Wander - Issue 1

wander

ana tijoux | jing zhang | stromae | lissa lish | el seed | yuna | nastya vinogradova | caroline mackintosh | golshifteh farahani

issue one

september 2015

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table of contents 04 ana tijoux Musician

10 jing zhang Graphic designer & Illustrator

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16 stromae Musician

22 issa lish Model

28 el seed Graffiti artist

34 yuna Musician

42 nastya vinogradova Photographer

48 nixi killick Fashion designer

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54 matias pineiro Film director

60 film review Evolution by Lucile Hadzihalilovic

62 street style Seoul, South Korea

letter from the editor Welcome to Wander, a publication dedicated to widening your horizons. I’m Isabela and I’m a trilingual American who has lived in three different countries. As a graphic designer, I love being around all kinds of creative people, but I get even more excited when I meet artists from around the world with different cultures and creative tastes. That is how Wander came to be. Through this medium, I want to introduce young American creatives to incredible international talents who have yet to reach the US mainstream. It is my greatest hope that you find inspiration here both artistically and culturally!

Wander on,

Isabela

ana tijoux Many artists still build reputations by keeping their lyrics close to home so when a rapper’s upbringing crosses borders and languages, what does keeping it real mean? Maybe it sounds like Ana Tijoux. The French Chilean rapper is already one of the hottest MCs in Latin America and now she’s reaching for an even bigger audience in North America.

What inspires you?

I would say that music, my way to arrive to the music has been almost like a big crush, because I’ve got a lot of colleagues of mine that arrived to the music because—since they was very young.

But I arrived because I used to like to write. And then, I don’t know how I discovered that singing, it was better than writing. So it was in that way, and thanks to so many amazing musicians from Latin America that inspired me and pushed me to write.

So in addition to being the title track of the album, “1977” was also the year you were born. What’s the story you’re telling in the title track?

Yes, it was a long time ago that I wanted to make a song about, like, a little biography of myself.

But I didn’t make it before because I was thinking that it was so egocentric. So it’s, like, no, forget about that.

Going to your unique biography, you were born in France in 1977, as we said. Both your 4

parents are Chilean and they were accurate to say they were in exile there, right? Did they see themselves as living in France in exile from Chile?

Yes. I mean, like, you got to understand also, like, the political situation that was led in Chile and not only Chile, you know, other country in Latin America like Uruguay or Argentina even. So what happened, like, in ‘73 we got this dictator that happened with Pinochet. And my parents, like a lot of young people that used to be at that time all in university, was fighting at the government and they was in jail. And it’s not even exile themselves, they put them in a plane and they got to come to France.

So, tell me, what are your earliest memories of hip-hop?

I’ve got to be honest, like, I began really to listen hip-hop thanks to my mother because my mother used to be she’s a sociologist right now, you know, like, making social work.

Social worker, yeah. I think we would use the term social worker.

Exactly. So at the time I used to have, I don’t know, like, eight or ten years old and my mother used to take me at work sometimes because I couldn’t stay by my own at home. And like a lot of kid, I was arriving to the work of my mother. And all these young guys and young women used to be so hip-hop. And for me it was, like, wow. That was so amazing because I was feeling like very much like them because of them was from Algeria or Morocco, Tunisia or Africans.

But they was born like me in France with parents from Africa. So I could feel the parallel and I was feeling very...

Sort of a little bit like an outsider?

Exactly. So when I see those people making the music or painting, it was, like, yes, I feel the same stuff. Like, this contradictory stuff that is happening to me. Like, I was born in France, my parents are not French. They really don’t want to be here.

Like, they want to come back to the country. But I love this country also, all these contradictory that can leave a kid almost like the Mexican that was born here, but they are not American, but the parents are Mexican, you know.

Sure. Whats your first language?

I couldn’t say because my parents used to speak me in Spanish and I used to answer everything in French. It’s like I think I’ve gotten these both language in my head.

Well, three, because you’re speaking English as well...

Yes, but I dont speak so good. Like, I’m trying to do my best. [laughter]

You do rap in French on this album, help me out with Ooh La La Its a song about friendship. Its a song that I write for friends of mine, that we grow up together.

So its almost the same story that I was saying like before. She was born in France like me. Her

The only thing we’ve got in this world is the faith about changes.

parents was from the Congo, so also I like to go to her house and have all this African tradition, and she used to stay a lot at my house and with all the (unintelligible) tradition, and I made that song that its talking really about the friendship and about the distance and about crazy, the way that we have been pushing away and that we are so close as the same time.

Well, talk to me a little bit about that whole keeping it real thing. One of the crucial things for rappers is supposedly keeping it real, representing the people you grew up with, the place youre from, and I’m interested in your relationship to this whole keeping it real idea, given that you grew up in France and you were there but not always there. What is real for you? Whats the real place for you? And then you went back to Chile, right?

I mean, yes, yes. I come back right now. But I mean, more than that its like this concept about to keep it real, it has been so manipulated, I guess, like, by the system. I think there is nothing better for the system to separate to each other. So its almost like the world is a ghetto, so the codes that you can see in a ghetto in L.A. or New York or in Paris or in Russia or in Chile or in Tanzania are most of the time the same. Its about your block, your people, and the other stuff is about to fill this feeling of the land, that its very capitalist also, you know?

How do you feel youre going to fit into the scene here then? Do you feel that, I mean some have made it the argument that hiphop has lost its way in this country. Do you agree?

No. I’m not agree, because I think that here in I think in North America you get amazing people, because you get a counterculture amazing.

I mean, all the music that I listen also comes from here. Its about the response to that. So the only thing weve got in this world is the faith about changes. And when I say change about - when

you say to me what are you expecting for perhaps with this public and with this audience, first of all, I will say you this, I didnt came here to conquer anybody. Do you understand what I mean? I just came to show another face of what is happening. And I feel a lot of very similar faces here and very similar sensibility and humanity.

And I think that if we feel that we are lost with that vision of the world, we are lost like a society. We made this society.

Lets talk a little bit about your outreach to fans here in the U.S. In the song, Sube, you team up with the Detroit rapper Invincible.

Tell me a little about Sube.

Well, I meet Invincible through MySpace. And the first time I listened to her, I see her music in YouTube. And to be honest, I was like wow, shes amazing. Shes amazing, shes amazing. So I was like a fan, like speaking to her in MySpace like, oh I love your music and I would love to have you in this album that I’m making. And she responds immediately like, I send her like the song with the record and I translate everything that I was writing. So she liked the idea of the song and she send me back what she record.

And thats whats so natural. I mean, I really admire her and like a human being, like an artist, like a woman. She’s really amazing.

How has your reception been in the U.S.?

How have you found your tour so far?

Very good. Very good. Very good, because I was not expecting nothing. My vision and the vision that was saying to me from people that I like, some friends of mine will say, Ana, dont make any expectations about what is going to happen. So I say, well, we are going to see whats going to happen, you know? Like I’m not expecting nothing. And its not about to conquer the market of the entire market in North America. Its about expression, because if I was a painter it would be more easy right now in that sense about the expression and the language.

Wander | Ana Tijoux

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There are some artists, like Juanes, for example who refuses to record in English, even though he speaks English very well, and he’s making a statement with that.

Yes. I mean, his vision, its about my vision, its different in that place because - I mean for me, I’ve got to be honest. Like, North America always has been this contradictory country because the country that make all the dictator in my country and in Latin America is the country that make war right now and is going to go Iran, Afghanistan. And in other places the country, I dont know why you got all the soul, the Motown, the rap, so its very contradictory, this vision with North America.

Whats next for you? Whats on your mind?

What are you working on?

Right now I’m continuing with the promotion with 1977 and I’m beginning to write the lyrics from the next album. I’m thinking about that right now.

Do you have a title yet or is it secret?

I’ve got a title. Tt-tt-tt. Its not a secret because perhaps I will change, but I can say the concept.

Its about 2012. Its about the Mayans. Its about the sun, I will say like, what is going to happen with the manifestation of the sun.

Wander | Ana Tijoux

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jing zhang Can you tell us about yourself?

I’m a designer/illustrator based in London. I grew up in Foshan, a city in southern China. I moved to London in 2007 straight after I graduated from university in Guangzhou, where I studied Fashion Design. In my first year in London, I continued to study fashion for my postgraduate course at Istituto Marangoni, an Italian Fashion college. To embrace the ‘hipster culture’ I found myself a cosy accommodation in the heart of London Fields, East London. I would never have thought that I would have settled in Hackney!

What made you choose illustration and design – when did you realise that this is what you wanted to do?

It’s largely due to the nerdiness deep down inside my Asian genes. I like sitting in front my latest iMac for a whole day. Things like ‘hands-on experience’, ‘get-your-hands-dirty’ never works for me. I realised this when I studied fashion illustration at school. I found it particularly interesting, so much more fun than sewing, stitching, knitting, etc. I also like playing with colours, type, etc.

Why did you change from fashion illustration to what you do now?

I have realised that fashion illustration is a very narrow market. It simply wouldn’t pay my bills every month. Like every creative person out there, I started with my personal interest, and changed because of the market demand. And I am happy with my change.

How is the design scene different in London compared to China – would you ever consider relocating back?

First answer, not really. But I would think about it for my family. China is home in this respect. The biggest difference of London’s design scene to

Jing Zhang is an illustrator who has been based in London for the past five years. Originally from Foshan, she studied Fashion Design before changing her vocation.

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China’s is, sadly, that I get paid here in the UK. Back in 2007 I was offered 50 yuan to create an illustration for a well-known magazine in China.

Of course things have gotten a lot better nowadays. But it just reinforced my determination that I wanted to get out of China. The design scene in London is amazing. You’ll never find such true respect for creativity elsewhere. Stay original, creative, and imaginative, and you’ll be rewarded.

What’s your approach to illustration and typography? When did you start?

I started illustrating since 2007. I didn’t know much about typography back in then. I started with lots of personal projects whilst having my degree course in Fashion Design. As a result I haven’t learnt much about fashion design by the end of graduation, somehow I got myself into the creative industry with a great passion for illustrations/graphic design. As the more I delved into the creative industry the more I’ve realised the commercial value of typography. In my opinion, most of the creative fields do share similar discipline. Then I have started digging in typography with the first alphabet project, since 2009.

Can you tell me about your process of design – do you sketch first and then use computer? Where do you get your ideas from?

I do sketch first from time to time. It all depends on individual project and however the client

wants to proceed. As I rely on 3D more and more, Cinema 4D has become my new sketch tool. I also got inspired a lot by IKEA manual books.

Do you find inspirations in architecture? (for Lettering or Resort Type series) Yes I do. I love architecture. When I was 5-10 years old, I always doodled lots of dream houses that can never happen. For example, on the first floor of a train was a swimming pool, on 2nd floor you’d see a fun park, 3rd floor would have a slide taking you all the way back to the swimming pool.

How do you process in your work?

I recently manage to use C4D. And it was great to be able to use it. I build some models in C4D then I convert them to vector, and then I carry on illustrating in Illustrator.

And how do you define your style?

Architectural, isometric.

Is there any designer, artist, or illustrator from the past you appreciate a lot?

Yes, a lot : Walter Hansen for typography, Karol Gadzala – YLLV for typography, Erwin Kho for his amazing illustrations, Justin Mezzell for illustrations, Dustin Wallace, Rami Niemi‘s illustrations, Andrew Groves‘ illustrations, Dan Cassaro‘s typography, Lotta Nieminen‘s design/illustrations.

Really jealous of her talent.

What books or magazines are on your bedside table?

Stay original, creative, and imaginative, and you’ll be rewarded.

Japanese Grammar, Jamie Oliver’s 30 minutes cook book, Lighting in 3D.

What do you have planned for the future?

I plan to keep on what I’m doing for another 5 years. I’d also love to do more animations which require more patience and collaboration. But having my own shop selling customised letters/ type is my perhaps-not-so-realistic dream!

Wander | Jing Zhang

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Wander | Jing Zhang 15

stromae

Born Paul Van Haver in Belgium of Rwandan and Flemish descent, Stromae has won a slew of European music awards and hipster accolades galore for his sophomore album, 2013’s Racine Carree (French for Square Root). Beginning his career as an MC named Opsmaestro, Haver soon chopped and screwed the name into Stromae in the French slang tradition of verlan and began a whole new career in electronic dance-pop.

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Let’s talk about your name. Your birth name is Paul Van Haver, when you first began performing you went by Opmaestro, and now you go by Stromae.

I guess when you are a real rapper, you have to choose a name, so I asked a friend to help me and he said Opmaestro and I said “Yeah, it’s perfect.”

Why maestro? What makes you a maestro?

people on a pedestal, which is not really good for my brain. I prefer just to consider it as work, which is useless compared to a baker or a farmer or something like that, a real job [laughs]. But of course, I try to just be creative here, but I’m a perfectionist and I just want to do my best.

Your new album is named Racine Carree, which means square root. Can you tell me about it?

I’m a composer like every maestro on this earth.

I’m a little bit pretentious but modest at the same time, so maybe that’s the reason why I decided to switch the word [Stromae is maestro with mae and stro reversed], because it’s so ridiculous to call yourself a maestro when you compose with two fingers, you know what I mean? That’s why I decided, yeah, maestro even if it’s without an orchestra, without composing on the tables, but it’s a composition.

I was influenced by [the Dutch graphic artist] M.C. Escher. Also, when I was young and we would have family parties, we used to listen to Congolese rumba, old salsa, and stuff, people that you don’t like when you’re young because that’s your parents’ music and this album is influenced by those musical roots.

At 11 years old you began studying music and playing drums. Was there a defining moment when realized that you wanted to be a musician?

It’s a special feeling because people used to say, “No, it’s not possible because you don’t sing in English,” so of course, it’s like a double pressure.

I know that it’s going to be difficult, but not impossible. We are all human and we are all able to listen to music that we cannot understand.

I used to listen to English music like Notorious B.I.G. and I didn’t know what he’s talking about in all of his tracks, but I’m a fan. It’s rhythm and a groove that makes me dance so I’m convinced that my music can work in the U.S.

I wasn’t wondering this question, it was just obvious, like okay, this is the only thing that I can concentrate my brain on.

Was there a particular artist that made you want to study music?

Actually, at the time I learned drums, I wanted to be the drummer of Hanson. I wanted to be this guy because he was so young and he was already drumming in the band, you know, so I just wanted to be like him. And later I discovered hip-hop music at boarding school.

So who are you as an artist? Who is Stromae?

Actually, I prefer the word “musician,” I’m a musician and a composer. I have a problem with the word “artist.” I don’t know if it’s the same in English, but words like “artist” and “star” put

What do you want to accomplish with this album and your first foray into the United States? Are you scared and excited?

Can you tell me about your single “Papaoutai” (Dad, where are you?). Is it a personal song? [Stromae’s father was absent for much of his life. He was of Rwandan descent and tragically killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide].

Maybe the beginning, the first version of the track was totally personal. But then I wanted to have more objectivity. The [third] version was more aggressive, a teenager vision, like, okay I hate my father because he wasn’t there for me

Wander | Stromae

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and I decided just to grow up and say, okay, actually the real question is, “What’s a father?” because you’re almost 30 and you have to become a father as soon as possible.

Your father was Rwandan. Are there African influences in your music?

I think the Congolese music is more important in the African community that Rwandan. You know, Rwanda is not musically really important in Africa. It’s interesting, of course. But Congolese rumba was so huge in Africa that everybody was inspired by it. But my African roots brought me this music. In every African family, parties in Brussels, we used to listen to this kind of music. And salsa music as well. And zouk music as well, which is not from Africa. But it’s so natural to listen to all those kinds of music—zouk, salsa, rumba and so on. It’s so obvious. And actually, this album Racine Carree, was to reconnect with my influences from when I was much younger,

before you’re a teenager, before you decide to choose your own music. Because that was my parents’ music. And you hate that when you are children, but you understand when you grow up.

Michael Jackson had such a hold on kids, largely because of his videos. Is it a compliment for children especially to love your music?

That’s the same compliment as an old man.

When you’re supported by people, you always imagine it’s people your age who will support you. It’s still a compliment when you’re backed by younger and older, but it’s actually unexpected. It’s surprising, but for me it’s in fact the most beautiful compliment. I’m not making music for old people or young people. [It’s] for everybody who wants to listen to it. So that’s a beautiful compliment, but yeah. I want to be simple. I think that we try—and we think when we grow

up—that we have the truth, because we experience and stuff. But that bullsh*t actually. We have such complicated things in our lives, and children could help us in so many situations, I’m sure. And that’s the reason why I try to have two layers: this kind of simple layer. But life is so simple at the same time.

Why did you abandon your hiphop career?

It’s an important school for me, hiphop music, and still today. But I had this problem, the meaning problem of hiphop music. In the music that we know in Europe is mostly this kind of bling-bling hiphop, with naked women and limousines and stuff. And even if I was a big fan of the rhythm, the groove, I had a problem with the meaning. So all the time, I was criticizing this style. So my manager said to me, “OK, why are you all the time criticizing the music and talking about only the music? If you are not happy actually, just change.” [laughter] And he was so true.

So I was like, “OK, maybe.” It’s a good inspiration for me, the groove and stuff, but maybe I have to talk about something, real life actually.

And he told me like, “Why you don’t try just to explain something about the real life?” And I was like, no, it’s gonna sound cliche. Talk about love, it’s always the same kind of… And actually, I discovered it’s not the way. It’s not the subject that’s cliche; it’s cliche or not. But in fact, this is the way you’re talking about it, and I’ve realized, that’s how “Alors On Danse” was born.

My manager told me, “Why don’t you talk about real life?” And finally I thought “why not?” and finally made it “Alors On Danse.”

What French MCs and albums did you love?

Booba?

Yeah, Booba. Temps Mort, I’m a fan of this album.

The first EP of Sinik [Artiste Triste]. NTM because of my kid brother, because I was too young to listen to this. But I was a fan and I’m still a fan of B.I.G. or Black Robb or G. Dep. I was a big fan of G. Dep!

Wander | Stromae

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I’m not making music for old people or young people, it’s for everybody who wants to listen to it.

You worked at NRG radio station once.

What do you think of the diversity of music that gets played on European radio? Is there Clear Channel syndrome?

I don’t know about Clear Channel, but today, you have this feeling that today the radio is more to listen just to some tracks of course, like 50 times a day. And I don’t think it’s cool for certain people, but not for everybody. When I’m in Brussels, I used to listen to FM Brussels, which is a small radio [station] in Brussels. But it’s so interesting to listen, ’cause la programmation it’s like, you can listen to, for example, the Black Eyed Peas, because they are a fan of Black Eyed Peas. It’s not about snobbism, like, “It’s too famous, so we don’t want to play it.” It’s more clever. Just: you’re a fan of, and it’s a good track whatever the success it has, it’s just a good track. And that’s the reason why I listen to this radio. I can discover something from Brazil which is not really famous at all, but at the same, I can listen to a Rick Ross track, because the groove is just magnifique. I prefer this kind of radio actually. And it’s a pity that sometimes most of the radio are just playing… But I think people discover music on the Internet as well, and there are so many platforms to discover music.

Wander | Stromae 21

issa lish The special thing about Issa Lish is that she doesn’t look like anybody else. She’s a little Japanese, a little Mexican, but most of all, unique. Born in Mexico City in 1995, Issa started modelling for Mexico’s independent designers aged 14. Fast forward four years and she is one of the stand out faces of the moment, working for brands including Marc Jacobs, Saint Laurent, Balmain and Coach. We catch up with Issa back in her hometown to find out what makes the Italian Vogue coverstar tick.

How did you get started in modeling?

When I was high school, I was really lazy and I wasn’t paying attention. I failed my third level (junior year). My mom grounded me because she was like, “Issa, you cannot be lazy; you at least have to have high school established.”

She made me work at my dad’s restaurant — he owns a sushi restaurant in Mexico City. She told me, “You’re gonna be a waiter there for the whole summer and you’re not getting paid.

You’re gonna wake up at 7 a.m. and open the restaurant with your dad.”

How did you deal with that?

It was hard. As the summer went by, I was waiting on tables and this customer that was eating sushi was like, “Hi, I’m a model agent. Are you interested in modeling?” I was just like, “No, not really.” You hear so many stories about [sex 22

trafficking] and slavery and people buying girls, especially in Mexico City, and I was just like, “No, I’m not interested; I don’t know anything about fashion.” Plus, in school, I wasn’t the popular, pretty girl. I never said I wanted to be a model.

My goal in life was never to be a model.

Then what happened? Did you finally consider it?

He kept coming every week and told me to think about it. I said, “Fine, I’ll think about it.” I discussed it with my mom, and she said, “No, this is dangerous.” When I finally signed with my [mother] agency in Mexico City, Wanted Model Management, my mom was still a bit skeptical.

She was like, “Is this gonna work? Is this a career?” Of course she supports me, but she can’t believe this all happened so fast.

Wander | Issa Lish 23

Growing up, did you ever get attention for the way you look?

When I was 15, I started growing. My mom is really tall, and so is my dad. I also got really skinny. It was the time when girls started getting curves and boobs, but for me it was like, nothing happened. I was recognized for being really tall in my class. And everyone at school was like, “You’re anorexic. You’re so tall.” My teachers at school would call me Issa-Alien. They said I looked like an alien. [Editor’s note: It’s a nickname she has since embraced; her Instagram handle is @Issalien.]

Talk about your experience working with Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia.

His photos are amazing and so beautiful, but all the buzz about him, I think you don’t get it completely until you work with him. It’s a completely different experience from all the photographers I’ve worked with. You get into the character really deeply. He’s such a nice person. And he knows

what he wants. It was an out-of-the-world experience. After I shot with him, I called my booker and I was like, “Now I get why everyone wants to shoot with him.” After working with him you kinda don’t want to work with anyone else.

What was the set like?

The editorial was based on a horror movie. For me, it was the best because I love horror movies… “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Shining.” I think the new horror movies are so predictable. Although “The Conjuring” I saw recently, and that was really, really scary. I was like, “I cannot sleep after this!”

Did you have to do anything crazy on the shoot?

I had to scream a lot. Fake screaming does not shoot the same. I had to scream and be really scared. The male model that was there was pretty scary, all covered in blood, so it wasn’t really hard to think that he was gonna kill me in that

house with all the blood everywhere. The craziest thing was just screaming and playing scared and running around in heels, being chased.

There’s been some controversy about the editorial…

Yeah, I read that it’s about violence against women. When I shot this, no one told me, but it makes sense. All the shoots now are based in some reality. It’s a good subject to touch because it’s something that exists in a lot of houses around the world, but it’s almost like a taboo, no one talks about it. The people that live [with abuse] don’t always talk about it. I think it’s pretty good that such a big magazine touches this subject.

Did you know you were going to get the cover?

I knew it could be an option, but I take it as, until I see it, I’m not gonna be excited. One thing I’ve learned from this business is that everything changes so fast. Every second you can be confirmed or you can be canceled. I was just happy to be doing the editorial for Italian Vogue with him. I think every model in the whole world dreams of shooting with him.

How did you find out?

My booker told me to Google “Vogue Italia April issue.” I was on the street outside a store, and I clicked on the picture and I was like, is that me? The page was loading so slowly. I was like, “Oh my God, that is me!” Then I started jumping around the street, and everybody was looking at me, like, this girl’s weird. But I didn’t care.

What’s the response been like?

I hope [the cover] opens a lot of doors for me. It was such an honor that [Meisel] took the risk of using me on the cover, using me for the whole story. Now that I see it on print, it makes sense because I think I should be in a horror movie.

You know, I’m brand new. I didn’t do 63 shows in my season. So it was a pretty huge honor.

What are the hardships you have faced?

Like with any other job there are people that don’t like it or people that you don’t click with, but you have to focus on the people that appreciate you and want to work with you

Who are your best friends in the modeling world?

Adriana Mora, Binx Walton, Kristoffer Hasselval, Michael Lange.

How do your parents feel about your success?

My mom bought, like, three issues of Vogue Italia.

She was like, “I’m never gonna take them away.”

My dad is really happy, too. Because my dad, when he was younger, he was trying to act. He did some TV commercials. He was like, “We’re such a show-business family.” Still, now, he does some commercials. He said he was proud of me.

He said, “Keep your feet on the ground.”

What does it mean to be a Mexican model in the international world of fashion?

My friends and family.

What are some of your long-term goals?

I want to buy my own apartment, build my life and be a grown-up adult. It’s really hard to go from being a child where your parents support you and you have everything to having to pay your own bills. So, getting my own apartment, getting established, getting a big house. I would also love to go to art school, work on art projects and maybe be a creative director at a magazine. At the moment I see myself in New York, but I would like to live in Japan eventually. I love Japan.

Are you in love?

Yes.

What song are you obsessed with lately?

Its nothing new but… “Ma neck ma back?” by Khia.

I don’t think it makes much of a difference, international fashion is very diverse and they support people that have what it takes no matter where they come from! Nonetheless, I hope my story becomes an example to inspire people in Mexico or any other part of the world.

What do you like most about the fashion world?

Which is your favorite city and why?

Always stay happy.

London! I love that it’s a mix between NewYork and Paris; it has the best of both worlds.

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What do you miss the most when you are abroad?

You meet people from all over the world with very different and interesting stories.

What is the best piece of advice you have received?

I hope my story becomes an example to inspire people in Mexico or any ther part of the world.

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el seed

32-year-old French-born Tunisian artist eL Seed is a man of many talents. Considering the moon as his most desirable canvas, there seems to be no limits for the talented calligraffiti artist who merges traditional Arabic calligraphy with the freestyle, guerrilla nature of modern graffiti. His murals relay their ideas on a deeper level than just language; they ask viewers to them to open their mind.

When and where did you first get up?

I started in the late 90’s in the suburbs of Paris.

I was 16.

What inspired you to do it?

As a B-Boy, I was into the whole hip-hop culture.

And I always liked art.

Have you any early graffiti memories?

A standout is when Zefa from the GAP Crew painted me doing a head-spin.

You graduated with an MA in business, how did you end up pursuing a career in art?

I’ve been painting and drawing since I was six and have always had an interest in animation 28

movies. However, I was never encouraged to pursue an art career. I studied business and became a consultant, and used my weekends and nights to paint. When my daughter was born, I decided to leave my job as I felt it was not feeding my soul - and to just focus on my art. It was a big risk but thank God it has worked so far.

Your work is based on calligraffiti, a concept that fuses calligraphy and graffiti - how did you develop an interest in this specific style?

Born and raised in France, I felt that as a son of Tunisian immigrants, it was confusing to create my own identity - although I always had a strong connection to my motherland Tunisia. Around the year 2000, I felt the desire to go back to my roots, my history, and learn Arabic. I started taking night classes and this is where I discovered Arabic calligraphy. I fell in love straight away but never got the chance to take calligraphy classes. Years later, I brought graffiti into art in my own way.

If you could choose any canvas across the world, what would you like to work with?

I would say the moon.

Any favorite spots?

I especially like abandoned places.

How do you feel about the movement of graffiti and street-art into galleries?

I’d rather paint on walls, but to sustain myself, I’ve shown in galleries.

You recently participated in Jeddah Art Week, what inspired the mural you created?

The city and the culture inspired me. I used a Bedouin poem ‘a man who didn’t leave a trace behind him, didn’t have a life’. The idea was to inspire the community to create, build, and innovate for themselves and for the community.

Jeddah is an amazing city. I just regret that part of the old city is totally abandoned. I hope the Wander | El Seed 29

mural project will motivate people to keep the city beautiful and take care of their heritage.

What’s your usual process for creating a piece of work, do you sketch designs beforehand or freestyle in the moment, dependent on your mood or setting?

Usually I know what I want to write. It is always relevant to the people from the place. Then I have an idea of the colours and the shape, the dynamic I want to give to the piece and everything then happens in front of the wall. It is really spontaneous.

What’s your view on the art scene in the Middle East?

The scene is rich. We have so many talented artists but sometimes it doesn’t seem like promoting art and culture is the priority in our world.

But I still feel a strong desire to build a concrete art scene. More and more initiatives are coming; Jeddah Art Week is the perfect example.

What other artists, both regional and international, do you look up to?

There are many artists from the street art scene such as Shuck 2, Zepha, Sundus Abdul Hadi, and Shoe.

Who has been the biggest inspiration on your work?

There are many inspirations but there is one person without who I wouldn’t be here today. This is an artist called Hest. He is the one who brought me back to graffiti a couple of years ago when I left it totally. I am really grateful to him for what he did.

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ligrapher. I am graffiti artist who paints in Arabic.

I have a deep respect for traditional calligraphers and source inspiration from traditional calligraphy. It is always good to receive criticism; it helps you to challenge yourself.

Do you, like Jeffrey Deitch, feel that calligraphy and graffiti are meeting in ways they never have before?

In a sense, I think calligraphy and graffiti have always been connected. Doing graffiti is a form of calligraphy. There’s a link in beautifying the letters. I think Jeffrey Deitch was really avant-garde for doing a show 30 years ago about calligraffiti. You see the effect. Thirty years later, you see what the movement became. Now people are more aware, because there’s a focus on the Arab culture and identity since the Arab Revolution. Jeffrey Deitch was a visionary, in a way.

You collaborated with Louis Vuitton before, how was the experience and are there any other brands you’d like to work with?

The experience with Louis Vuitton was great.

They gave me a ‘carte blanche’ to design something. It was a real honor to collaborate with them. I don’t think I will work with any other brands soon. Actually, in the coming months I’m launching my own brand. Stay tuned.

What aspect of your job excites you the most?

The human experience I think. The painting on the wall is just a pretext to meet people and create a discussion. From all my projects, all my walls, what I always keep in mind is the people I’ve met. I have a lot of amazing stories.

Calligrafitti is a fairly recent concept compared to other art forms, do you ever face challenges from traditional artists - or anyone - who doesn’t appreciate or understand it?

What has been the most prolific moment of your career so far?

I’ve been criticised by traditional calligraphers but I always reply that I am not a traditional cal-

How has your practice evolved since you started?

I think the painting of the minaret of Jara Mosque in my hometown of Gabes, in Tunisia.

I am trying to break the wrong idea where art and religion are not connected. Islam encourages art and culture.

I started with regular graffiti, Latin graffiti. When I switched to Arabic, I started printing my name following graffiti culture. Then I switched to writing poetry and messages inspired by the Arabic proverbial tradition. Then I stopped signing them. I stopped writing the meaning in English or French as a way of fighting this kind of cultural imperialism, where you need to translate to people so they can understand. For me it was a way to invite people to my culture by not writing the meaning, so that the people who are really interested will try to understand. I stopped writing my name and the meaning in order to stop breaking the poetry of calligraphy. When you know what it means, you focus on the meaning and you lose the dynamism of the shape and the movement.

Do you have a message to convey?

Despite our differences, we are all the same.

We’re all human and we all have the same struggle.

How has your work evolved through the years?

I’ve learned to adapt to any surface, and the flow and shapes of my letters keep on evolving.

What are some of your other interests?

I love to cook. I cook everything for my family.

And I love to read, especially about history.

What do you see as the role of the artist in society?

To give visual expression to what people think.

The artist is the ambassador of our society.

For you, what is the overall effect of bringing art and religion together?

I am trying to break the wrong idea where art and religion are not connected. Islam encourages art and culture. And calligraphers always had a high status in the society. Because my art is calligraphy, it is linked to Islam. To break the polytheism that the Arab region was facing at this time, Islam forbid any human representations. That is the reason why Calligraphy got developed and reached the level of excellence we know today. Both of them are linked—calligraphy is a holy art, and Islam encouraged that.

What is your advice for younger artists who aspire to reach people on the level that you are able reach people?

Do what you want. Do what you love, don’t try to follow a trend. Use where the culture and history of where you’re from to paint. Don’t try to look like somebody else. Don’t listen to people who tell you that you are not going to go anywhere with your art. That’s not true. Most of the time, you hear that from artists. If you hear that from an artist, just know that you are doing well.

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yuna Yuna Zarai is an anomaly of pop music. Raised on a mix of homegrown and Western music, the 27-year-old singer first started performing songs in English, accompanied only by the sound of her acoustic guitar, while attending law school in Kuala Lumpur. Refreshing, honest, and sugar-voiced, the Malaysian lawyer-turned-songstress has progressed from an indie artist in her native country to abig-label star living in L.A. Her new album Nocturnal has a brighter, pop-ier sensibility than her 2012 eponymous debut, and features collaborations with big name producers like Robin Hannibal and Chad Hugo.

Being an artist does not stop me from practicing my faith. I don’t like to see it as something difficult. If there’s a will, there’s a way.

Can you describe the community you grew up in?

I grew up mostly in Subang Jaya, it’s a small urban area in the Klang Valley (which is close to Kuala Lumpur city). I grew up being around a lot of Malays, Chinese, and Indian friends. It’s just like any other normal urban town; kids would go to malls, be fashionable, and watch movies, so I grew up as a normal kid. I have a conservative Malay Muslim family and I went to religious classes as a kid: reciting the Quran, learning how to pray, and the basics about Islam. At the same my family was pretty open to other things as long as they were not detrimental to our beliefs.

What inspired you to pursue your passion of singing, and what drives you to continue?

I’ve always been a fan of music, and my parents grew up being involved in music; my dad used to be in a band and my mom sings a little bit. I grew up listening to music that my dad would put on the radio; we would sing together.

How has your experience being one of the few hijab-wearing Muslim artists out there been?

It’s been amazing. I never thought in a million years I would be where I am now, pursuing music has always been my dream. When I was 13, I dreamt of playing the guitar and writing my own music. When I was 19, and I actually could, I dreamt of being able to play my music on the local radio. At 21, when I finally did, I dreamt of going to the States and pursuing my musical career – at 24, I played my first American show at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2010, in Austin, Texas. And the beautiful thing about it all is, I did all that with just being myself (of course, I experimented with my hijab fashion, another passion of mine!) but Alhamdulillah, it’s amazing how I have the best job in world right now -making people happy with my music.

How has touring internationally adjusted your perspective on Islam and the variety Muslims?

It’s an amazing experience, obviously. I never really put much thought into it when I’m performing. I’m not that kind of person who is over-analytical and becomes paranoid about everything -especially after 9/11, it’s kind of tricky to get people to see the real you as a musician. But, it’s also tricky when facing Muslims, in Malaysia, where 70% of the people there are Malay Muslims, what I’m doing, in the early stages where I was just about to come out with my music, was pretty shocking; I’ve gotten a lot of different views from people, some negative and some positive. But Alhamdulillah, all of that has taught me more about my own religion, and what I want to do with my life.

How do you feel the Muslim community in Malaysia varies with the Muslim community in the states?

There’s not much of a difference. I was around the Muslim community in the states and it felt just like home.

Was there ever any tension between your faith and your profession as a musical artist?

Never. I’ve found peace and balance in both aspects. Being an artist does not stop me from practicing my faith. I don’t like to see it as something difficult. If there’s a will, there’s a way.

What is one of your favorite quotations, by whom, and why?

I have one that I really like but it’s from a book. “‘If you believe’, he shouted to them, ‘clap your hands; don’t let Tink die’. Some clapped. Some didn’t. A few little beasts hissed. The clapping stopped suddenly….but already Tink was saved” - Peter Pan by JM Barrie. I fell in love with this quote after I read it. It shows that if you believe Wander | Yuna

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in something – anything – it will come to live, it will be a part of you forever.

When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up, and as time passed, how did you actually find the career you wanted to pursue?

I always thought I was going to be a lawyer ever since I was a kid. I went to Law school. My whole life I was shaped into getting into the profession, but then, in my final semester I failed one subject and had to repeat a whole semester doing just one subject. As a result, I had a lot of free time, I had sort of gotten myself into the local music industry already, and things were going well for me! My parents were very supportive, so I decided to carry on with it. I graduated by the way. So it’s all good. School is cool, kids!!

I love Feist. I love Francoise Hardy. She was a French singer-songwriter in the ‘60s who was pretty huge. I think I’m drawn to her sincerity.

I love Fiona Apple too—she’s quirky and really honest in her lyrics. I grew up listening to a lot of female artists like Fiona, Lauryn Hill, and Alanis Morissette, so I guess when I was younger I was trying to write like them.

Do you ever see a permanent move to the U.S. in the future?

That’s a possibility, but my family and friends are in Kuala Lumpur. I’d miss them a lot! I think being bi-continental is something I want to continue. Kuala Lumpur is my home, but L.A. is where I’ve been able to make the music that I want. It’s definitely a place I think of as a second home.

What was it like working with Pharrell?

As a pop/soul artist, who are some fellow musicians you admire and listen to? Do comparisons to Feist or Fiona Apple ring true?

It was cool, but I didn’t work with him on the second album. It was amazing. He taught me a lot of things, and he’s a really cool, sweet guy.

He’s a very talented producer and he works really hard. It’s amazing to have someone so talented endorsing your talent. It was really cool to work with him.

Obviously, not only are you involved in music, but you’re involved in fashion. I’m really digging the collections from your company, IAMJETFUEL. Which do you feel more inspired by: fashion or music?

I feel like fashion and music relate to each other in a lot of ways. I always had to be creative: I’m a very creative person. I always liked making stuff.

Apart from music, I always liked making clothes.

You’re able to express yourself. I’m really happy to have IAMJETFUEL, which will be re-branding next month. It will be called November Culture.

We’ll be re-launching in New Jersey. I just started designing, and it’s my first time designing anything for my clothing store. It’s pretty exciting to finally have my own clothing line coming out. I’m still working on that, and it’s going to be really exciting to see that.

You’re obviously very stylish. Who are some of your personal style icons?

Whenever I Google for clothes, I always look at what Angelina Jolie is wearing. I love Sienna Miller, and I really like Rihanna’s style, too. There’s the edgy girl, classy girl, and the Bohemian chic girl. I guess I’m all of that combined into one.

What was the process for creating the song “Colors”?

“Colors” was one of the songs that me and my producer wrote. We wanted to do a continuance of the first song we did on the first album that was called “Lullabies.” Everyone loved it, and we loved it. It was our first successful collaboration together. I did this track with Chris Braide. He wanted to do a sequel to that. We came up with a really sweet melody for “Colors,” and I just wanted to sign about fighting for a relationship. When you’re in a relationship with someone and they’re giving up, you always have Wander | Yuna 39

to be the strong one, and hopefully both of you will pull through. That’s basically what the song is about.

From what I have heard from your debut album and your newest one, are a lot of the songs focused on one relationship?

A lot of the songs that I wrote are about relationships, but I feel like the second album is more mature because the first album I wrote most of the songs five years ago. It took me close to two years to produce that album. Most of the songs were from when I was 22 or 23. With this album, all of the songs are fresh and new. It’s recent. I wrote them in a smaller timeframe. We recorded this album in about six months. That’s why you can feel that there’s a strong theme to it.

There’s a story there. I feel a lot of things, and I got inspired by a lot of things from my travels.

There are a couple of songs that are about relationships, but they are more mature. There are a lot of songs about empowering women. Songs like “Lights And Camera” talks about fame and trying not to lose yourself. You’re trying to be strong—even when you feel like you’re alone, you’re not alone.

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nastya vinogradova Russian Photographer Nastya Vinogradova studies architecture and captures St. Petersburg’s essence in her spare time. She works with both monochrome and color film to imitate the atmosphere she experiences, and she always adds a tender twist of her own. Her favorite subject? People. Sensitively capturing tough-looking young boys on black & white and colour film, Vinogradova also explores the geometrical contrasts in outer spaces and portrays landscapes with an almost impressionist sense.

For the past 6 years I have been living in Saint Petersburg. It’s beautiful, quieter and calmer than Moscow. Every place has its own atmosphere, idea, function, aesthetics; it influences you and conditions some perception. Two years ago we had Andrea Varani’s exhibition here, the colours in his works and composition base inspired me at that moment. I started to make uncomplicated model test shoots, photographed girls and boys when I had free time... I think I mostly enjoy photographing people. You need to communicate, try to catch something in them. I also like to take pictures outside. For example, you can find a specific place that inspires you, it provides some idea, atmosphere, colours, structure and you can add a person and make a kind of story.

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nixi killick

A self-professed imagineer, Nixi Killick has been whipping a crayola cocktail of acidic hues with firm form and function for quite some time and it’s an enduring aesthetic that’s earned her accolades such from HP’s brand ambassador to designing costumes for Lady Gaga’s international tour.

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How did you get into fashion?

Where are you from?

Life up to this point has been a kaleidoscope in perpetual momentum. I’ve been fermenting in creative influences and braiding them together to create my own flavour. More than anything, I have been actively learning to awaken my dreams. Growing up was a crucial period that seeded my ideas on future positive dressing and alternate possibilities. I grew up in a circus performing and making costumes, and fashion was the bridge for me between costume and art. It’s always seemed essential to me that the freedom and vitality in costume and performance should spread through our real lives. It’s an unrestricted use of colour and a techno-optimist approach that I rely on. I think that we can create our future just as you create a performance. Through constant experimentation we have a responsibility to express our most incredible imaginings.

I am a mutant mermaid from the future. I am an outer magnolian jedi princess from deep in the Australian bush lands. I went to a tiny country school, miles from anywhere with only seven other students. There was no uniform, no shoes and an expanded capacity to learn everything about this magical universe. I come from two artist parents and I’m a global citizen born into a creative culture.

What has life been like since graduating from Fashion and Design at RMIT University?

Increasingly hectic! The real world is a pretty righteous place! There has been incredible feedback and support post uni - Im still riding the wave! Rmit really encouraged my experimental practice pushing me to substantiate and challenge my personal paradigms, now it’s just

about maintaining that momentum. At the moment I am doing freelance styling work and pushing some new lines. As well as being involved in the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival graduate parade and iD Emerging Designer Awards New Zealand in March, alongside installations in Penthouse Mouse and working towards a solo show of paintings. So the calendar is pretty jammed!

But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

How did you define your particular style or approach to fashion?

I am an imagineer, and to me Imagineering is a positive projection and a hijacked technical rendering of our most wonderous imaginings. More recently, I have been focusing on the magnetism between the present and the radical possibilities of the future. I’m interested in a collaborative cognition with technology to catalyse imagination and construct a new adjacent universe of creative pastiche. Leveraging technology in the cultivation of an empowered articulation of creative expression. I call myself an Imagineer because I’m constantly exploring the schematics of my inside and out. Nature continues to astound me with its array of unimaginable patterns and colours–inspiring my own enigmatic visualisations and systems to premise this conversation both conceptually and visually. I am intoxicated by futurists like William Gibson and Jason Silva. Jason Silva says; ‘to imagine is to perceive many potential futures, select the most delightful possibility, and then pull the present forward to meet it.’ That’s what I intend to do.

Alongside creating your collections you sell your own Art Prints. Do these exist as separate projects or are they influenced by your material designs?

My art and fashion practices have and will always collide and jostle in the construction of some form of expressive entity. I’ve been working towards synthesising these spheres and I think the Future-tive nature collection has really played a pivotal role in that, where the two revel Wander | Nixi Killick 49

Technology has the power to uplift our imagination and facilitate our dreams and I try to harness it in both advanced and lo-fi ways.

and reinvent in continuum. My painting work has always feed into wearable design in colour, texture and style but never as inextricably as now.

Collections have become an extension of visual concepts - three dimensional visual alternatives.

The artworks very much become metaphors for the practical pieces, elements begin to blur at body margins. The symmetry of exchange between my art and fashion practice has reached a pivotal synthesis in the develpoment of what I call ‘maverick hybrid practice’, speculating over the role of ‘future-tive’ technology in creative escapism and questioning how today’s contemporary climate is embracing avenue’s for articulating potential in the unfamiliar. I think there has always been a strong link and for me the time has arrived to close the gap.

lion fantastic futures and radical visions! Im not sure im that far into it yet to place on single moment! Ha! But I have given myself to the dream… to the universe… and to the stars!

Tell us a secret about your future plans…

The future is the most exciting possible vortex of potential!I have a lot of exciting plans... But I think the most important thing for me is to maintain an uncompromising devotion, chasing threads in the work and embracing the potential of diving into the unknown. For me the future is the only certainty.

What is the problem with fashion today?

Fashion is a very complicated beast. I think the lack of communication across the fashion world, in shared learning and mentoring is really holding back the fashion community from evolving as a whole. We have to work together to create the future.

What does ‘Sustainable Luxury’ mean for you?

In my work, I see technology as the key to sustainable design, Technology has the power to uplift our imagination and facilitate our dreams and I try to harness it in both advanced and lo-fi ways. Sustainable luxury allows designers to use fashion as a language for future discussions, and an intuitive dialogue to visualise ideas around hybrid practice and exploring material alternatives.

Do you have a pivotal moment in your design career where you realised you were living out your dream?

There is definitely a lot of times I find myself squiggling with excitement at the idea of a mil-

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matias piñeiro

Argentinian director Matias Pineiro cobbled together prizes from past festival wins to fund his latest release, Viola, which is partly based on a single scene about lovers’ intrigue from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Pineiro (whose next film focuses on 19th-century Argentinian writer and statesman Domingo Faustino Sarmiento) shot Viola in 11 days in 2011. He spoke with FILM COMMENT during New Directors / New Films about working with friends, the pleasures and perils of the text, his special Korean connection, and his plan for broadening Argentina’s offerings in cinema from abroad.

Why did you choose Twelfth Night as the basis for Viola?

I started with Shakespeare’s comedies and the first character to catch my attention was Rosalind [the basis of his previous film, Rosalinda, from 2011] and the other was Viola. I only chose one scene from the play and it’s a scene that works fine today without having to cut anything.

There are no strange references to kingdoms, for instance. The rhythm of the scene was attractive to me because it felt contemporary; it spoke to me the most of all the scenes in Twelfth Night.

I felt that I’d found the roles for these actresses.

For Viola, the actress was Maria Villar, and for Rosalinda it was Agustina Munoz.

What do you do when you’re not making films?

I teach at the university [in Buenos Aires] and also I give private lectures about film to a group of ladies who feed me lots of sandwiches. I show them films like Bringing Up Baby and A Woman Is a Woman. They didn’t like that last one at first, by the way. They thought the DVD player was broken. It’s incredible that nowadays a film from the early Sixties that had ruptures in sound—it still shocks! It still works!

You play with sound in Viola too. You’ve put in ringing cellphones and a kind of buzzer.

Yeah, I do. I think that rhythm is important in cinema, and that sound helps to give a film rhythm.

In my film They All Lie [09], I play with sound the most out of all my films. There, like Viola, I wanted to be specific in creating an atmosphere. As much attention as I gave to framing, I wanted to give to sound, to ask, “How can I make this more dense, more complex?” With the telephone ringing, I like that you can put it in wherever. I don’t ask the actresses to think about the phone ringing, or tell them, “act as if.” I like to profit from what happens unplanned. The idea of the world as being something beyond what is seen is what I’m looking to express. I think besides editing, sound design can be a very economi-

cal way of communicating that idea. As I work in close-ups, especially in Viola, the larger world must be communicated somehow. Just as I say how I’m interested in how a Shakespeare voice hits someone’s face, I’m also interested in a telephone’s ring, how it hits.

The camera stays close to the actors’ faces, as in Rosalinda, but the image seems softer somehow. What did you do to achieve that quality?

It has to do with Fernando [Lockett], the DP, knowing how to work with the light. The lens was an 85mm, I think, a long lens, which gives you this softness. The camera assistant, with this setup, has to constantly be arranging focus, going in, going out. This gives a little movement to the image, too, which was more static in Rosalinda. There, we used another type of lens, a shorter lens. Most of Viola was shot using these lights, like Christmas lights. Fernando really knew how to move and sculpt the lights. So it looks almost like there was a filter. I was looking forward to having this closeness, and the technology—which we did not have on Rosalinda— allowed that.

In Rosalinda, I wanted it to be a little more like in Howard Hawks’s films, where a wider lens shows more of the action. It’s not a wide-angle lens that we used, but it was wider than what we used for Viola, where I wanted to really insist on the faces. For Rosalinda, I let the Shakespeare text introduce all the complexity, but not so for Viola.

Rosalinda and Viola are characterized by the theme of repetition, most explicitly because their narratives are comprised of rehearsals, Viola especially. What about repetition, about looping, appeals to you?

I think that one film calls for the next one. For Viola, I was doing another Shakespeare, female comedy. When you’re working with the same topic in a new film, I think you have to provoke differences. I wanted to work with the idea of Wander | Matias Piñeiro 55

repetition as rehearsal. The idea of mantra and loop came to me, too, because I like this idea of the text being more powerful than people.

More powerful than people?

Yes. Like, in Rosalinda, sometimes I had this feeling that when the text was over, the people in the film would cease to exist. This fantastical idea—you know, the power of narrative to influence what it literally, realistically could not.

This gave me another idea for a film in which the characters would be conscious that they were characters from a book and then in the final scene of the final act, they would disappear.

In Viola, I took only one scene, and made them

to watch, to act out, but reading the words on screen is not the same thing. It was easier with Viola, which has something more like a series of monologues. Still, there are too many words. At one point, I thought I should do like Godard in Film Socialisme, and only put nouns in the subtitles or something like that. I have not yet come up with a way of totally fixing the situation.

There is always some loss by the time the viewer is reading the subtitles. Also, because Viola has so much repetition, and the viewer understands that, and they’ve already read the subtitles, I thought about just cutting out some sections of subtitles. Thus, the formal idea would take over and all people, Spanish-speakers and not, would

The idea of the world as being something beyond what is seen is what I’m looking to express. conscious of being actors rehearsing a scene, but I wanted it to be like even if they made a mistake, the actors rehearsing the play—Viola’s characters, in other words—would continue on.

I thought about how if one actress makes a mistake with the Shakespeare text, she then traps the other one inside the text and thus they must go back and do it again. It has this consciousness of being inside the scene, of working inside the text itself not only as a narrative. There is realism and the actors are conscious of acting. It’s not Pirandello!

Would you talk about subtitles? For Viola you knew you were making a movie that people would watch with subtitles, is that fair to say?

I really had a hard time with Rosalinda and subtitles because it’s so complex what they say. There are so many words. It was like a ping pong game of dialogue. That she’s a girl dressed like a man pretending to be the girl she actually is, is great 56

be watching the same thing, the things, the faces that really interest me. But then I decided not to fool around with the subtitles like that.

You’ve referred to yourself as an Argentinian-Korean filmmaker because of your relationship with the Jeonju International Film Festival. Did they help fund Viola?

Jeonju gave me some money as an award for another film, and I used it for postproduction and for helping to give some money to the actors.

What I win, I redistribute, so the actors and I have a kind of cooperative structure, I guess. I must be responsible about this and fill the envelopes! [Laughs] Jeonju accepted my first feature, The Stolen Man [07], and I won a prize, which was very useful for making They All Lie and for paying people. Then they commissioned me to make a film, which turned into Rosalinda. Then I won a work-in-progress award for Viola. They have given me much more money than my own country. It’s kind of crazy. With other wins, I’ve

bargained for different services than those that I’d won. You have to trade to make it work. For example, They All Lie won an award of film cans which I then sold in order to fund Viola. Viola is kind of a Frankenstein in a sense. It was funded with winnings from all these different places and then the rehearsals were conducted first as part of a play I directed. You learn lessons from cinema. It’s kind of like Orson Welles and Macbeth.

[Laughs]

At a recent Flaherty Seminar showing of your films, you mentioned some of the difficulties of distribution within Latin America.

Could you talk about that?

The problem in Argentina is that it’s very centralized and it all goes through Buenos Aires. There’s not many places you can show your film if it’s not all done in the official way. But I work in the parallel system. There is no need to make and pay for copies of my films to show on 35mm film.

But there’s one or two places that I can show my films. One is the MALBA, the Museum of Latin American Art. Their idea is that there’s no need to show a film at two in the afternoon because no one will go there. Instead, they show a film four times per week only during prime weekend hours when people can go. Then, your film can stay there for a whole month, and if things go well, it can stay for three months. So the audience is developed in another way than what’s usually done in Argentina, where it plays for one week all over the city at different times, and then suddenly it’s over. I think MALBA’s way builds your audience better and allows more people to come see your films. The other system is just an old one that doesn’t adjust to new developments in film technology and production. It’s like making sausages.

Last year, Argentinian magazines and some based in New York asked me to send them my list of top ten films for the time I was in New York.

The lists were pretty different. On my Argentinian list, there were like five French films! [Laughs] And on the New York list, there were just two. I Wander | Matias Piñeiro 57

realized that the only alternative to the American films in Argentina are these French films. There’s Claire Denis, which is awesome, but then we have all these other, industrial French films. You don’t have the good German or Spanish films in Argentina. Or Chilean films! There were five good ones from Chile that year, and none of them showed in Argentina. They’re right across from us, over a little mountain, but we don’t get to see them. I mean, people are premiering at Cannes with a USB drive. People under house arrest are showing at Cannes. I don’t know if it’s because of taxes or fees or the industry dynamics or what, but we don’t get Chilean films in Argentina. I would like to do something to fix this. BAFICI [Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival] is a huge festival, and thanks

to it many of us have been able to show our films. If there is an audience for international independent films there, then there will be one if we show them in Argentina outside of BAFICI. It’s very bizarre that we don’t get Spanish films, Mexican films, Columbian films. We don’t have a little place downtown showing these films like we should. In Mexico, they do! There’s a place called Cine Tonalá, and there are Argentinian films screened there. I may be a little green, but I think we can do it, too, in Argentina. In New York, you can learn from Light Industry, Anthology Film Archives, Union Docs. I’d like to do something like this in Argentina, even though I’m not much of an entrepreneur. It’s nice to try to force something into being.

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film review: evolution

Put aside everything you know about the birds and the bees. Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s “Evolution” proposes an entirely new paradigm to explain where babies come from, burrowing into young men’s subconscious anxieties about those aspects of their biology that they can and cannot control — including fear of penetration and pregnancy — to create an unsettling nightmarish allegory. Entirely of Hadzihalilovic’s own invention, Evolution is an open-ended visual feast that disconcertingly turns the tables on the snips-and-snails set for a narrow, yet discriminating cult audience.

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In French, the words for mother (“mere”) and the sea (“mer”) are homonyms, but if such maternal associations make you think of Freud, don’t. “Evolution” is far more Jungian in its sense of the unconscious, imagining a volcanic island surrounded by water where a primitive society of young boys are raised by Stepford-like women we presume to be their mothers — if only because they shelter the boys in spartan white stucco houses; feed them a disgusting gruel-like dish (whose principle ingredient is either noodles or worms); and administer droplets of an indigo-tinted “medicine.” On closer inspection, however, the relationship between the young men and their guardians isn’t so straightforward, the unease accentuated by the film’s electric whale-song score. Of the island’s many dark secrets, most unsettling is the revelation of what these women are grooming these boys to do: Through a peculiar twist of biology (the first of many, as it turns out), child-bearing falls to the males in this particular species — which isn’t exactly human, but something more akin to merfolk. Their backs striated with cephalopod-like suction cups, these strange boys divide their time between land and sea, where our protagonist, Nicolas (Max Brebant), thinks he may have

seen a drowned corpse the last time he went swimming. His “mother” (Julie-Marie Parmentier) dismisses the claim, but Nicolas’ curiosity is piqued, rightly sensing that the adults are hiding something about the true nature of their idyllic comment (actually Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands). And so the boy and his fellow blond-haired friends break from their naive play to investigate the sinister truth, delving into such mysteries as where the women go after dark and what exactly happens at the community “hospital” — a foreboding underground institution that’s more mad-scientist lab, really, with its dank cells and strap-in gurneys. As in “Innocence,” the movie capitalizes on our natural impulse to supply sinister explanations for those things left deliberately vague onscreen, encouraging auds’ imaginations to personalize according to their own worst-case scenarios. “Evolution” advances that evocative strategy even further, stepping fully into the realm of science fiction with its idea of male pregnancy, while at the same time falling just short on the visual information we need to make sense of this alternate ecosystem.

Trading upon Hadzihalilovic’s unique strain of body horror (with a screenwriting assist from “Summer of Sangaile” director Alante Kavaite and Geoff Cox), “Evolution” reps yet another stunning, squirm-inducing contribution to the New French Extremity movement, as practiced by her husband Gaspar Noe and others. One of the film’s most striking images features a crimson red starfish tentatively (menacingly? hungrily?) extending its creepy tube feet toward Nicolas’ exposed navel. What role, exactly, does the belly button serve in “Evolution’s” revisionist biology? In ours, the scarred-over skin knot stands as evidence of an involuntary operation performed on children before they’re old enough to exercise control of their own bodies, its trauma akin to those circumcised at birth (to force Freud back into the equation) except there’s no castrating father figure to be found here. Actually, there are no adult males of any sort on the

island, for reasons that Nicolas’ investigations will reveal in time. As it turns out, the boys’ belly buttons are both the entry point by which they can be fertilized and the “orifice” through which fetuses pass during delivery, both operations performed by female nurses armed with menacing-looking syringes and scalpels. Lucky for Nicolas, he manages to befriend one of these pale young hospital attendants (“The White Ribbon’s” Roxane Durane), who subsequently initiates him into all manner of taboo behavior.

And so, where “Innocence” commented on young women’s involuntary conditioning, presenting a system of mandatory education by which girls are prepared for some sort of ambiguous sexual function, “Evolution” deals in a more physical suite of anxieties: Not just those “natural” transformations brought about by puberty, but also the avoidable ones forced upon us by parents and authority figures. (Presumably, it also confronts the male fear of experiencing pregnancy, though that’s not really a thing, so better to put that one aside.) Switching her underage subjects from female to male all but guarantees a fresh set of criticism from those already wary of Hadzihalilovic’s potentially exploitative tactics, seeing as how most societies respond differently to cameras objectifying their young men — which, of course, is yet another talking point the helmer invites. With its linear narrative and clear sense of a protagonist, “Evolution” is both more beautiful (thanks to gorgeous widescreen cinematography, including stunning underwater and nighttime footage, from “The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears” d.p. Manu Dacosse) and accessible than “Innocence,” though the two films clearly function best as the twisted diptych that they are, offering dual answers — one for each sex, neither of them comforting — to the question, “What will become of us when we grow up?”

Wander | Film Review 61

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