Renowned Spanish arthouse sales company Bendita Film Sales (“Memories of a Burning Body”) has acquired worldwide rights to “The Hyperboreans” (“Los Hiperbóreos”), the second unconventional feature film from Chilean directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña . The Moving Week program runs from May 15th to 25th.
“We are excited to collaborate with Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, pioneering filmmakers known for their unique perspectives and captivating worldviews. Luis Renart, CEO of Sales and Acquisitions at Bendita Film Sales, said: Diversity.
“Hyperboreans encompasses a bold fusion of live action and stop motion, speculative fiction and fictional biography, taking audiences on a captivating journey through realms both familiar and fantastical, with haunting echoes of history and insights into the human spirit. Explore infinite potential. “We are excited to share this outstanding work with audiences around the world.”
The film follows 'La Zauria' star Antonia Giessen as an actress and psychologist herself, whose tortured patient (Francisco Vicerral Rivera) is overwhelmed by the voice of the long-dead Nazi poet Miguel Serrano. Her charges script his encounter and Antonia recruits her creative León & Cociña to tell her story, unaware that a plot is afoot to draw her further into his distorted and abstract history lessons. Help bring her to life.
Produced by Catalina Vergara and León & Cociña Films of Chile's Globo Rojo Films, which backed the duo's freshman feature 'Wolf House,' the project draws on morality and metaphysics through stop-motion animation, cutout puppets and room-full of props. . And live-action pranks. Part stage play, part performance art, part expressionist sci-fi cinematic experience, “The Hyperboreans” is an ambitiously original sensory overhaul.
Since teaming up in 2007, León & Cociña have enjoyed a consistently wide range of work with both filmmakers and animators with installation and design experience. Their work has been exhibited in the collections of MOMA and Tate Modern. In 2018, the pair released their first animated feature film, ‘The Wolf House’, which received rave reviews at the Berlin Film Festival. His latest short film, the 2021 title “The Bones,” executive produced by Ari Aster (“Beau Is Afraid”) and Adam Butterfield (“Living With Yourself”), premiered at the 78th Venice Film Festival, where it won the Orizzonti Award. For best short film.
“Our work is fundamentally interdisciplinary, drawing resources from both the visual arts and the world of film and animation,” León and Cociña explained in a statement.
“We are interested in works that show a framework that is organic, accidental, precarious, unfinished and constantly growing, as opposed to something that is precise, controlled or defined. We try to imagine that everything is material and therefore subject to transformation. This includes politics, history, and the unconscious. The narrative presented here is a mixture not only of paintings and other materials, but also of political vision, official history, and dreams.”
“The Hyperboreans” was co-written by the duo along with Alejandra Moffat. An upcoming feature-length project, “La Plaga,” is in the works.