Ser y no ser: el Juego del Ser Creativo | Maggie Civantos | TEDxIbiza

The speaker, an actress who also organizes retreats on psychosynthesis, creativity, and communication, discusses her experience directing a film titled "Jupiter's Return." She clarifies that her film is not a critique of retreat organizers but stems from her own need to voice concerns and explore themes that have been on her mind. Despite initial self-doubt and the labels she placed on herself, she felt ready to direct, a long-held dream. The film's genre is horror, chosen to effectively reach a mainstream audience accustomed to constant input from social media. The speaker believes the horror genre provides the necessary rhythm and intensity to convey its themes, and also serves as a cathartic way to address the pervasive fear in contemporary society. Her film explores the two dominant forces she sees in the world: love and fear, and what happens when love becomes confused and fear prevails. "Jupiter's Return" is set in a retirement home, where a couple, Carlos and Carla, seek help for their relationship crisis. They become vulnerable to another couple, Aura and Lucio, who run a retreat. The idea for the film was inspired by the proliferation of weekend personal growth and mystical retreats advertised on social media. The characters who run the retreat in the film are depicted as having unethically commercialized mental health and spirituality. Aura, in particular, is portrayed as driven by an extremely self-centered love, lacking empathy and common sense. The speaker observes that some groups of "spiritual beings" exhibit a specific way of dressing, expressing themselves, and eating, prompting her to question whether this is true spirituality or a need for group belonging. She suggests that the outward appearance and spectacle can sometimes precede the essence, and that spirituality should primarily be an intimate experience. Social media, she contends, contributes to this trend, making spirituality appear "cool" rather than deeply personal. In the film, all characters wear masks out of fear – fear of acceptance, vulnerability, and loneliness. While motivated by love, they struggle to manage it healthily. Ultimately, fear triumphs in the story, not just because it's a horror film, but because it reflects the filmmaker's vision of flawed spirituality. This flawed spirituality can pressure individuals to conform to a group identity due to a need for belonging, overriding the importance of listening to one's true essence and self-respect. The speaker emphasizes that while community and belonging are essential, spirituality should first foster self-connection and respect. She posits that spirituality connects individuals to a source of love, but pressure to conform leads to relating from a place of fear, hindering self-love and the ability to love others, thus allowing fear to win. Directing the film was an act of overcoming her own fears and expressing herself honestly. She believes spirituality involves asking questions, which is precisely what she and her team did with the film. Art, and cinema in particular, are seen as powerful tools for reflection, empathy, and understanding ourselves, our past, present, and future. For the speaker, the filmmaking process was a reminder of the importance of connecting with one's true self through creativity, which involves listening to one's essence and having the courage to express it, even through vulnerability. She sees creativity as a bridge between the material and spiritual realms. The film's exploration of "being in non-being" and the idea that "we are all playing at being" suggests a need to be aware of this and play an authentic game, recognizing that we are ultimately "everything and nothing." The film concludes by posing the fundamental question: "to be and not to be, or to be or not to be."