Forbidden Colours artist, Marco Paul, teamed up with director, Diego Lozano (the directorial mind behind Femina-X’s music video for ‘Black Tongue‘), to create an inextricable visual accompaniment for track “Filius” off of Paul’s first solo album, Adonai. The video is as haunting as it is enchanting, making deft use of the stunning costume design and the palpable, overarching symbolic nature that is present throughout.
“Filius” is the first of six chapters of the audiovisual piece “Maiwe”: A journey through the earthly and oneiric worlds, a path full of symbols that inhabit the human subconscious, the archetypes of the mythology and mysticism of every ancient and modern civilization, “Filius” represents rebirth, the search for meaning, just to realize that even though it seems we are moving in circles, we’re actually moving in an ascending spiral that brings us to the same point, and in each round we can contemplate ourselves and our perception of life from a higher position.
– Director Statement –
On “Filius”, I set out to create rhythmic and Visual Poetry. The artist, Marco Paul had a very clear vision for what the story needed to be and I wanted to expand the spiritual references within the script and bring to life the religious undertones, so I referenced the Iconic sculpture by Michelangelo “La Pieta” as well as paintings by Hieronymus Bosch. I wanted to create a dark atmosphere where feelings such as anxiety could be represented visually through strobing imagery and dark colors. I also referenced films from early Soviet cinema to give the opening scene a sense of vintage eerieness. I also chose the color palette of the film carefully, opting for black and white at the beginning to signify Purity, then going for a darker and grimier tone to signify raw birth, and then moving on to more natural colors to show a palpable evolution of the character and finally ending on green and gold to signify rebirth. The aspect ratios of the film also change constantly to show character evolution, at first we are within a subconscious world so we exist in a 4:3 space. When our character wakes up her horizons expand so we shift to 16:9. and as she comes to her full senses and “awakened state” we shift to 2:39 to symbolize focus.
Watch Chapter II: Sylvian
Watch Chapter III: Tiamat
– Credits –
Original Idea, Executive Production & Music by Marco Paul
Directed by Diego Lozano
Director of Photography
Jordi Planell
Written by:
Jorge Hernández Jiménez Smith
Starring:
Eva Prudencio
Olga Maria Lavalle y Robles
Sarahi Carrillo
Hule the Xolo
Produced by: Gerardo Sierra & Marco Paul
Editors: Diego Lozano & Aarón Hernandez
Art Direction:
Alana Burns &
Marco Paul
Makeup Artist: Ale Star
Focus Puller: Leonardo Garay Godinez
Gaffer: Luca Piercey
Mask Art: Ana Cecilia Prudencio
Costume Design: Valentina Giorgi
Jewlery: Sofía Ordaz
Still Photography: Alan Ballesteros
Cast (in order of appearance)
Creator
Sarahí Carrillo
Eva Prudencio
Hule
Natalia Plasencia
Mariano Palacios
Aaron Hernandez
Jose Sampedro
Eitan Ciralsky
Erwin Trujillo
Special Thanks to:
Marco Leopoldo Silva
Margarita Ruiz Lavalle
Martín Ruiz
Tere Machado
Dr Jaime Aldaraca Ferrao
José Lepov
Maura Ávila
Aurelia Sandoval
Boli Var Hope
Karla Prudencio Ruiz
Maticornio
Rodrigo Aroca
Poncho Ávila
Music:
Written by Marco Paul Silva
Produced by Aitor Etxebarria
Mixed by Kris Towne
Drums by Michael Alan Hams
Ney & Derbake by Fatima Gozlan
Upright bass by Hibai Etxebarria
Recording Engineer Robert T Garrity
Mastered by Colin Ritchie