Hysteria

HYSTERIA

A feature film by Antero Alli
Antero will be at the Hall in person to talk about his film

Here is a film that takes place in Oakland! It happens just after 9/11 in a small apartment building in Oakland during October 2001. Ten years earlier a young Croatian soldier and devout Catholic unwittingly drank tea made from the hallucinagenic datura root and experienced, what he believed to be, a genuine religious vision of the Virgin Mary. Then ten years later he migrates to Oakland to destroy what he had been shown in his vision to be the "den of iniquity" of decadent American life.

Local Berkeley filmmaker, Antero Alli, focuses on the subjects of emotional isolation and rabid obsessions, and his characters have a self-destructive habit of locking themselves into prisons of their own making. The three main characters in this film bring new depth to this brutal focus: the Croatian soldier's endless pugilistic training and consuming devotion to Catholic iconic symbols, his girl friend's heliocentric self-worth and her casual disregard for the feelings of others, and her sister's self-sacrificing martyrdom as sister and daughter to the point where her own identify is obscured. The overlap between these three people creates dangerous new ground which none are fully prepared to endure, resulting in a powerful and mature drama that covers issues of heaven and Earth. The film is a profound and frequently disturbing work of intelligence that forces viewers to weigh in on emotional issues that haunted America as a result of the tragic events of 9/11: the damage created by religious dogma, the terror in dealing with inner fears, and the inability to justify a societal mind frame built on a foundation of selfish behavior. Rich in stunning visuals, this film solidifies Antero Alli's place among the most talented contemporary filmmakers. The superior level of artistry and honesty achieved in it is so rare to find that this film can easily be classified as an instant classic.

Before and after the film, everyone's invited to indulge in our Humanist Tea House

$5 donations are accepted