Ahead of the Overlook Film Festival, Bloody Flicks caught up with director Monika Estrella Negra about her queer horror short Bitten, a Tragedy.
This is your first short film in a number of years, what was the main reason for getting behind the camera for Bitten, a Tragedy?
I wanted to continue my series called The Vengeance Anthology, which is a series of films and photo sets that explore the experiences of Black, queer women. Bitten, a Tragedy is a continuation of that perspective – particularly with Black women who are a part of subcultural spaces (ie: punk, goth, alternative, etc). I came up with the idea in 2015 and started with Flesh as the inaugural piece.
I found the film quite visually stunning, I take filmmakers like Dario Argento inspired you with regards to lighting?
Absolutely! Colour can represent so many things – in this case, I wanted the colours to represent the tension and fantastical elements of the story. Daiju Edwards (Art Director) did a fantastic job with bringing that vision to reality. I think a huge part of Argento’s work is special because of his use of colour and the methodology of making it speak volumes to the audience’s watching. Dialogue is only one facet of a film – colour can be just as loud.
How would you describe Bitten, a Tragedy to a stranger?
Bitten, A Tragedy is a story about the intersections of race, sexuality, gender identity and the fallacies of our ancestors. The story was inspired by my time in Philadelphia, within the queer dance/rave/party scene. Lydia, a young Black woman, goes to a party and meets D.B., a potential hookup for the evening. After securing the deal, Lydia found out that their party sweetheart exhibits the same racial microaggressions she sought to escape. After their initial hiccup, Lydia is transported back to a time where she encounters D.B.’s racist grandmother. An interesting story unfolds from there. The film represents the work that still needed to be done within the LGBTQAI community. While solidarity and respect are to be remembered within our spaces, it is important to recognize the toxicity of white privilege and white supremacy and how it can infiltrate the spaces we inhabit.
There is some interesting commentary regarding race and also gender, how did you look to tackle this?
Yeah! As I mentioned before, the LGBTQAI community is very diverse. However, there is still misogyny, there is still racism, and there is still transphobia. All of these things must find a way to be eradicated from our spaces if liberation and solidarity are to ever flourish. D.B.’s character is a victim of their family’s violent and racist lineage. While D.B. did not mean to come off as a microaggressive offender, the remnants of their upbringing remain. Honestly, the story is about decolonizing one’s self – especially if you are a white person. Black and Brown people cannot do the work for you, as we are busy healing our own ancestors from the impacts of colonization and white supremacy. So yes, while we may be queer – there are nuances that exist within our own identities that affect how we move through the world. It is up to us to recognize that in order to achieve any sense of community.
Was Bitten… filmed in Chicago like Flesh? If so, what was the thinking behind some of the locations used?
No, it was filmed in Philadelphia and Brooklyn, NY. I left Chicago in 2016 to Philadelphia! I wanted to continue the anthology in a different part of the country, in a different scene, in order to showcase the differences and similarities of problems alt-queer women face in their respective spaces.
There is some fantastic surreal elements too, what can you tell us about their conception?
Since the story is about ancestral warfare, I wanted to convey the “otherworldliness” of Lydia’s night. As it turns out, D.B.’s grandmother murders a maid. In the film, Lydia inhabited the body of the maid (an ancestor) and she experienced what connected her to D.B. I felt that this scene had to feel as if we had time travelled or stepped into the psyche or transgenerational memory of D.B. Kelly Gallagher, an amazing filmmaker and animator created the art after we discussed the story in depth. I think it turned out fantastically.
Are you excited about screening at the Overlook Film Festival and will you be attending the screening?
I am very excited about the screening, however, I will not be attending.
Is the aim to get Bitten, A Tragedy onto the festival circuit this year?
Bitten has been accepted into a few film festivals since last year. I am forever grateful that Overlook is giving us the opportunity to screen this year. I am still in awe that we were selected!
What’s next for you?
I am going to film school this fall and continuing my work connecting people to abortion care. I am working on a very special project that I hope to release before I start school. Details to come very, very soon.
Bitten, a Tragedy screens as part of Overlook Film Festival 2023.
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