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Original title
The Hero Myth

Running time
102 minutes

Genre
Musical documentary

Nationality
Spanish (Catalan)

Release date
January 2021

Filming locations
Catalonia (Barcelona, Santes Creus, Orpí)
Hungary (Budapest)
Switzerland (Rehetobel)
India (Bangalore, Munnar, Kerala)


Original languages
Mainly English, but also Spanish, Catalan, Hungarian and German.

Subtitles
English

About the documentary
The Hero Myth is an unscripted musical road movie.
Synopsis
The legacy of an enigmatic instrument maker who seduced musicians, music lovers and even a film crew with his unconventional ways and unique multi-stringed violins. This unscripted musical road movie takes you from Catalonia across to Switzerland, Hungary and India to discover the extraordinary music that the owners of these violins play. But as the musicians reflect on friendship, life, death and their art, some unexpected details emerge that call our charismatic hero into question.
Who are the main characters?
Four singular musicians:
Paul Giger (Switzerland)
Zoltán Lantos (Hungary)
L. Subramaniam (India)
Ernesto Briceño (Venezuela)
Paul Giger is a Swiss violinist and composer. He plays contemporary classical music, jazz, and free improvised music. He has released six CDs on the ECM label and collaborated with the Hilliard Ensemble, Jan Garbarek, Pierre Favre and many others.

Zoltán Lantos appeared on the Eastern-European jazz scene while studying at the Music Academy in his hometown, Budapest. But shortly after earning his degree in classical violin, Lantos embarked on a remarkable musical journey. Drawn to experimental and eastern music, he traveled to India in 1985 to study classical Indian music.

Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an acclaimed Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music. He has collaborated with Zubin Metah and Yehudi Menuhin among others. His brother Lakshminarayana Shankar is known for his work with Peter Gabriel.

Ernesto Briceño is a flamenco violinist, orchestra conductor, world music researcher and teacher at various schools.



Who’s the target audience?
A broad audience interested in human stories and the process of artistic creation, along with professional and amateur musicians, music aficionados and world music fans.
What does the audience get?
• An insight into the everyday life and thoughts of four exceptionally talented musicians.

• The opportunity to discover new music that ranges from experimental classical to jazz and traditional Indian.

• A visually rich experience of the landscapes in Catalonia, Hungary, Switzerland and India.

• Exploration of transcendental issues such as life, death, friendship, authorship and disappointment.

Why have we made this film?
Ricard Margarit was an unorthodox instrument maker who challenged and inspired the music world by making violins with many additional strings. Four strings are played as on a standard violin and the rest vibrate in sympathy. Only four musicians in the world possess one of these violins.

After the sudden death of Ricard Margarit, we embarked on a journey to find out who the owners of these violins were. We almost abandoned the project when, after travelling and filming for three years, we discovered that the charismatic luthier we wanted to pay homage to wasn’t the hero that we had imagined. But the people and violinists we met on the journey touched our lives forever, as we hope the film will move the audience.
What role does music play in this film?
Music is the starting point that has allowed us to create a compelling portrait of four unique characters and to deal with universal issues such as friendship, disappointment, life and death.
How does the film contribute to society?
Ricard Margarit, and also the four violinists, are characters who challenge convention; to some extent they are outsiders. In an increasingly homogeneous society, we consider it important to encourage and applaud free-thinking individuals who question the established order and dare to be different.
Contact
Production/Direction/Sales:
Guillermo Asensio

About Guillermo Asensio
Director’s biography
Guillermo Asensio graduated in advertising and media studies at the UAB (Barcelona), and then later studied film directing at the New York Film Academy (USA). He has made six short films. Absent, his fourth short film, competed at Locarno film festival and was nominated “Best Short Film” by the Catalan Film Academy (Barcelona).

Filmography
The Iguana Hunter. 2012. 13 min.
The Sandwich. 2012. 3 min.
Absent. 2009. 10 min.
Yellow Fever. 2007. 12 min.
Are you there? 2005. 13 min.
Hell. 1998. 7 min.
The Hero Myth, © Guillermo Asensio 2019