‘Love Death + Robots’ Alberto Mielgo On Creating A “Toxic Relationship” Between Two Predators In “Jibaro”
07.06.2022 - 00:35
/ deadline.com
Coming off of an Oscar win for his short-animated film The Windshield Wiper, Alberto Mielgo is continuing his exploration of the meaning of love and the many forms it takes in “Jibaro”, his latest addition to the Love Death + Robots anthology.
Netflix’s Love Death + Robots is a collection of animated shorts that surround three key subjects: love, death, and robots. The third season premiered in May of this year, and includes Mielgo’s return to the series after winning an Emmy for his 2019 episode, “The Witness”.
“Jibaro” follows the strange but deadly attraction between a siren and a deaf knight who is immune to her supernatural charms. The two become obsessed with each other for selfish reasons, which leads to disastrous results.
Instead of the traditional siren from Greek mythology, Mielgo based the siren on the folklore of many different countries. Rather than entrancing men with a beautiful tune, this siren, clad in gold and jewelry, drives men into a violent frenzy with her screeching voice and seductive dance.
DEADLINE: What drew you to the imagery of the siren?
ALBERTO MIELGO: It was very much based on folklore of different countries like India, North Africa, Eastern Europe… with all sorts of jewelry and assets that women wear in many tribes or cultures. The idea was to create a woman that is so full of gold and treasure that you almost don’t see a woman behind it. It’s basically just the beauty that is in front of you. It blinds you, so you don’t actually care so much if there is a person there or not.
DEADLINE: What led you to the idea to have the siren use not just her voice, but a rhythmic dance as well?
MIELGO: There is no dialogue, so I needed to show visually what the spell does to people. The sound is sort of