“The Hyperboreans”, interview with directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña

In competition at the 56th edition of the Quinzaine des cinéastes, “The Hyperboreans“, the new film of the Chilean artistic duo Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña.

“The Hyperboreans”: a zone where laws of logic twist

“The Hyperboreans“is not like any other film. It delves into history, politics, cinema, and the process of movie-making. The movie takes us into the imaginative world of directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña. The story revolves around actress and psychologist Antonia Giesen, who decides to film a script that was revealed by a voice inside the mind of one of her patients. Seeking collaboration with directors León & Cociña, the film becomes a blend of theatre, science fiction, animation, and fascinating biopics, filled with parallel worlds and haunted by the spectre of a Chilean Nazi writer as a demonic figure.
At a certain point in the film, Cristobal‘s character tells Antonia, “You have just crossed into the zone where laws of logic twist.” This phrase perfectly encapsulates the essence of the movie. “I would say yes! It is also a phrase that refers to dreams, and I think that films are collective dreams,” says Cristóbal León.

The absurd

The two Chilean directors also play a role in this very bizarre film of theirs by impersonating themselves in a very unique way. “We thought it was funny to include us!” León & Cociña revealed, “We always start our films with an absurd, stupid idea, so why not?”
We cannot avoid asking the two directors how to write a film like “The Hyperboreans“: “We aimed to create a dialogue between political terror and fantasy, between organic, ritualism and material entropy. “The Hyperboreans“carries forward an idea that has run through all our works, starting from “Lucía”, our first short film, in which we tried to make a film about the process of drawing and erasing.”

Miguel Serrano

The Nazi spectre that tells his story is Miguel Serrano, a controversial figure in Chilean history: a diplomat, writer, occultist, and fascist activist. Serrano became a prominent figure in the neo-Nazi movement as an exponent of Esoteric Hitlerism.

But why add this figure to the film? “We’re fascinated by characters that are hard to define,” Joaquin Cocina tells us. “Serrano had met Jung, Hesse, he was fascinated by cinema and was an intellectual, but above all, he is a character about whom little is known… I don’t know, I always thought that a film about Hitler’s nanny would be more interesting than about Hitler.”

“The Hyperboreans“is an extraordinary cinematic experience that transcends traditional filmmaking. Through a bold combination of live-action, stop-motion, and puppetry, this ambitious psychodrama delves into the controversial ideas of the right-wing Chilean thinker Miguel Serrano. With a captivating blend of Chilean history, occultism, right-wing conspiracy theories, Jungian psychology, and silent film techniques, directors Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina showcase their unparalleled mastery of the craft. The film is a thought-provoking journey that challenges and captivates audiences in equal measure.

Plot