Kolkata, Dec 21 (PTI) Argentine director Virna Molina, whose ‘Hitler’s Witch’ depicts how a teenage girl sees a Nazi refugee family in the Latin American country, said the film dwells on hate and patriarchy and the fight against these two evils.
The 117-minute Spanish film which Molina co-directed with Ernesto Adrito, has been screened in the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) in the international competition section.
The woman director asserted that it is not a preachy film with political overtones, but shows the situation in the 1960s, and how Nazi philosophy permeated the beliefs of a section of people.
Argentina was a safe haven for many Nazis who left Europe after World War II in the fear of getting caught. In ‘Hitler’s Witch’, a family of Nazi fugitives arrives at teen Frida’s house in 1961 in the remote Argentinean Patagonia, looking for refuge. They want to live a normal life with total impunity.
“We don’t make films to win awards, that is not the priority. We make films to narrate the tales of people. The film tells about the condition and situations faced by many women across the world. Feminism is a diverse subject which has more than one perspective,” she said after the screening of the film.
The first feature film of Molina and Ardito was ‘Symphony for Ana’ (2017) which tells the story of the life and struggles of a college student during the dictatorship in Argentina.
She said, “I am working on a story about Jesus Christ where Christ is modelled on the image of a yogi.” Molina said she was amazed the way Kolkata erupted in celebrations after Argentina’s win against France in the FIFA World Cup final.
“In my country, football is religion, now more so after the win of Argentina. I think Lionel Messi is more popular than the President of Argentina. I had no inkling that people in this part of the globe adore Messi in the same way,” she said.
“The victory processions, the euphoria and the fireworks I witnessed while travelling on the road to my hotel after the match reminded me of Buenos Aires. I started clicking pictures and sent them to my husband and friends in my country,” she added.
Molina said this made her feel that the most powerful communication across borders is football, which is far more potent than even any other work of art. PTI SUS NN NN
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