“Love Death + Robots” Alberto Mielgo on the creation of a “toxic relationship” between two predators in “Jibaro”

“Jibaro” follows a strange but deadly attraction between a mermaid and a deaf knight who is immune to her otherworldly charms. These two selfish reasons are obsessed with each other, leading to disastrous consequences.

Rather than the traditional mermaid from Greek mythology, Myelgo based the mermaid on the folklore of many different countries. Dressed in gold and jewels, this mermaid, instead of enchanting men with a beautiful melody, drives them crazy with her shrill voice and her seductive dance.

Deadline: What attracted you to the mermaid picture?

Alberto Mielgo: It was very much based on the folklore of different countries, such as India, North Africa, Eastern Europe … with all the jewelry and accessories worn by women in many tribes or cultures. The idea was to create a woman so full of gold and treasure that she could barely see a woman behind her. Basically it is the beauty in front of you. He’s blinded, so you don’t really care if there are people there.

Deadline: What led you to the idea of ​​using a siren not only for your voice but also for your rhythmic dance?

მიელგო: There is no dialogue, so I needed to visualize what the spell does to people. The sound is quite impressive, it differs from the sirens which usually attract men with their beautiful song. It’s actually just the opposite, but it physically controls your body and pushes you to spin, dance and kill everything around you. So I thought dancing would be the best way to show it, especially with a Renaissance gentleman who is usually extremely masculine and stiff, and then suddenly they become extremely relaxed.

Deadline: This relationship you created between a mermaid and a deaf knight reminds me of a question you asked me. Window cleaner“What is love?”

მიელგო: I would define a relationship more than love. I was saying it’s more like a toxic relationship. I wanted to create something similar to the relationship between two predators and was very inspired by the National Geographic videos where you see a crocodile trying to handle a jaguar or vice versa. Sometimes a crocodile wins, sometimes a jaguar. In most cases, they have to end up injured because it is a very bloody battle.

You can have many different interpretations and I can see myself in both characters. In the case of a girl, many times I go for what I can’t, or for someone who treats me badly or doesn’t care about me. But I am also like a gentleman, one who could follow a man for the beauty of him. Maybe I ignored some red flags, it doesn’t matter, this man was mainly killing my squad of knights, I will only do it because there is something that worries me.

This happens very often in relationships. People love each other for the wrong reason and this creates suffering on both sides.