'Silence': Vampires and the AIDS pandemic in Eduardo Casanova's first miniseries

Spanish director and screenwriter Eduardo Casanova was so sure that the Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland) was going to reject 'Silencio' that he prepared everything to go on vacation this month, but he had to interrupt his vacation to attend the world premiere of the miniseries with which he breaks into comedy and presents , for the first time, 'queer' characters.

Because, far from fulfilling his premonition, the 78th edition of the famous Swiss festival premieres this Sunday, out of competition, the miniseries in which Casanova (Madrid, 1991) resorts to fantasy, to the myth of vampires, to weave a metaphor that speaks of stigma and silence through two pandemics: the distant Black Death, and AIDS in the not-so-distant 1980s.

That's the premise of the first work in which the Spanish director, screenwriter, and actor speaks directly to the LGBTQ+ community, and, more specifically, to women living with HIV. " They are the most invisible people in this HIV pandemic, which continues to grow today ," Casanova said in an interview with EFE from Locarno, where he is accompanied by some of the actors—Leticia Dolera, María León, Lucía Díez, and Mariola Fuentes—from a cast that also includes Ana Polvorosa and Omar Ayuso.

Foray into comedy With this “incredible” cast, 'Silencio', which will arrive in October at the Sitges festival, in the province of Barcelona, seeks to “ break the silence of HIV-positive people ,” said the filmmaker about a work in which he delves into the comedy genre “I think my first three films - 'Pieles' (2017), 'La piedad' (2022), 'Al margen' (2024) - are hard, dark.

"They've been highly valued. I love them, I adore them. They're my first three daughters, and they're very important to me, but I think I needed them to do comedy and entertain the audience from a different perspective," Casanova explained. And he considered that " the best way to get the message across right now is through comedy ": "I'm very much in favor of comedy. I really want to laugh."

'Silence' is presented as a fantastic tragicomedy that covers, through the centuries, the story of some vampire sisters who, back in the 14th century, speak in inclusive language and take lorazepam to be able to sleep, face down, of course, during the harsh nights of an anguished time in which food is scarce, since most human blood is contaminated due to the black plague.

Shot in chunks on 16mm film, 'Silencio' looks back at "that era of horror cinema from the 70s and 80s," although it also "at times touches on the quinqui cinema of Eloy de la Iglesia" and, at times, also presents a "dirtier image, closer to documentary."

Some "new" and "iconic" vampires Both Casanova and Óscar del Monte, the visual effects makeup artist who has been with him since 'Pieles', felt a "great need" to "reinvent" the figure of the vampire.

“I think we have a very well-worn image of the vampire man in horror films and in cinema in general, but not of the female vampire,” argued Casanova, who was looking for “iconic” and “recognizable” vampires.

Del Monte achieved this by creating facial prosthetics with angular and very marked features, with pointed, almost elven ears, to give birth to somewhat alopecia-stricken vampires who, instead of the classic fangs , use sharp, pointed incisors to drink the blood of their victims.

"I think she's managed to create new vampires, do something new, and bring a new monster to horror fans," Casanova emphasized about Del Monte's work, which he hopes will be "recognized once and for all. " In addition to expressing his "great pride" in the craftsmanship behind the makeup and visual effects of 'Silence' in a context where digital technology is "required" extensively , and after highlighting the fact that the actresses had to spend seven hours in makeup to become vampires, Casanova acknowledged that his dream is to have his work merchandised.

"I hope many dolls from the series are made," said the Madrid native, who hopes for a good reception and for a second season of 'Silencio', produced by Gamera Studios and co-produced by Antonio Abeledo SL and Apoyo Positivo , an NGO that defends the rights of people affected by HIV and is behind the web series 'Indetectables'.