Daria Kascheeva's Electra: A Worldly Animated Film

Daria Kascheeva's film Electra has gained international recognition and nominations for prestigious awards. The film, which premiered at Cannes, has been praised for its non-Czech, global appeal. Electra has won the award for Best Short Film at the Toronto festival and has been nominated for the BAFTA awards. The film is also in the running for Best Animated Film at the Czech Lion awards. Electra, according to its director, is not a narrative film but rather a cinematic poem. It explores the Electra complex, a concept introduced by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, which simplistically refers to a daughter's romantic attachment to her father. Kascheeva has created a half-hour animated film on this theme, using a hybrid animation technique to bring static human figures to life. The film is primarily a study of the trauma caused by such a complex. Electra tells the story of a girl who is abandoned by her father on her tenth birthday, and it portrays the impact of his absence on her through a relentless, uncompromising editing style that jumps between past and present. The film is a mix of memories and hidden fantasies, a frenzied blend of scenes depicting accelerated adolescence inspired by the myth of Electra, particularly as told by Euripides. It addresses her relationship with her own body, her sexuality, self-harm, isolation, and struggles with self-esteem. The film also recalls her childhood filled with Barbie dolls and the ideal of beauty, interspersed with dental tools, as her father is a dentist and a philanderer whom she tries in vain to please. Kascheeva presents all of this at a tremendous pace, with a sprint of memories and emotions, accompanied by a thunderous musical score. It is a hypnotic and surreal experience that ends with chilling simplicity, framing the entire spectacle with a few sentences. Although Electra is short, the director has masterfully utilized every second. There is always something happening, and even moments of silence are purposeful. The high quality of the film is also supported by the actors, including the detached Robert Jašków as the father and Zuzana Částková as the titular Electra. Dcera helped Kascheeva, a native of Tajikistan, gain international renown, permanent residency in the Czech Republic, and Czech citizenship. Electra also seems poised for great things. Who knows what the future holds for the director when she has access to greater resources? After all, she is a recent graduate of FAMU, and Electra was her master's project. Don't miss her latest film, which is now available to watch on dafilms.cz as part of the Czech Lion showcase.