. That narrative matrix and literary device can also be found in the short film. The context of the plot is real (dictatorship The fact that Antigone had been the most performed play during the military regime in Argentina is also true, as is the fact that it was the most performed play during the military regime. It incorporates the concept discussed by the author of «what would have happened if» a military man had realized the real meaning of the staging of the tragedy. In relation to the film world, my favorite directors are those who use a complex plot in an accelerated montage; parallel montage, reverse montage, etc. Directors like Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky or Damián Szifron are always inspiring in the configuration of the dramatic structure of my projects. In the film Following (1998), Nolan works with different timelines. Since it is the same character in different plots, the director has to find a solution so that viewers can identify each plot. The characterization work is sublime, so the character in one plot is clean-shaven, in another he has a beard, and finally, in another he is injured. In Nolan’s film the characterization of the main character is very important; a similar issue is implemented in Ant(íg)on(i)a for each and every one of the characters in the different timelines. For example, the characterization of actor Marcelo Acha’s characters is very noticeable: when he plays Carlos del Monte (the Colonel) in the courthouse he has a beard and gray hair; when he plays Creonte he has gray hair but is clean-shaven; and when he plays the Colonel in the dictatorship he has brown hair.
