La Antena

Described as Fritz Lang meets Tim Burton, this dazzling black and white silent movie manages to exhibit a fresh imagination all of its own.

The boy with no eyes, whose mother has no face, lives in an unnamed city where the population have no voices. Their voices were stolen by the evil media mogul, Mr TV. He has the populous hooked on TV dinners and broadcasts featuring a mysterious and uniquely ‘vocal’ female known only as The Voice. Mr TV has further plans for the city without a voice and only a young girl, her father and the blind boy stand in his way.

La Antena brilliantly blends live action and animation to create a beautiful expressionist vision which pays respectful homage to the early days of cinema whilst also having great fun with its conventions.  Such silent film staples as wondrous machinery, evil henchmen and a blonde heroine are all present here whilst the onscreen captions take on a life of their own in a series of playful and ingenious jokes. Director Esteban Sapir’s screenplay conveys an intelligent message about the power of the media to hypnotise and suppress the masses; a warning all too pertinent when it comes to the history of his home country, Argentina.

This is a lavish, cinematic fairy tale which exists on the border between the magical and the downright strange.
Nominated for 8 awards including Best Film and Best Sound and winner of the CLARIN Award for Best Film and Best Original Score.