Alyson Moon was kind enough to talk to me about the above mentioned films and a third one, "Scrupulosity." I haven't mentioned this ten minute shocker as given spoilers would be too easy. I'm so thankful that Alyson was kind enough to discuss it. What follows is a short interview I did with this beautiful actress and filmmaker...another interview will occur in the near future.
Alyson Moon: The religious theme can have a thousand interpretations
but when we talk about faith, the speech becomes more complicated. Personally I
have always had a very strong spirituality, but this should not be confused
with being bigoted. They are two very different things. I am not a Christian, I
am of Buddhist faith but I have always proclaimed myself as multi-member because
I have studied and followed Taoism for many years, and I have made mine many of
its teachings. I also share some of the principles of Hinduism and
Zoroastrianism because they can teach us a lot. In modern culture it is easy to
fall victim to religious scrupulosity because we tend to consider religion as
something to be feared, something that punishes those who do not follow a set
of rules, and this in my opinion is wrong.
In my opinion, religion must always have a positive value,
it must be something that comforts, helps, and why not, also that makes you
happy. The great enlightened masters like LaoTse and Krishnamurti were
cheerful, witty people and laughed a lot. Who said that a spiritual teacher
must always be serious, gloomy and sad? This is wrong. Returning to the film,
in Scrupolosity I wanted to show, even if in an exaggeratedly dramatic way, to
which extremes it can bring a misinterpreted sense of awe or fear of breaking
the will of a Superior being ready to punish those who make the slightest
mistake. This must never happen! I love to imagine that there is a kind of
father or mother up there in the sky, loving and welcoming.
Chris Zisi: I love the themes of modern society not being out of reach
from its past. Today's Stockholm and Dublin may seem very 2019, but the 'old
ways' still have a grip, and perhaps something to impart on us. Your lovely
protagonists in these films are not out of the reach of the supernatural
elements of the past. Pretty deep (at least to me, like I said, I'm not the
smartest guy in the world). Can you discuss what motivated these plots and are
you, perhaps, warning modern society about the perils of thinking they are so
advanced, advanced enough to forget where they came from?
Alyson Moon: I decided to set NO TRESPASSING in Dublin (although some scenes we went to shoot in Czech Republic) because I really like the atmosphere of old Ireland and then I said: this film must have as a setting the old Dublin with its atmosphere dark and that perennial haze that makes everything more fascinating and mysterious. This is perhaps the film that I enjoyed most to realize, perhaps because I too feel a bit '"a witch or a sorceress" (but much kinder than this of the movie, haha).
During its realization there were also some funny moments
but I cannot tell any anecdote to not create spoilers to those who have not yet
seen the movie.
As for THE RITUAL, the discourse is more complex. I am a big
fan of classical culture and I like very much the ancient Greek history. For
this reason I wanted to write a movie that even if set in our time, however,
had a link with the past, a kind of thread that connects the culture of the
ancient Greeks, with its legends and its rituals, to the current curiosity for
magic and for occultism. Currently black magic is a very controversial subject
that is spreading very quickly, sometimes taking on a dangerous value when it
is practiced by malicious people. In my film, however, I do not speak mainly of
this, but I wanted to put all the attention on the Eleusinian rites of ancient
Greece.
The Eleusinian
Mysteries are the cults of pre-Hellenic origin, which originally took place in
Eleusis, in Attica, since the seventh century BC, such as feasts for
agriculture and fertility. Later, when Eleusis became part of the Athenian
state, such feasts became the official cult of the Athenian league and extended
to all of Greece, as well as to the colonies. They were also widely distributed
in Rome, as a cult of Cerere-Proserpina, counting among the initiates Cicero
(106-43 BC) and later the emperor Gallieno (253-268 AD). The cult was banned by
the Christian emperor Theodosius in 392 and Eleusis was sacked by the
Visigoths. The Eleusinian mysteries are therefore rich in symbolism: mysteries
of fertility, of birth and death, and not only in relation to agriculture, but
also as hope for a better life beyond death.
There is one thing to explain: in a scene of the movie appears a vast
field of wheat that has a precise and very important symbology: wheat, as the
sun descends as vital energy in the earth in autumn (descent), where it grows
up to re-emerge opening the road in the darkness of the womb in winter: a clear
parallelism with the spiritual journey of the profane (seed) that turns into
neophyte (new plant), to achieve its maturation of initiate. Obviously I cannot unveil the ending of the
movie, but I can say that certainly will not bore the audience! 😉
Chris Zisi: Modelling, acting, dance perhaps, choreography, directing ?
Where does Alyson want to go from here? From my vantage point, it really looks
like 2019 and 2020 are important years for you, and I see you ready to strike
it big. What do you want to accomplish, in addition to film making, over the
next 2 years.
Alyson Moon: I am a person who hates to get bored, so I never stop for a
moment. I always need to face new challenges, design, create, develop ideas.
Currently I'm making a new horror movie set in the circus world, but not in the
traditional sense: it will be rather a sort of sideshow, a macabre carnival
full of intense moments. And I'm finishing writing the script of another movie,
but there will be time in the future to talk about it. You forgot to mention
painting, among my great interests: I recently invented a new pictorial
technique inspired by Jodorowsky's psychomagic. This technique is my secret,
and in this regard I can only say that it is a pictorial technique capable of
arousing very strong emotions as it is able to create a "connection"
with a loved one, even if far away.
Since I can never stop me, I plan to write a book and for
now I can not reveal the content but I can say that it will be touching.
What else to say? Try to enjoy life as much as you can, as
if it were the last one, because every
moment of it is precious.
Chris Zisi: In a world increasingly relying on computers and
smart phones, art is a perfect way to keep us human. In "About Art"
(available on YouTube, you seduce our subconscious or creative mind to bust out
and follow you on a tour of what art is and where it can take us. Are we as a
society de-valuing art? If so does this scare you? I see your efforts as an
actress, dancer, painter, etc as an attempt to remind or introduce people the
magic and usefulness of art, and its ability to keep us human...is that
accurate?
Alyson Moon: Any form of human activity as evidence or exaltation of his inventive talent and of his expressive capacity can be defined as art. the meaning of a creation usually does not have a well-defined boundary, but is extremely mobile and fluctuating. art speaks the language of the heart, makes us see from a different, deeper, more human perspective the reality that surrounds us, so it is almost the synthesis between our ego and external reality. No, I do not think that we are a society that underestimates art, indeed I notice with great pleasure that a growing number of people approach art in its most sublime form, understanding its true essence. On the contrary, I believe that people have an ever greater need for art around them, understood in its most beautiful meaning, that of pure poetry. I do not want to introduce people to art: I am not a teacher and therefore it would be presumptuous to want to "teach". The concept of art is modular and that is why every artist tends to give a very personal vision, depending on their points of view and their conditioning.
Chris Zisi: s Alyson as an actress and Alyson as an artist
(painter or dancer). Many great actors and actresses have been great painters and
dancers...does acting and painting (...or dancing) feed off of each other in
order to make you better at each medium?
Zhang Hanyun: More than nurturing each other, I think they complement each other. All forms of art are never pre-established, they are not programmed and never follow a precise logic: simply, you have to follow your instinct and see where it is taking you. Oscar Wilde said that art reflects the viewer, not life, and in these words there is a fund of truth. Of course, art is insensitive to the application, but when you can transmit sensations and emotions in a pure way it means that it has arrived at the destination. In my movie "About art" you can see how even simple old bottles can express art: everything depends on what eyes you watch them. The water of a flowing stream, a dance step, a stain of color, are they really what they appear? Each object could be a dreamlike and surreal vision: who are we to say exactly what it is? Who prevents us from making unusual combinations, and why define them if this is only an illusory way of interpreting things?
Chris Zisi: Which medium (acting, dancing, painting...or any
other medium) is the best way for you to express to us "who is "Alyson Moon"?
Alyson Moon: I believe that there is no better way than another to express oneself: I was born first of all as a writer, I write since I was twelve years old and I have continued over the years. So far I have published five books and I am thinking of the sixth. As for painting, it is an art form that gives me great pleasure and emotion. Recently I have created a new technique of painting that takes partial inspiration from psychomagic, and raises in those who require the work great emotions, due precisely to the particularity of this technique, very simple but at the same time also complex.
Alyson Moon: Any form of human activity as evidence or exaltation of his inventive talent and of his expressive capacity can be defined as art. the meaning of a creation usually does not have a well-defined boundary, but is extremely mobile and fluctuating. art speaks the language of the heart, makes us see from a different, deeper, more human perspective the reality that surrounds us, so it is almost the synthesis between our ego and external reality. No, I do not think that we are a society that underestimates art, indeed I notice with great pleasure that a growing number of people approach art in its most sublime form, understanding its true essence. On the contrary, I believe that people have an ever greater need for art around them, understood in its most beautiful meaning, that of pure poetry. I do not want to introduce people to art: I am not a teacher and therefore it would be presumptuous to want to "teach". The concept of art is modular and that is why every artist tends to give a very personal vision, depending on their points of view and their conditioning.
Zhang Hanyun: More than nurturing each other, I think they complement each other. All forms of art are never pre-established, they are not programmed and never follow a precise logic: simply, you have to follow your instinct and see where it is taking you. Oscar Wilde said that art reflects the viewer, not life, and in these words there is a fund of truth. Of course, art is insensitive to the application, but when you can transmit sensations and emotions in a pure way it means that it has arrived at the destination. In my movie "About art" you can see how even simple old bottles can express art: everything depends on what eyes you watch them. The water of a flowing stream, a dance step, a stain of color, are they really what they appear? Each object could be a dreamlike and surreal vision: who are we to say exactly what it is? Who prevents us from making unusual combinations, and why define them if this is only an illusory way of interpreting things?
Alyson Moon: I believe that there is no better way than another to express oneself: I was born first of all as a writer, I write since I was twelve years old and I have continued over the years. So far I have published five books and I am thinking of the sixth. As for painting, it is an art form that gives me great pleasure and emotion. Recently I have created a new technique of painting that takes partial inspiration from psychomagic, and raises in those who require the work great emotions, due precisely to the particularity of this technique, very simple but at the same time also complex.
About acting, I must admit that
it is a great love because it is so exciting to enter each other's life each
time. Someone believes that when an actor is acting he is lying, but this is
not true: when you are playing a role do not "pretend" to be another
person: "you borrow his life, that of the character, that for a certain
time becomes yours, completely, and it's a magical moment. 😊
Having the opportunity to befriend Alyson Moon was a true pleasure for me. I am excited about her future and the films she will make. Stay tuned, I will have a second interview with this fascinating and dynamic personality. Please click on the links below to see her films and read more about her.
I love "No trespassing " and " The ritual ". This beautiful actress deserve a lot of success with this movies!!!!
ReplyDeletea slim actress like a hummingbird, who in a delicate and poetic way manages to give life to dark works of art that capture attention from the first to the last scene. Unbelievable! I'm sure this talented actress will go a long way and have a brilliant career
ReplyDeleteI met this charismatic actress by watching the movie "Scrupulosity" and I was positively impressed. I can't wait to see his next work, even my husband and our children enjoyed this movie
ReplyDelete