“The Legend of Ochi”, interview with director Isaiah Saxon and actress Helena Zengel

"The Legend of Ochi" by Isaiah Saxon lands in italian cinemas on May 8, 2025 thanks to IWonder Pictures. Produced by A24, "The Legend of Ochi" is Saxon’s feature film debut as he’s well known for directing music videos for artists such as Björk, Panda Bear, Dirty Projectors, and Grizzly Bear. Isaiah Saxon created the fantasy world where the Ochi creatures live in and with an 80’s inspired crafts made only of CGI and real sets in Transilvania, he put his protagonist, Helena Zengel at the center of a big adventure. Through this special relationship between a teenage girl Yuri (Zengel) and a baby Ochi, Saxon shows us how we “talk” without talking and communication is a way to expand our views and horizons. Helena Zengel and Isaiah Saxon then proceed to describe how the film became so tactile, real that you could actually smell it. The women in "The Legend of Ochi" are the ones not accepting the patriarchal world they live in as it is. Director and actor reveal how actual and contemporary the film in the way it shows how people is fighting to change the narrative.