“Oxymoron of Eternity”
The main character of the film is a prototype of Jorge Luis Borges called Aleph, he is 120 years old and was born in a Library, which he has never left. He is looking for the perpetuation of the Library, which according to the legend can only happen after the Labyrinth is unlocked by a blind person. The Library, inhabited by the prototypes of Light, Time, Order, and Meaning, is a metaphor of the universe and the human intelligence. This world is opposed to the one outside the Library, remote from the values and depth of the books. A call from Pontius Illiteratus invites Aleph to appear at the Babylon Congress for "adjusting his values." Thus, Aleph encounters a tame society, an allegory of today’s, eaten by the destructive virus of the spectacle, erasing the critical perspective of its existence, floating in a superficial void. The encounter of two equally powerful characters and worlds represents a clash of values. As a result, Aleph, who is physically weaker, is blinded, but paradoxically, this gives him the right to unlock the Labyrinth.
Director Biography
Jacqueline Wagenstein is a Master of Arts and Culture from the Sorbonne, and a Doctor of Humanities at INALCO - Paris. During her professional career she has been a curator of European festivals and an active partner in the teams of different cultural institutes. Since 2005 she has been Director of Colibri Publishers. She is the founder, director and chief selectionist of the world’s first book&film festival CineLibri, one of the most beloved international forums held in Bulgaria annually with exclusive success. The festival events last 2 weeks each October in Sofia and another 12 cities, traditionally gather about 30 000 viewers who meet the most prominent figures of the world cinema and literature.
In 2018 Jacqueline has completed a filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy. Since then she has co-produced several projects: a documentary devoted to Liv Ullmann’s 80th birthday with Liv Ullmann staring; a song titled “The Bright Side”, performed by Ruth Koleva; the short film "I know what you did", which has been selected by Five Continents International Film Festival in Venezuela and received distinctions for Best Lead Actor, Best Cinematography, Special Mention Sound Design, Special Mention Original Score, Special Mention Production Design. Now Jacqueline finished work a 20-minute film dedicated to Jorge Luis Borges. Her new project for a feature movie called Balkan Rhapsody has been selected for development funding from the National Film Center of Bulgaria.
Director’s Statement
I grew up in a family of filmmakers and making films has always been my dream. My professional career have though been oriented to books, which is my other passion. I started working in the film business quite late by creating a film festival and a production and distribution company. I graduated the NYFA in filmmaking in order to start making movies myself. Since, I have several accomplished projects including my first short film for which I’m screenwriter, producer and director. It is inspired by the 120th anniversary of Jorge Luis Borges' birth. This film would be kind of a reverence to the oeuvre and personality of one of the giants of written word and unsurpassed story-teller and enchanter. Being a master of multifaceted philosophical enigmas, meandering labyrinths, dotted with supernatural beings, colorful dreams, logical games and irrefutable conclusions, Jorge Luis Borges deserves to be more popular and time-honoured among our contemporaries. The film emphasizes on the power of knowledge and self-knowledge, presenting insights about the complex intertwining of fictional and real. It also illustrates how Borges fragments and rearranges reality, and conveys the remoteness of today's consumer world from the eternal essence of his messages. The film is designed to speak language of cinema despite its literature topic and has been thought as a visually very powerful message. For the cast are selected most professional and beloved Bulgarian actors.