Carl Joseph Papa Talks About How Richard Linklater Influenced His Rotoscoped Animation The Missing in This Interview

02/17/24 • 37 min

Listeners should note that the following interview contains discussions on childhood sexual abuse and trauma.

Writer-director Carl Joseph Papa's The Missing follows Eric (Carlo Aquino), a young man who lives alone, maintains a crush on his coworker Carlo (Gio Gahol), and has a strong bond with his mother Rosalinda (Dolly De Leon). Rosalinda's request for Eric to check in on his uncle who they haven't heard from in some time coincides with the presence of an alien. These unexpected events cause Eric's repressed memories of trauma from his childhood to reemerge, amplifying the other aspect of his life that's causing him alarm: he's starting to lose body parts. When we first meet Eric, his mouth is missing, and then as his hold on life and reality starts to slip, other parts of his body start to go missing: an ear, a hand, and more.

Narratively, The Missing is a layered and emotional experience that resonates long after the credits have rolled, but it's how Carl and his creative team use the form of rotoscope animation to create tonal and thematic layers to Eric's story that makes it all the more memorable. Eric's life is presented in a Richard Linklater-esque style of animation, but as his memories of his youth come back, they're presented with a childlike animation that represents the discovering of a creative identity. Carl then uses a smothering black border that creeps in on those memories as Eric's traumatic events stifle that sense of self and creativity that would otherwise have flourished. Equally, Carl uses the open possibilities of animation to reflect Eric's missing body parts: his hand gets replaced by a glitching png image, file not found.

While animation is an open playground for creative minds, it's rarely utilised to explore the aspects of humanity and our inner-self in a way that live-action filmmaking simply cannot do. The Missing then becomes a truly unique experience that lingers because of its creativity and honesty.

In the following interview, I ask Carl about where that creativity comes from, how his journey into filmmaking began, and on honouring the survivors of trauma and abuse in his work. The Missing is screening at the QueerScreen Mardis Gras Film Festival on Wednesday 21 February 2024.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listeners should note that the following interview contains discussions on childhood sexual abuse and trauma.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Carissa Lee Talks About Navigating Barriers in the Australian Arts System in This Interview

Carissa Lee is a Noongar actor and writer whose work spans from critical analysis, to theatre, to the new ABC Kids series, Planet Lulin, where she plays Principal Cruz. Carissa's critical work has appeared in publications like Kill Your Darlings, IndigenousX, and Witness Performance, where her writing examined culture and the arts through an Indigenous lens. In her must read piece on Kill Your Darlings, How Acting Saved My Life, she talks about the complexity that comes with navigating class barriers both off and on stage.

In the following interview, I asked Carissa about her journey into acting and how her writing has informed her work as an actor. I'm lucky with the array of people I get to interview and talk about their work with, but this chat with Carissa was a particularly enjoyable one given the way we discuss her writing and acting, while ultimately asking the question about what our national cultural identity really is. As we yarn about Carissa's work, the conversation sways into talking about identity and the expectations to become a spokesperson for your community, especially as organisations, the arts community, and society as a whole pushes towards greater 'diversity' in their workplaces.

My concept of diversity is vastly different from the singular mindset that much of society has of diversity. I'm a disabled writer, and have been open about how I live with a disability in my workplace, but it's important to note that my disability is non-visible, and as such, I can't speak for the entirety of the disabled community when it comes to talking about what our lives are like. My life is vastly different from those who live with visible disabilities, yet, because I'm part of that community, I'm almost expected to talk on behalf of all disabled people. This is part of the conversation that arises, where we discuss touch on the societal expectations that come with that push towards diversity.

Elsewhere, Carissa talks about what having a supportive teacher meant to her growing up, the manner that regional accents are massaged out of actors during training, and the work of Andrew Bovell, in particular his play Holy Day, which played a major role in Carissa's work as an actor. We also talk about the joy of a kids show like Planet Lulin, which is an absolute delight and sees actors like Lisa McCune dressing up in weird and wacky costumes and simply having the best time. It's the kind of show I wish I had growing up.

I hope you enjoy this discussion with Carissa as much as I enjoyed running it. Read Carissa's writing here: How Acting Saved My Life and Nostalgia for a Better Future.

To find out more about Carissa's work, follow her on Instagram @_carissalee or on Twitter @CarissaLeeG.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Daniel Monks Talks Through His Career From Pulse to In the Room Where He Waits in This Interview

Daniel Monks is an award winning theatre and film actor who hails from Perth, Western Australia. He received an AACTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the feature film Pulse, a story about a disabled teen who undergoes radical surgery to turn into a beautiful woman in a bid to be loved and embraced. Daniel wrote the script and worked with his close friend, Stevie Cruz-Martin, as a director. It's a film that helped launch his career as an actor in both Australia and London, where he has performed opposite Emilia Clarke in The Seagull, and where he won the Best Performer in a Play award at The Stage Debut Awards for his turn in Teenage Dick, Michael Lew's darkly comedic retelling of Richard III.

When I first watched Pulse, I saw an actor who brought a complicated and conflicted character to life on screen with deep empathy and understanding. We open the discussion by talking about the origins of Pulse, leading Daniel to reflect on the almost ten-year journey between that film being shot and now. In that decade-long career path, Daniel has also starred in Australian films like Sissy, and Timothy Despina Marshall's new film, In the Room Where He Waits.

His place in the world of theatre and film as a gay, disabled actor has seen him become a leader in his field, forging a path for his fellow queer and disabled actors. We talk about the weight of responsibility that often comes with the role of being a leader, while also touching on the push for diversity on stage and on screen, and how Daniel navigates that when it's often driven by non-disabled, cisgender, straight, white people.

As you'll hear in the following interview, Daniel is a 'bucket list' interview guest I've been eager to talk with for years. I was fortunate to chat with Daniel's mum, Annie Murtagh-Monks, a few years ago about her work as a casting director, so it was quite wonderful to hear about the conversations that she has with Daniel about their work. Daniel also talks about the support that filmmakers like Stevie Cruz-Martin and Hannah Barlow have given him throughout his career.

I recorded this ahead of the world premier of In the Room Where He Waits at the QueerScreen Mardi Gras Film Festival, where it received Queer Screen Completion Funding. This stunning drama sees Daniel play the role of Tobin, an actor who slips back home to Australia for his father's funeral. As he waits out his two week quarantine period, he is haunted by the presence of the previous tenant in the room. This riveting film sees Daniel command the screen in a way that will have you leaning on the edge of your seat - not because of how tense the film is, but simply because of how compelling Daniel is to watch. The film will no doubt screen down the line at other festivals, so please keep an eye out for it.

This is a long, deep dive discussion which I'm proud to be able to share with you all. Make sure to seek out Pulse, Sissy, In the Room Where He Waits, and visit National Theatre At Home to view The Seagull.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Curb podcast. To help keep the Curb independent, visit patreon.com/thecurbau to show your support from as little as $1 a month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.