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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Spain

Eduardo Casanova to premiere his miniseries Silence at Locarno

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- Themes such as vampirism, lesbianism and AIDS are explored with the help of actors like Lucía Diez, Ana Polvorosa, María León, Mariola Fuentes, Leticia Dolera, Omar Ayuso and Carolina Rubio

Eduardo Casanova to premiere his miniseries Silence at Locarno
Silence by Eduardo Casanova

Silence is the first series written and directed by actor and filmmaker Eduardo Casanova, known for the films Skins [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eduardo Casanova
film profile
]
and Piety [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, as well as the documentary Al margen. The series will be presented at the 78th Locarno Film Festival (6-16 August), in its official section but out of competition.

This tragicomedy, told in three episodes, stars Lucía Diez (recently seen in the series Su Majestad), Ana Polvorosa (Skins, Piety), María León (Close Your Eyes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the series The Asunta Case [+see also:
trailer
series profile
]
), Mariola Fuentes (Alguien tiene que morir), Leticia Dolera (the series Perfect Life [+see also:
series review
trailer
series profile
]
), Omar Ayuso (the series I, Addict [+see also:
series review
trailer
series profile
]
and Mariliendre [+see also:
series review
series profile
]
) and Carolina Rubio (Un mal día lo tiene cualquiera).

According to the synopsis, a pair of vampire sisters survive a shortage of clean human blood due to the devastating Black Death - but the real poison is the silence that surrounds them. Centuries later, one of their descendants faces a similar conflict during the AIDS pandemic in Spain and discovers that social condemnation remains unchanged. And that love between the sick  and the healthy, humans and vampires, continues to provoke the same terror. What happens when eternity is measured in centuries of silence?

In the words of Casanova, "I’ve always been struck by how AIDS was referred to when it was a lethal disease: the pink plague, because that very expression could define all my work, from my first short film to this miniseries. Silence explores the myth of vampires as a metaphor to reflect on stigmatisation and social condemnation through two pandemics which, though separated by time and marked by social differences, share a common denominator: fear and rejection.”

The director/screenwriter continues, “the metaphor between humans suffering from a disease like HIV and these vampires—who must live in silence, struggle to form loving relationships, or are forced to hide in darkness to avoid being discovered and thus feared, rejected, or even killed—helps me to talk about how silence can be a poison. One that kills not only individuals, but society as a whole. The silence surrounding illness, sexual orientation, identity.”

He concludes, "mixing two genres that fascinate me and that, I feel, have never been explicitly fused together: vampire horror films and queer cinema, with some of the issues they raise, such as the transmission of a virus through fluids like blood, a key element for vampires and the discussion around HIV. Given that AIDS is a disease that does not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender, this series focuses on lesbian relationships to spotlight the historical neglect of HIV-positive women (lesbian or otherwise), despite the fact that women currently make up the majority of people living with HIV. This is Silence: lesbianism, AIDS, and rebellion. This dark comedy isn't just a series about vampires, but about humanity in its most vulnerable and authentic state.”

Silence is being produced by Javier Prada (Gamera Studios), Reyes Velayos (Apoyo Positivo) and Eduardo Casanova.

(Translated from Spanish)

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