…Oh Theseus, oh my Theseus,
yes, I still call you mine
for mine you are,
although you flee,
cruel one, far from my eyes.
Turn back, my Theseus,
turn back, Theseus,
o God, turn back to see again the one,
who for you has left her fatherland and kingdom,
and who, staying on these shores,
a prey to cruel and pitiless beasts,
will leave her bones denuded…
Fragment of C. Monteverdi’s “Lamento d’Arianna”
…
Jaga Hupało: “MISTERO DI ANTONIA is a continuation of a project that is an integral part of my professional life. The whole idea was born in a magical place that fate had given me – Leśna Ostoja Sztuki (the Forest Art Refuge) – a place associated with my childhood, which is located at the foot of the Bardzkie Mountains, in Lower Silesia. It is this space and the time spent together with the team that gave us inspiration and the will to create an engaging story, touching the dilemmas of the ascent world. The movie is an expression of our creative explorations, passions and our own fears and hopes. I invited many artists to the project, who were captivated by the idea of a film devoid of commercialism, made with artistic goals, out of concern for the beauty of nature while maintaining responsible creativity. We were accompanied by the UBUNTU slogan “I am because you are”. The title MISTERO DI ANTONIA is an idea brought up by Elwira Janasik – Antonia is my daughter’s name, and here it symbolises the young generation that takes over the responsibility for the earth and nature.” Elwira Janasik: “I have devoted a lot of time, attention, hard work and my own heart in preparing my interpretation of Lamento d’Arianna. For me it was a dream come true to combine baroque opera with Miss God’s ambient music.” Andrzej Miękus: “MISTERO DI ANTONIA is the second act in the film series Mary Jagi, created out of concern for nature and out of love for beauty. It was inspired by Tomek Sikora’s photographs and Lamento d’Arianna, the only preserved musical fragment from an opera by Claudio Monteverdi composed in 1608. The title heroine laments the passing of Theseus, her lost love. In our film, Ariadne represents NATURE, who entrusted herself to man with full confidence. We cannot see her, although she fills the whole picture. We hear a lament performed by the outstanding mezzo-soprano Elwira Janasik, circling disturbingly around our main character, Jaga Hupało, and the ghosts that follow her. Jaga acts as a SHAMAN, desperately trying to connect both worlds – the world of nature and the human world. All this is accompanied by disturbing sounds composed by Miss God. As Slavoy Ziźek said: “The only way to deal with the ecological crisis is to accept our total alienation from nature.” And Gerhard Richter added that “Art is the highest form of hope”. For us, both quotes are the starting point for a story that combines opera art, fashion and nature.”
…
Concept: Jaga Hupało, Elwira Janasik, Andrzej Miękus
Director: Andrzej Miękus
Director of Photography: Paweł Jarzyna
Mezzo-soprano: Elwira Janasik
Music: Miss God
Art Director: Jaga Hupało
Producers: Jaga Hupało and Andrzej Miękus
Production: Kazimierz Schmidt Art & Business Consulting for Jaga Hupało Born To Create
Choreography and Dance: Joanna Drabik
Media patronage: www.fashionpost.pl
