THE REVENGE OF ARIADNE (translation Kevin Cormier)

I have been bearing this project in me for more than ten thousand years… I am actually no longer counting. The stick I used to cut notches which stopped time is now only sawdust, fly shit, stardust.

I was there! I was in the maze and I saw everything. Oh! It was easy to hide so thick were the pillars and so dark were the corners. I saw it all: a distraught Daedalus; Icarus who wanted to fly whereas he was not even able to walk yet; the Minotaur and its insatiable sexual appetite; the princes and princesses of Athens who were thrown at it as food, running in every direction to end up in the monster’s paws who enjoyed playing sadomasochist games with them.

I was there and I saw everything: the prideful Theseus – “Not scared!” – using his club made in Taiwan filleted with a red wool wire; Ariadne, this bashful lover waiting for her Lord at the entrance of the maze. I saw it all and I remember it all. Theseus killed the monster, left Daedalus’ labyrinth saving his companions, met Ariadne at the exit and dumped her like garbage on a Naxos’ beach.

I was there and I saw everything. This is where I sworn to myself that I would direct a movie, that I would give Ariadne her word and help her get her liberty back. I have been looking for a producer. Everywhere! In the Knossos’ palace, on Mount Olympus, in the taverns down the Acropolis. Nothing! Not even a small donation! They told me: “Budgets are closed”, “You know, art movies are not my thing”, “Do you have Athena’s blessing or any sponsoring from Hermes?”

That’s it! Now it’s been more than ten thousand years that I’m looking for a producer to give Ariadne her word about this story. Personally, I find myself pretty persistent. My friends tell me I’m courageous, others say it’s nonsense.

Anyway, since Athens is the city which saw the birth of democracy, I eventually thought that it would be only fair to ask the people.

Of course, my friend Diogenes told me: “You should do as I do, just beg in front of the statues, it will get you used to refusal”. However, other philosophers, who are much more optimistic, told me I should trust collective creation! Therefore, I gathered around me the nine Muses, the three Graces and the twelve main Gods of Mount Olympus. All together, we launched a crowdfunding campaign on KissKissBankBank.

Thus, anyone can become a producer of the film starting from a small donation to … well, there’s no limit. Free man and slaves, aristocrats and tradesmen, peasants and engineers, warriors and philosophers, I thank you with all my heart. Now you have become coproducers of The Revenge of Ariadne.

Many cinematographers make films the same way we dream, and the power to dream the way we film also lies within our hearts.

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My own dreams were fed by my passion for mythology, especially Greek. I am still astonished by the incredible modernity of these myths and by how they echo our daily lives.

My wish, my dream, my project is to direct a trilogy which will demonstrate how much the great tales of Greek mythology still permeate the contemporary social tragedies.

The first episode of the trilogy: The Revenge of Ariadne

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The Revenge of Ariadne is a strange story mixing the real and the unreal without ever being sure which of the two you are moving in.

Soon, you’ll discover that Ariadne, who was betrayed and abandoned by Theseus on his way out of the maze, epitomizes every betrayed and abandoned woman.

Now, imagine if tens of thousands years later, Ariadne came back in our time to seek revenge on Theseus.

Mythology, vengeance, duality, the betrayed woman and the strength of symbols embody the topics I have always been passionate about and are spread in the numerous books I have written.

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When I think about this story in terms of pictures, I first visualize the importance of the scenic design. Most of the scenes will occur inside in order to dramatize the idea of confinement. As for the few exterior sets, they are free of any recognizable landmarks in order to better illustrate the idea of the maze.

The dominant light in the second part of the film will be red and the frame will also change in the middle of the story in order to stress the ambiguous border between the two universes which constantly interact.

The greatest challenge of the project is to create a living maze, like an organism or an animal. The maze is the main character of The Revenge of Ariadne.

A particular effort must be made on make-up, on one hand to allow special effects, which will be an important part of the movie as a way to dramatize the action, and, on the other hand, because the character of Ariadne is divided into three different personalities portrayed by the same actress.

My cinematographic references are numerous and varied. Here are some of my masters: Kristov Kieslowski, Nagisa Oshima, David Linch and other directors with a literary background like Jean Cocteau, Jacques Prévert, Marcel Pagnol.

Jacques Prévert

Notably, Jacques Prévert encouraged me when I was young to become a film director. Forty years later, the memory of his very specific look is still feeding my heart.

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I decided to be my own producer for the film by running a crowdfunding campaign. This short movie has no commercial aim. It is an art project and a first trial before directing a feature movie and/or become the first episode of a web or TV series.

Our first objective is to gather 10,000 €. This amount will allow us to cover the needs of the project which requires renting material for picture and light and to pay for the film edition, the calibration, the set up and one of the most beautiful theaters of Paris where the first sequence will be shot. We also need a certain amount of money to pay for the logistics (insurances, food) and transportation means.

The entire team is fully motivated and ready to create a beautiful, moving, sensual and scary movie. That is why we also hope to reach a second level starting from 18,000 €. With such a budget, we can have better cameras and to sublimate both make-up and scenic designs.

Photo Lisadelsol

Our third level is starting from 30,000 € which would allow us to present the movie in different film festivals across the world and even beyond. It will enable us to financially encourage our team whose members are all volunteering.

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I gathered around me extremely talented actors, creators, technicians and artists. They are all motivated and ready to start the adventure and to face its challenges.

Shooting in August 2018!

Elena Bruckert as Ariadne and her three personalities

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Elena started to attend singing, dancing (including tap-dancing) and piano classes at the Maîtrise de l’Opéra National de Lyon when she was very young. As an actress, she played in Fiancés en herbe (Feydeau), Massacre à Paris (Marlowe) and in musicals such as Bells are Ringing (Comden). From 2017 to 2019, she is playing in La rage des petites sirènes (Quillardet) and in Mon chien dieu (Loup). Meanwhile, in 2018, she is cast for the main role in The Revenge of Ariadne.

Antoine Cordier as Theseus

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Antoine holds a degree from the National Academy of Dramatic Arts (CNSAD) which he obtained after several years of hard work. Theater and music have always been the two main branches of the 27 year old actor’s work. He released his first album of six songs recently in April 2018 in association with Black Ship, a Parisian reggae band in which he writes, composes and sings. After many theatrical and audiovisual projects, he meets Georges Colleuil who casts him for a role in The Revenge of Ariadne.

Xavier Ibona as the stage director

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Xavier was trained by Jean-Laurent Cochet and played in more than thirty movies for cinema, television or Internet. He is also a talented author, composer, stage director, coach and teacher. He currently works at the Ateliers du cinema with French director Claude Lelouch.

Rodolph Seraphine as our chief operator and photo director

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Rodolph has mainly worked in the area of advertising and fiction. Alongside projects for clients such as Samsung, SFR, McDonald’s or Suzuki, he developed a personal and passionate apprehension of short and feature movies, documentaries, clips, or lightning.

Mathilde Charot as our make-up and special effects artist

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Joséphine Rébéna as our designer and wardrobe

Patrick Gheysen, graphist (Graffiti Connexion)

Michaèle Derhy Ortega, Casting and actor coaching

Valentin Simonelli as our film score composer

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Upon in depths research about music in Ancient Greece, I chose a main theme, that of Ariadne, based upon the use of intervals in Antiquity which really entrenches the melody in that specific time. The orchestration will be based upon a mix between contemporary and ancient instruments. It should result in a successful archaic ensemble. Ariadne’s song was written by myself and I set it to music afterwards. It embodies a linchpin of the movie since it will open and close it, while being sung a diegetic way by the actress herself in one her scenes.

Nevertheless, the entire film score should not be completely archaic. More modern harmonies, although till played by ancient instruments using archaic intervals and rhythms, will stand out of the mythological frame. It will be the case of Theseus’ theme which should be more erratic. Eventually, the use of a classical symphonic orchestra will support the moments of tension, action and suspense.

Georges Colleuil - writer - director

I have always been passionate about symbolic languages which equally stem in my activities as a teacher or as a psychotherapist. For more than thirty years, I almost entirely dedicated my time to research, training and writing. I published a dozen of philosophical essays about the symbolic worlds, dreams and codified languages. I also wrote a historical novel Le Parchemin interdit (The Forbidden Parchment), directed a film about the myth of Eurydice Mélanie la Blanche (The White Melanie), created an original Tarot in association with painter Valadié The Marrakech Tarot and numerous other self-knowledge methods and conflicts resolution known as Le Référentiel de Naissance, etc.

Clip from Mélanie la Blanche

La Vengeance d'Ariane