While our guests enjoy themselves in a legendary trip to the Trebbia, Concorto opens on this Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Palazzo Ghizzoni Nasalli with the second part of the Focus Absolute Beginners (here the reviews).
To kick the evening at the Park off, the fascinating Chilean fiction Héctor, the documentary about kung-fu Practice and the captivating Greek fiction Leoforos Patision. The touching animation Alba’s Memories takes then the lead of the second block of shorts, followed by Catching Fire and
the “young rage” it talks about. The evening ends with the delicate Spanish fiction Suc de Sindria and with Olla, the long-awaited short film by Ariane Labed.
At 11:30 p.m., the Russian director Nikita Diakur will talk about his animated short film Fest in occasion of the Midnite Talks. Starting from the same hour, the Teatro Serra will host the first part of the Focus Supernature, which is dedicated to the human-nature relationship (here the reviews), and the second part of Ubik.
See you tonight!
Héctor – Victoria Giesen Carvajal
As seen by Vanessa Mangiavaca
Nature plays a key role in the short film directed by Victoria Giesen Carvajal: it imposes itself solemnly, wildly, dramatically, it seems to crush the stories of the characters and its protagonist, Turco. The feelings of teenagers move alongside with these of his land: each of them is looking for
answers, for his identity and sexuality. The same deafening sound of nature replaces essential words and dialogues. At the same time, a legend makes its way through the characters, namely that of the devil, a representation of the unknown and the indefinite, like the face of Hector himself. Deep cliffs, a hypnotic and magmatic sea, made of substance and seaweeds that seem to emerge from the depths, alternate with the impenetrable looks of the characters in a dark poem, going beyond the typical stereotypes on adolescence.
Practice – Iyabo Kwayana
As seen by Margherita Fontana
Shot in a Shaolin temple in Henan, China, Practice is a journey through the emotions of some young students of a Kung Fu school. By skilfully combining close-ups and aerial views, we can perceive how much concentration and tension the students need to succeed in performing the most complex choreographies. No soundtrack but the gong ringing or the buzz of the students is to be heard, and so the short itself becomes a sort of meditation exercise, from every single one to the group on the whole.
Leoforos Patision – Thanasis Neofotistos
As seen by Yorgos Kostianis
Throughout the course of a woman’s life, there are many roles to be played.
In Patision avenue, however, several of these roles seem to be clashing violently with one another. Thanasis Neofotistos manages to pull off the quite demanding feat of shooting an immersive long-take shot in the dead center of Athens, following a single mother on her way to look for an acting job. His camera follows her around as she shifts from optimism to despair, in a downward spiral of her different contrasting identities, rapidly switching from mother to actress, from sister to ex-wife, to woman. Right at the beginning the director candidly dedicates his film to his mother, alluding to his profound empathy and understanding of the protagonist’s woes.
Memorie di Alba – Andrea Martignoni
As seen by Elena Saltarelli
Imagine a powerful beacon lightening your deepest, darkest memories.
Only such a similitude, one that involves light, an as disruptive as gentle light, comes to my mind when I think about Alba’s Memories. Short animated short film directed by Andrea Martignoni and Maria Steinmetz, Alba’s Memories tells about a memory. Alba explains to us how she fell in love with Pierino, one of his brothers’ friends. Her story is merged with animation and vintage-like filming, turning into a metaphor that mirrors the process of redefining a reality that has passed and now exists only in the mind of those who are telling it. But by explaining these memories, by telling them to someone else, a completely new memory is created, namely that of the viewer, who relives in his own way this post-war Italy atmosphere. And this is the real potential of the short film: sharing a memory allows each of us to feel, in a completely individual way, Alba’s love. A love that, in my view, is closely tied to the cultural context in which this episode took place, that is to say, the fifties, back when Italy needed to redeem, to relive, to fall in love again.
Prendre Feu – Michaël Soyez
As seen by Sofia Brugali
The dreamy short movie by Michaël Soyez brings the spectator back to his childhood, drafting its borders in the foggy French countryside. Nature silently surrounds the characters, stucked in a haunted dimension. The plot is unneat just like memories: it is a tale of fear and enchantment, of innocent evil. The story, more sensation then action based, stands still. It is just whispered. In the misty village, two boys attempt to help little Lou, whose discomfort ends in pyromania. A young girl is playing the piano. Only two are the adults: an old woman and a homeless. The latter is so different and unfamiliar to the kids, that they are both attracted and repulsed by him. The adult world always seems so meaningless and unreachable.
Suc de Sindria – Irene Moray
As seen by Vanessa Mangiavacca
The one of the female orgasm is a still overshadowed theme and many are the women who live their sexuality as a curse: female pleasure is still a taboo, as if just one aspect of pleasure were accepted, namely male pleasure. We know how a trans, or a homosexual person live their intimacy (with such themes had the director previously dealt in Bad Lesbian), or how it is perceived in distant cultures and religions. But how can you be at peace with your body after having being raped? Beyond gender differences, Irene Moray approaches in a new way to such a sensitive issue, or rather, she chooses to look at it from two different perspectives: not only Barbara’s one, the main character, but also Pol’s one, her boyfriend. It is not just about getting phisically naked, it is exposing your true self, confessing your real emotions to the other. Between laughing and desperate crying, Watermelon Juices shows how a strong and balanced love can heal every broken soul.
Olla – Ariane Labed
As seen by Carlotta Magistris
After her acting career, Ariane Labed debuts with Olla, a warm-coloured dystopian short film which depicts the life of a woman in an alienated country, exploring the disquieting microcosmos of a family to which belong a man and her own old mother, making Olla a caregiver, lover, and
housewife. A suffocating situation, a passivity to which she appears to be condemned and whose only way to escape seems sexuality. In contrast with the dark and depressive sex scenes within the bedroom, masturbation scenes during lunch and spontaneous prostitution acquire a powerful
meaning of emancipation: that is what encourages Olla to leave the home in which she previously entered and to fade away in a lonely road.
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