MEET THE FILMMAKERS: LUIS ARNET

Part 8 of The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival IN CONVERSATION Series, hosted by Festival Director and Screen-Space Managing Editor, Simon Foster.

EQUIVALENCE (Australia, Dir: Luis Arnet; 10 mins) Convinced that they are ‘the human’ and obsessed with being the only one of their genetic makeup in the universe, Hunters stalk their Equivalent. The only difference between human and equivalent is the slow oxygenation of the equivalent’s blood when a mortal wound is administered. Blue blood is the only key to the hunter’s chase. The key to equivalence...

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: "I've always loved the sci-fi films of the 70's and 80's - for the stories they told, for the unique perspectives of the filmmakers, for the practical effects they employ, and for the tactility of the worlds they built. Equivalence is a story of singularity, a story of vanity and Envy, but it is also a story of humanity. It is set in some far off age, but i feel its relatability is not far off from the world and time we live in now. I hope you enjoy my trip to another universe.”

Screening in The AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM SHOWCASE on Saturday November 21 from 10.30am at Actors Centre Australia. 

SIMON: What have been the science-fiction works – books, films, art of any kind – that have inspired your work and forged your love for the genre?

 LUIS: I think it would be foolish for any sci-fi creator to say they haven’t been in some way influenced by Frank Herbert's classic novel DUNE. Herbert’s ideological, ecological, and theological ideas and thoughts inspire each of my sci-fi projects. EQUIVALENCE was specifically inspired by Herbert, with a story more thoughtful than it may initially appear. My other great inspirations are the fantastic sci-fi films of the ’70s and ’80s. I'm completely enamored by the miniature and practical effects of that period of science fiction filming, along with such fantastic narratives as Blade Runner, Star Wars, Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or Logans Run. EQUIVALENCE draws from all my inspirations. 

SIMON: How did the original concept for your film take shape? What aspects of your film’s narrative and your protagonist’s journey were most important to you? 

LUIS: I had a really strong need to tell a story based around concepts of duality, obsession, and vanity. I eventually came upon the lens for these concepts in a story of androids and replicants, or ‘Equivalents’. The main character is very flawed, obsessed with being the singular version of themself in the universe. Throughout the film, they learn the true vanity of their goal and what it is to have duality, or ‘Equivalence’. As the initial idea for the story progressed I found I needed a logical way into this universe, a background for why the technology exists, and why it malfunctions in the way it does. I found that entrance via a mix of technology-based with theology. What would push a future technological civilization to become completely controlled by religion? My answer: If the religion, through means of technology, could provide a devout with a physical and reachable ‘Second Life’. And, what mishap would occur for the original Devout and Second Life Body to exist simultaneously? A religious schism. A group believing humans should only live through one life cycle, and some sabotaging of the religion’s technology. These were the background details to the Equivalence universe, however to create tangible and engaging sci-fi, the creator must [provide] information on the world which your story inhabits. It deepens the believability and impact of its events. Within this story of duality, vanity, and obsession, the choice I made with the ending of the film is a risky one, but one that also really drives home my message.

 

SIMON: Does the ‘science-fiction’ genre have deep roots in the art and cultural history of your homeland? Were the resources, facilities and talent pool required to bring your film to life easily sourced?

LUIS: The science-fiction genre has deep roots within me, and I would feel at liberty saying that Australia shares many of those same roots. The landscapes of Australia are already otherworldly; just living in this country gives such a great deal of inspiration, and opportunity, for the filming of sci-fi stories. Finding talent and crew is always a hard part of any production, but I’m lucky enough to have a great group of friends who have a variety of talents. As a director, you need to know how to coordinate people and I've had a great variety of talents to pick from in this film. In terms of making sets and props, that's really up to chance, and up to how much random clutter you’ve collected over the months of pre-production to be able to nail it to your particleboard sets, or Eva foam props. It’s the only time where hoarding really does come in handy.

SIMON: Describe for us the very best day you had in the life cycle of your film…

LUIS: Funnily enough, the best day in production was also the day we had to entirely reshoot. I had decided to shoot at a beach, to thematically open up the characters in the finale of the film by placing them in a stark and expansive location. The first time we shot at this location, we slightly bumbled the tide times, had hardly any time to shoot, and nearly got stranded on a sandbank. This may seem like a horrible day in a low budget production, but it was also the day that brought the crew and I closer together. We still joke about the misfortunes of that day, and the extremely oily burgers we ate at a beach cafe afterward. That shoot truly exemplified to me, that within the production of a film, it isn’t how perfect the shoot went, or how great the shots you got, that you remember, it's the experiences you have with the people you’re working with. Relationships are the truly important things in this business.

SIMON: Having guided your film from idea to completion, what lessons and advice would you offer a young science-fiction filmmaker about to embark on a similar journey?

LUIS: Work within your means, but don’t let your means dictate the story you want to tell. If working in the sci-fi genre has taught me anything, it's that ‘anything’ can be accomplished. You may not have studio resources and budgets, but with a little ingenuity and a Cinematic-MacGyver outlook, you can do a lot. If embarking on your first sci-fi project, don’t get hung up on all that you can’t possibly do, get obsessed with what you can do, and then work out ways to do what you can't. Think about the characters and story foremost, and truly understand what your story means. And probably most important of all: don’t give up, finish what you start. Do all that, and who knows? Maybe you’ll become the next George Lucas.