Iphis and Ianthe
Iphis and Ianthe
Iphis and Ianthe is a thirty three minute short film based off the greek myth of the same name. The original myth of Iphis and Ianthe tells the story of an impoverished couple in ancient Crete who is forced to give up their daughter due to their inability to afford her future dowry price. However, on the evening before the delivery of her daughter, Telethusa prays to the goddess Isis for a solution. Isis gives her word that she will have a son but the next day, Telethusa gives birth to a daughter. She hides her child’s gender to her husband and raises the baby as a boy, naming him Iphis. Iphis grows up unaware of his differences from his male friends. One day, he meets a young woman named Ianthe and they instantly fall in love. Iphis quickly asks for her hand in marriage but fears her discovery of his female sex. He begs Isis to make him a biological man and she grants his wish, fulfilling her promise to Telethusa 18 years prior.Our film updates this story, questioning the idea that all transgender individuals seek surgery to alleviate their dysphoria. Instead, we discuss Iphis’s process of learning how to accept his body and becoming comfortable sharing himself with another human being.Iphis and Ianthe takes influence from Wes Anderson’s work as well as experimental films, combining virtual production, unconventional script writing, and rich visual symbolism.Iphis and Ianthe ultimately begs the question “how do we discover safely how to share our bodies with our first love?”
Supported by ArtsEngine, Arts at Michigan, SMTD Excel, SMTD Wellness Initiative and the UM Library,
Set Design and Virtual Production
The film was shot almost entirely in the studio, with a background build in Unreal Engine and synced to the real life camera. We extended this word with a variety of fake potted plants in the foreground and mirrors on the ground to represent water. We wanted to keep this film grounded in our theatrical background and so the set was designed as a theatrical set with specific adaptations to film rather than a traditional film set.
The Team
Written and Conceptualized by Maddie Vassalo, Miles Hionis, and Rory Hunt
Directed by Rory Hunt, Miles Hionis, and Maddie Vassalo
Director of Photography: Maddy Ringo
Sound: Josh Cheng, SinYu Deng Composition and Score: Maddy Ringo
Costume Design: Dana Grey and Venus Stanton
Environment Design: Maddie Vassalo