The Hyperboreans

Los hiperbóreos

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
Actress and psychologist Antonia Giesen decides to film a script revealed by a voice within the mind of one of her patients. Seeking collaboration with the filmmaking duo León & Cociña, they craft a crossroads of theatre, science fiction, animation and fabulated biopic, populated by parallel worlds and haunted by the shadow of a Chilean Nazi writer, the Chilean neo-Nazi dandy Miguel Serrano (1917-2009), as a demonic figure. Following their first feature-length animated film The Wolf House (2018), the Chilean duo is back, mixing puppets, stop-motion, and live-action, theater, and science fiction, in a real and fabricated biopic that borrows its title from Greek Mythology. (The Hyperboreans, the favorites of Apollo, were the mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the known world, in a land where the sun never set). In the liminal space of a big studio, our only guide is a woman – by turns storyteller, actress, and illusionist – who interacts with Méliès-style cardboard sets and effigies, following in the footsteps of a very real man: a writer and the originator of delirious esoteric theories. Should he be viewed as a fascinating anomaly or symbolic of a deeper evil?
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.
Available at the Agora Market TIFF65.
Direction: Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña
Script: Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña, Alejandra Moffat
Cinematography: Natalia Medina
Editing: Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña, Paolo Caro Silva
Sound: Claudio Vargas
Music: Valo Aguilar
Actors: Antonia Giesen, Francisco Visceral Rivera
Production: León & Cociña Films, Globo Rojo Films
Producers: Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña
Production Design: Natalie Geisse, Javiera Sandoval
Executive producer: Catalina Vergara
Format: DCP
Color: Color, B&W
Production Country: Chile
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 71'
Contact: Bendita Film Sales

Cristóbal León

Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, both born in 1980 in Chile, have been collaborating since 2007. Both attended the Catholic University of Chile, with León furthering his studies at UDK (Berlin) and De Ateliers (Amsterdam). Through their experimental films, León & Cociña offer a fresh interpretation of religious symbolism and magical rituals deeply entrenched in Latin America’s traditional culture. Their film production incorporates various techniques, including photography, drawing, sculpture, dance, and performance. Their stop-motion films are characterized by a raw cinematic language, where papier-mâché figures and innocent-looking drawings starkly contrast with themes such as religion, sex, and death prevalent in their works. Winners of prestigious awards, their films are regularly featured at international film festivals and showcased in museums and biennials across Latin America. They have exhibited their work at renowned venues such as the Whitechapel Gallery, the Guggenheim Museum NY, KW Berlin, AJG Gallery Seville 2012, Art Basel Hong Kong Film section 2014, the Venice Biennale 2013 (representing Chile in the Latin American pavilion), and Art Basel Statements 2012. Their debut feature film, The Wolf House (2018), garnered acclaim for its innovative approach. Shot in various public locations such as museums, cultural centers, and art galleries, it premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival 2018, earning the Caligari Award in the Forum section. The film has since been screened at over 100 festivals, receiving more than 12 awards and mentions. Three years later, their animated short Los Huesos (2021) debuted at the Venice Film Festival, earning the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film. Their second feature film, The Hyperboreans, celebrated its World Premiere at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Filmography

2007 Lucía (short, co-direction)
2009 The Smaller Room (short)
2011 The Arc (short, co-direction)
2013 The Andes (short, co-direction)
2018 The Wolf House (co-direction)
2021 Los Huesos (co-direction)
2024 The Hyperboreans (co-direction)

Joaquín Cociña

Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, both born in 1980 in Chile, have been collaborating since 2007. Both attended the Catholic University of Chile, with León furthering his studies at UDK (Berlin) and De Ateliers (Amsterdam). Through their experimental films, León & Cociña offer a fresh interpretation of religious symbolism and magical rituals deeply entrenched in Latin America’s traditional culture. Their film production incorporates various techniques, including photography, drawing, sculpture, dance, and performance. Their stop-motion films are characterized by a raw cinematic language, where papier-mâché figures and innocent-looking drawings starkly contrast with themes such as religion, sex, and death prevalent in their works. Winners of prestigious awards, their films are regularly featured at international film festivals and showcased in museums and biennials across Latin America. They have exhibited their work at renowned venues such as the Whitechapel Gallery, the Guggenheim Museum NY, KW Berlin, AJG Gallery Seville 2012, Art Basel Hong Kong Film section 2014, the Venice Biennale 2013 (representing Chile in the Latin American pavilion), and Art Basel Statements 2012. Their debut feature film, The Wolf House (2018), garnered acclaim for its innovative approach. Shot in various public locations such as museums, cultural centers, and art galleries, it premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival 2018, earning the Caligari Award in the Forum section. The film has since been screened at over 100 festivals, receiving more than 12 awards and mentions. Three years later, their animated short Los Huesos (2021) debuted at the Venice Film Festival, earning the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film. Their second feature film, The Hyperboreans, celebrated its World Premiere at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Filmography

2007 Lucía (short, co-direction)
2010 Weathervane (short)
2011 The Arc (short, co-direction)
2013 The Andes (short, co-direction)
2018 The Wolf House (co-direction)
2021 Los Huesos (co-direction)
2024 The Hyperboreans (co-direction)