How To Escape A Cult — Exclusive interview with Christian Antonio Salinas
What ignited your passion for film? Can you share your journey into filmmaking in detail?
All my life I wanted to become apart of something greater… Just like any American kid growing up watching pop cultural movies like Star Wars, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings and Stanley Kubrick films, these works among many always inspired a sense of wonder and excitement with the world of cinema that I deeply wanted to be apart of. For my education I was fortunate enough to attend the internationally renowned arts magnet Booker T Washington highschool in Dallas, TX. Coming up as an actor with a theater background I wanted to break the conventions of art school by writing and directing my own films with the talent around me rather than committing myself only to theatre. My earliest works had a sci-fi/horror and neo-noir edge that would recur throughout my films. In my teens psychedelic experimentation also played a role in opening my perspective and developing my spirituality towards the art of filmmaking that led me to question the conventional beliefs of success in the industry by creating worlds through a screenplay or a camera lens. This ultimately began the foundation of my production company Enlightenment Era productions.
Filmmakers like David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky inspired my interest towards occult cinema and mysticism with their works such as Twin Peaks and The Holy Mountain. The more I worked my way through film school I discovered more of my unique identity as a filmmaker. I got to work with talent across the United States and Europe with people from all walks of life while mixing different forms of media such as film, art, music, dance and politics. I won a screenwriting award for my first sci-fi feature “The Shaman” as apart of the Columbia College Chicago written image screenplay festival in 2018. As I lost my crowd and resources after filmschool I really struggled to find my identity in the face of the tyrannical Hollywood studio system in Los Angeles. Although I couldn’t get a foot in the door at any major studio, LA gave me more experiences towards commercial productions and the fashion world. I felt I had more to contribute to film aside from showing pretty people in luxurious locations. The pandemic wiped out my clients and ultimately destroyed my Hollywood dream as I was forced to move out and had no resources left to recover. Years later after the pandemic I reunited with my base of fellow artists back home in Dallas who also shared similar viewpoints of dissatisfaction with the corruption of the entertainment industry. Strike after strike, scandal after scandal, layoff after layoff, I saw the writing on the wall. After years of collaborating with Dallas local musicians on music video productions, I reunited with my longtime friend and colleague Tito Strange. With his new EP “How To Escape a Cult”, we mixed all different forms of media with music, dance, art and film to showcase an original vision that was free from the confines of the studio system and to create an artistic and communal experience that we could show to the world.
How do you relate to the esoteric and the occult?
My perspective of the occult and esotericism is that these branches of ancient beliefs and philosophies are a more humanistic but non-conventional approach to faith and spirituality that scrutinizes the restrictions and dogmas of organized religions. Occult forces of any denomination can unveil the unexplainable and the unknown by unraveling the mysteries of the universe that many religious organizations cannot explain and outright forbid. This knowledge is grounded in the truth that all humans have an alchemical bond between the realms of science and the supernatural. Binary belief systems of good and evil, right or wrong, fail to perceive the moral complexities of our collective reality and how we all make sense of our place in the universe. From the Crusades to the Inquisition, wars over gods, lands, and religion corrupted and divided humanity from itself, ignoring that we all come from the same primordial matter that’s existed since the beginning of time. The very foundation of America was rooted in the idea that the constitution was founded in the idea that God and the patriarchy ruled above all else which contributes to the philosophy of alt-right extremist cults to this day.
I’m by no means a scholar or devout practitioner, but I always yearn to understand the forces that drive and empower us to create a more interconnected and enlightened reality. We need to find ways to relate through art and performance and to dissolve our differences though shared experiences. Whether it’s through the act of love, understanding different cultures, watching films, listening to music, embracing psychedelics, making art, exercise, meditation, or how always be aware of my body and mind in relation to my daily routine from start to finish. I believe we find these connections to the purest form of consciousness that shape and mold every facet of our reality in our everyday lives. The secrets of the occult have taught us to quantify matter and to mold the fabric of reality itself. That’s why the power we hold is so threatening to those who demand certainty, reductive reasoning, and easy answers within the endless chaos of the universe itself.
What inspired you to create your work?
Musician Tito Strange aka Matt Garcia and I go way back. Our first memories I can recall were in elementary school, I was always into theater when he was into music. Our strict catholic upbringings somewhat galvanized us for rebellion and resistance against religious dogmas and societal norms. Tito is among the most talented artists I’ve had the pleasure of working with, he is truly original, consistent, dedicated, funny, and never takes no for an answer. Given our upbringing there’s a special kind of nostalgia I hear in his voice and perceive in his aura. He always reinvents himself with whatever music he releases.
Our initial Kickstarter launch was a disappointment to say the least. I was met with indifference and apathy within the Dallas film community as I had really put myself out there to ask for money and help among the Dallas film “elites” and conservative land owners who didn’t want us in their spaces. I was criticized and somewhat discouraged for wanting to do something different. Dallas film and art communities tend favor people with clout and money above art and talent in most cases. As a result our art communities are dying, and our third spaces are shutting down with little places to go to unless you have a consistent job that would let you have a lifestyle outside work. Nobody knew what to make of “How to Escape a Cult” because nothing like it has ever been done before. We were in uncharted waters but despite the amount of financial struggles we had faced as working class artists we were still able to achieve the unimaginable.
Tito and I were heavily inspired by the works of Dario Argento, Stanley Kubrick and Alejandro Jodorosky for the themes and aesthetic influences of “How to Escape a Cult”. Tito’s idea of the song revolved around personal liberation by standing out from the crowd and that the mundane ideas in-groups and out-groups in our capitalist society were all a lie to be challenged. He was against the conformity to cults of personalities, whether they were entertainment industry cults, religious cults, political cults, or online cults. He always believed you had to stand out from the rest to be different. “How to Escape a Cult” can be described as supernatural horror, thriller, political satire, and a story told through fire, song and dance with hints of sci-fi affectations. And an allegory of enlightenment for the modern age.
I was blessed with such an amazing crew of talented friends and colleagues, in a sense this world we built really was an escape from society and the mundanity of our everyday lives. Despite every power struggle we went through to get this film made, this project really showcased the beauty and talent of our community. We shot at the historic Texas theater which is said to be haunted by the ghost of Lee Harvey Oswald after he shot Kennedy. They were so kind to let us dress the space with red lights and atmospheric visuals.
The cult leader played by Dominic Baker is a great friend of mine. I myself have a history of lightsaber fights with him as we’d love to showcase our nerdy hobbies on the dance floor while under the flow-state of designer and psychedelic drugs back in our younger days. He and I used to go all out at our local drum circle, always encouraging friendly competition but also supporting each other in the thick of the whole Dallas scene. The mage aka Raquel Zamora is a very talented dancer of the indigenous community in Texas with her roots tracing back to the Yaqui Tribe of Native America who were known to be the descendants of ancient Mexico. Her contribution as an indigenous consultant was very valued and I deeply respect the beauty and culture of her people. The film’s score was composed by my partner Keyring at the time, who was also a prominent Dallas musician of the trans community. I’d describe her work for this film as a ode to the sci-fi classic scores of Wendy Carlos, who was also a trans synth/electronic artist. Each and every person involved contributed in one special way or another. We all had a night of filming to remember and I couldn’t have done it without my devoted cult followers.
What was your experience with the Hermetic Film Festival?
I throughly enjoyed the curated works of the Hermetic Film Festival. I truly love to be apart of these community based experiences from all over the world, sharing values and perspectives from people of all walks of life. I’m grateful to say that I’m the winner of the Kenneth Anger Award! I’ve had quite a few trans-personal psychedelic experiences while viewing the style and grandeur of his work and his fixation on colorful and surreal occult imagery. What’s fascinating about indie festivals that celebrate such artfulness is that the competition doesn’t really matter with who wins the best categories, each work unanimously stood out on their own merits. I am also amazed I featured my music video/short in a festival with the short film “Concrete” starring Ed Harris. I think there needs to be more of an emphasis of union actors in the industry doing works for up and coming filmmakers. If you like dark arthouse films, independent docs, and experimental works featuring occult themes there’s no better festival than FHIFF (First Hermetic International Film Festival).
Are there any upcoming projects or ideas you’d like to share with us?
I do have future works with Tito in production. Our next singles “Learning how to Trust” and “Nothing’s been going right” will focus heavily on Electronic base music infused with cyber-jazz and futuristic aesthetics.
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