The release of Dead But Dreaming.
The day arrived. It was the 23rd of July, 7:30 pm and people were gathering at the movie Multiplex in La Paz. Lots, lots of people invited for the big premiere. Our whole team in force, most of the cast, friends, family, VIPs, journalists. A mad house, to say the least.
The expectations were high, of course, but nobody, no one, only Jac, knew what to expect from the movie. Some, like Amy, Erik, Beto had seen glimpses of the movie, but only Jac had seen the entire movie a thousand times.
There they were, the ladies in the cast, the focus of people taking pictures out in the large hall where the screens show what’s to come and the large banners announce the movies playing, including Dead But Dreaming, playing along The Lone Ranger and other blockbusters.
Amy was busy making a little movie with her iPad. Jac was nowhere to be found. Apparently he was in the screening room checking if everything was fine.
Just before the screening the members of our cast were surrounded by people who wanted pictures. It’s amazing to see how everyone can be a photographer at an event because they all have cell phones. Dozens of cell phones were shooting pictures. Our cinematographer was there with his nice camera and took a few pictures as well. One journalist/filmmaker accosted Amy for a lengthy interview after the film was shown, Jac had to look for her and go to her rescue. It was fun.
The guests formed a very long line to enter and waited, patiently, holding their pop-corn and sodas. Finally the doors to the screening room were opened and the crowds filed in.
The screening room, #6, was promptly filled to capacity, over 250 seats. Jac said a few words, the lights went out and the projection began. Jac was sitting next to Amy and I was next to him. I could see their expressions, their anxiety. Amy, specially, was transfixed.
As the movie went on I believe people were simply in awe, Dead But Dreaming was nothing like they were expecting. I believe a lot of people thought it was going to be more like an old traditional vampire movie, or maybe even a Bolivian comedy with nerdy local vampires. Whatever they thought, this was not it.
During the screening Amy was looking at herself with a fixed expression on her face. She’s gang raped, flogged savagely and finally put to death by tourniquet. It all takes place during a large part of the movie. In fact, I got the feeling that this sequence WAS the movie. Almost everything was building to it. The film could easily be titled The Passion of Moira.
When the lights went back on the applause came in and as people left the screening room, they congratulated the cast and Jac. Many approached Amy to give her big, big hugs, as if trying to comfort her, to express their sympathy. That’s because her suffering seemed so real on that big screen.
The marks of the whip, the bruises, obviously not make-up. People were commenting on how realistic and/or real that was.
Of course they loved the film itself, it’s creativity, originality, daring, and most of all, those sexy vampires, including Jac himself. For one commentator, Jac was so good, almost unreal.
So, I can say that for this first audience, the film was a success.
The first review came up next day. Not from a critic, we don’t expect reviews from Bolivian critics this time around, as one philosopher who love the film told Beto:
critics won’t touch this movie, I can bet, the best critique is Silence. When they have nothing bad to say, they say nothing.
The review came from a filmmaker, script writer who was at the premiere. He said he was impressed and I quote:
I was impressed at the premiere of Jac Avila’s film because of its audacity, the performances of actors and actresses, the costumes by Amy, the beautiful vampires, the montage, the “racontis”, the moving in space and time, the playing with our patience, the despairing protagonist’s sequence, the flogging to which she’s subjected is torture for the spectator who moves in his chair, unable to put an end to the unrestrained attitude to provoke us…
I could see in the faces of those near me that they were very, very uncomfortable with the scene, but, at the same time, could not take their eyes away from it.
The reviewer went on to say:
There are long sequences as well, with the only intention to provoke, something that Avila manages to do. The script send to us us many leading threads however never confusing us or tripping us or taking us from the tension. If the film was a bit shorter we would be free from those Fassbinder type of sequences.
When our first reviewer mentions the way the film moves in space and time, he’s referring to Jac’s known style of going back and forth from place to place, from time to time, which we see in Martyr and Maleficarum but here, in Dead But Dreaming is more pronounced because he jumps from 10,000 bc to 57BC and to 1805 in ways that make total sense.
The reviewer goes on:
Amy Hesketh is impeccable in her role as heroine, more mature each time in her histrionic capacity.
He saw Maleficarum too, at the movies, he was impressed as well, but not like now. He’s not the only one that admires Amy’s capacity to withstand harsh punishments for the love of her art. A make up woman who worked with Amy in Sirwiñakuy said to her in the after party:
I know what a make-up welt looks like, because I work with that, those welts in the film are real.
She was referring to all those nasty red marks on her skin.
Our critic also has this to say:
The lashes Moira receives hurt our senses, they are disturbing, they move you. Seeing her in this sequence, on her toes all throughout the shooting, … well, undergoing, naked, the harsh punishment, bringing the spectator to the reality of feeling the lashes … it’s terrifying. It must have been very hard for Amy. And never to forget the tear that comes from the depths of the senses, it makes you want to see Dead But Dreaming all over again.
He’s not far from the truth when he says that to watch the movie is to suffer with Moira.
Our reviewer also says:
the vampires are unbearably beautiful, uninhibited, expressive.
He’s referring, of course to the three women who lure others to their untimely end. Veronica, Mila and finally… He wishes to be a victim of those unbearably beautiful vampires and to become one himself.
Dead But Dreaming began its theatrical presence two days later, on July 25th as planned, doing better than Russell Crowe and Turbo, only behind the Long Ranger’s 3D version and WWZ, the Brad Pitt zombie extravaganza. It’s also playing at the famous Cinemateca, where Maleficarum was “censored” last year. This time they decided not to make the same mistake. They are going further than that. There will be a special screening Saturday with Jac and Amy present for a Q and A.
The film is on its third week already and it might go on for a fourth. But it doesn’t really matter now. It’s first mission was accomplished. Dead But Dreaming was shown in theaters, it did fairly well, as expected, and we’re ready to move on to the next stage. The world release of this fantastic and fully GIMP movie.
The film is now going through its obligatory subtitling in many languages. We’re getting it ready for its world release which we believe it will be at the very end of August. We will announce a precise date shortly. There are some technical issues to go through, setting the film up in the VOD store and having it ready for the fullfillment center in the US.
In the meantime plans are already in place for the second part of the trilogy.. and if successful, maybe it will become a series. The crew and cast are ready to shoot a couple of scenes very soon. The major part of the shooting will take place in October. Amy is also preparing to shoot her film, Olalla. We’ll be very busy soon.
In fact we were very, very busy before, during and after the release of the movie. There were TV and Radio interviews, as well as press releases, newspaper articles and blogs to send information to. All of that is over now, but the work never is.
Amy and Jac have their sights in the upcoming projects, but they are busy with Dead But Dreaming still. Amy prepared a two hour Making of Dead But Dreaming documentary, which will be part of a two disc DVD release. It needs subtitles as well.
We’re anticipating this release. We hope it will reach a lot of people out there. One thing I can say is that Amy’s sequence under the whip will become a classic. Mark my words.
The film itself breaks some new ground, but you’ll have to wait for it to know how it does that. And it’s only the beginning.
I’ll have the new, uncensored, trailer in my next post, as well as more comments on Dead But Dreaming and other projects. Our international campaign begins now.
Be ready, Dead But Dreaming is coming and it’s coming very soon. OH, and by the way, there was an INTERVIEW with Amy on Horror Society, take a look
I’ll have more exciting news soon. Until then!
