International film festival Rotterdam 2015 official selection for IFFR+ made in Rotterdam
https://iffr.com/nl/2015/films/hometown
A feature duration on 16mm black and white film produced by Filmwerkplassts@WORM
Directors: Esther Urlus, Lichun Tseng, Nan Wang, Nick Aberson
Producer: Parisa Yousef Doust
Production assistant: Patrícia Chaves
An initiative by Rotterdam’s WORM. Film workshop: four directors go in search of traces of heroism in the city, under the guidance of a producer/supervisor and armed with 16mm black-and-white film. A highly visual, experimental, at times difficult but always intriguing operation. Made in Rotterdam.
The first image in Hometown shows a kind of film set being demolished. Rather than being built, started off, here something is being taken down, ended. This is a good example of the unusual approach that will characterise the film. The search for ‘traces and figures of heroism’ and an ‘imaginary fatherland’ is not a simple adding up of separate parts. Rather, it is the search itself that is central - the straying, sensing and freely associating - more than attaining a sharp, clearly defined result.
A prominent role in this process is reserved for ‘good old’ 16mm black-and-white stock. The grainy and usually somewhat bleached-out nature of the images creates an elusive sense of transience. In combination with the beautiful soundtrack, usually running asynchronously from the visuals, this makes for a film that has to be experienced instead of simply watched/heard. The ‘reward’ for this is comparable to the final image in the film: a full, rich field of corn. Made in Rotterdam.
The first image in Hometown shows a kind of film set being demolished. Rather than being built, started off, here something is being taken down, ended. This is a good example of the unusual approach that will characterise the film. The search for ‘traces and figures of heroism’ and an ‘imaginary fatherland’ is not a simple adding up of separate parts. Rather, it is the search itself that is central - the straying, sensing and freely associating - more than attaining a sharp, clearly defined result.
A prominent role in this process is reserved for ‘good old’ 16mm black-and-white stock. The grainy and usually somewhat bleached-out nature of the images creates an elusive sense of transience. In combination with the beautiful soundtrack, usually running asynchronously from the visuals, this makes for a film that has to be experienced instead of simply watched/heard. The ‘reward’ for this is comparable to the final image in the film: a full, rich field of corn. Made in Rotterdam.
age ︎