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An Interview with Jac Avila on the Maleficarum-Censorship-Debate

by Mike Haberfelner
July 2012

I know we have talked about it before at length [click here], but could you bring us up to speed once more: Your film Maleficarum, what is it about?

It’s the story of two young women. Mariana de Castro, a disposed widow, and Francisca de la Cruz, the young heir to great fortune and lands. They are lovers and their relationship is not a secret in the town. A group of young women confront Mariana in the streets and it ends in a shoving match that involves Francisca. This lame street event is used by the Inquisitor to take over the fortune and lands of the orphan. The women fall in the hands of the Santo Oficio de Lima, also known as the inquisition. The film centers in their torture and the damming testimonies of the townsfolk. Continue reading “An Interview with Jac Avila on the Maleficarum-Censorship-Debate”

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Review: Martyr or the Death of St. Eulalia

FROM THE VAULT:

REVIEWED BY CHARLES LONBERGER

Originally published on January 5, 2014 on The Beverly Hills Outlook.

With the release of this boldly offbeat study in a failing relationship in 2005, Pachamama Films announced themselves on the World Stage. For a company that conjoins European and South American sensibilities, it was somehow appropriate that the two continents would meet halfway, filming the downbeat tale in New York. Continue reading “Review: Martyr or the Death of St. Eulalia”

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The Fascination of Fear versus the Beauty of Horror

The following review was published in IMDB.

Review of Martyr or The Death of St Eulalia by C Dean Andersson

I found Jac Avila’s film, Martyr or the Death of Saint Eulalia, beautifully photographed and powerfully compelling on many levels. His use of historical images of female martyrdom merged with contemporary reenactments to bring potent reality to past horrors and historical validation to what could have, in lesser hands, become mere exploitation. Continue reading “The Fascination of Fear versus the Beauty of Horror”