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Sergei Parajanov (Sarkis Parajanian) | Master Film Director.

Today marks the 101st anniversary of the filmmaker.

“an avantgarde extravagant, sumptuous saga in color.”

- on New York’s Film Festival's flyer for Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, 1965, a moving love story, set in the picturesque Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains.

"Cazals unearths the career of a man born into a family of eccentric Armenian antique dealers, who showed remarkable talent through school, breaking into cinema only to sustain a relentless campaign by the Soviet regime, which imprisoned him three times. A fascinating exploration of the collages he produced during his years in prison, and featuring interviews with the director himself, Cazals’ film demonstrates the scope of Parajanov’s artistic vision, lovingly commemorating this rebel of art cinema."

- THE REBEL | PARAJANOV AT 100 DOCUMENTARY

"Sergei Parajanov is an auteur in the realm of cinema. Poetic, painterly and yet rooted deeply within the peripheries of the other high art forms, Parajanov presents us with masterpieces in Ashik Kerib, The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors and The Colour of Pomegranates. A contemporary of the great Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Parajanov is unique and distinct in his cinematic sense and sensibilities. This essay looks at the timbre of Parajanov’s classics through the eyes of a poet."

- Why Sergei Parajanov and His Films Matter | by Dr. Ampat Varghese Kosher for Silhouette Magazine.

A portrait of the revered 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat Nova, the ‘King of Song’. Through his poetry and a series of lavish tableaux, the film charts his life from humble weaver, to king’s minstrel and cloistered monk before being martyred for his faith by invading Persians.

- SYNOPSIS: THE COLOUR OF POMEGRANATES | Directed by Sergei Parajanov, Soviet Union, 1969.

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“I’ve always seen myself as little less… evolved.”

BETTER MAN  | Robbie Williams Biopic. Dir. Michael Gracey, 2024.

The look of their synthetic simian started with a scan of Williams for key features, but incorporated the proportions of Davies (for instance, his height so that the actors could look at each other, rather than tennis balls or sticks to create eyelines.). Ensuring that the range of human emotions could be presented within the ape framework was also key. “We wanted the audience to get swept up in [the film] and just forget they’re really watching the monkey,” explains animation supervisor Dave Clayton. “To do that, we kind of dialed proportions and his facial structure to include enough elements of the real Williams, to make him feel familiar and be able to capture those mannerisms, but enough of a monkey that he didn’t feel like you were shying away from this concept of him being an ape.”

- WETA FX's Emotive Cg Monkey

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THE BEAR | psychological comedy-drama television series created by Christopher Storer.

Ambition, avoidance, inheritance and how a history of family pain can turn those things into competing forces. Creative, flawed people who care about making a star restaurant, perpetually on the brink of financial collapse no matter how beautiful the food may be. Rich in kinetic, heady intensity. Intimate and wrenching.

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Eileen Kramer | Australian dancer, choreographer, artist and writer – a true creative spirit – born in 1914, still making art until her death on 15 November 2024 at the age of 110. Beautiful.

“She shatters all manner of expectations, and it’s exhilarating. She is uninhibited, at her ease, vivacious, drawing you in with her naturalness and making you feel you’re involved in life itself.”

- Sarah L Kaufman, Washington Post, 5 February 2022.

Images:

eileen-kramer.com

Short film ‘Eileen’ wins Opus Klassik award

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THE SUBSTANCE | Dir. Coralie Fargeat, 2024.

Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid.

“The Substance is a body horror movie, but its flashes of violence are ultimately about externalizing the inner-agony, both mental and physical, women endure for the shallow, fleeting approval of lascivious eyes. For even after such pain, self-inflicted or otherwise, the woman who once was a young girl remains visible.”

 - David Crow, Den of Geek

When asked to respond to shocked Cannes viewers’ remarks, director Coralie Fargeat comments; 

“... To be honest, I don’t care to upset people… I knew from the start that it would be a polarising film… This film is describing the violence of inequality that I feel around me…  This is violent, this is gross… This is the reality… Change happens when you open your eyes… anything that is going to help to open these discussions.  The subject will be confronted...  ”

 - Next Best Picture Interview with "The Substance" Director/Writer Coralie Fargeat

What we internalise,  its not subtle.

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“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to decide how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares to other expressions. It is your business keep it clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”

- Martha Graham

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Memoir of a Snail | Claymation feature Dir. Adam Elliot, Australia, 2024.

Every single frame handmade.

A young woman’s journey to overcome loss and embrace herself; Gracie maintains a gentle stoicism that protects the very spark of kindness that leaves her vulnerable to abuse in the first place.

She finds comfort in the company of an eccentric misfit who is full of grit and lust for life.

And navigates loneliness and longing for a deeply loved twin brother.

Poignant, heartfelt and comedically told.

I adored it.

Director, Adam Elliot writes in the press notes (and it’s worth a read for anyone trying to make original work):

‘Like most artists I strive for perfection but know this is a hopeless ambition. There is always a shot I’d like to redo, a line to rewrite; the day the film gets locked is bittersweet. Memoir of a Snail has taken eight years to form and now the film is complete I feel sad the journey is over. We’ve tried our hardest with the budget we had; made many sacrifices to ensure Grace’s story got told with dignity and respect. They may be just little blobs of clay, but to my team and I, they are real people. Through the magic of stopmotion we truly hope their little lives give meaning, joy, and comfort to those who watch.’

Do check out Memoir of a Snail either at MIFF, or when it comes out in cinemas in October this year.

Memoir of a Snail opened at the 72nd Melbourne International Film Festival on 8 August. The film will be on general release in Australia through Madman from 17 October 2024.

Winner of Annecy’s Cristal Award for Best Feature Film.

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PHILOCALY

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by P i e A e r t s | because.people.matter

VIEW: journey

images:

series of photographs for @belmond shot in Botswana // @belmondsafaris #theartofbelmond

resilient Changpa ladies in Ladakh

still from Ladakh film expedition

Silk Road memoirs pt 3

nestled in the pristine jungles of central bali, in the midst of a lush indigo plantation lies a Japanese-inspired indigo-dyeing studio. An artisanal approach to the age-old art of natural indigo dyeing, true craftsmanship, run by Sebastian Message, his wife Ayu Pupa and their team. Work for @tiantaru

india archive pt 5

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Io Capitano | dir. Matteo Garrone, 2023.

Seydou, a teenage boy, together with his cousin Moussa, decides to leave Dakar in Senegal and make his way to Europe. A contemporary Odyssey through the dangers of the desert, the horrors of the detention centers in Libya and the perils of the sea.

I was deeply moved by the immense courage and humanity, the cinematography and costumes. Outstanding.

"Over the last 15 years, 27,000 people have died trying to make the journey that I show in the movie. We wanted to give a visual form to a part of the journey we don't see… I was honestly very worried about this movie, and it took eight years to decide to make it. I was worried about the risk of speculating too much and exploiting these poor migrants by making their journey about, and from, my point of view."

- Garrone.

"The first thing apparent to anyone who meets Matteo Garrone is his intrinsic kindness. When asked if the story is inspired by real events, Garrone answers, “yes of course, have you met Mamadou?” referring to Mamadou Kouassi Pli Adama, who is listed as one of the “collaborating writers” on Io Capitano, and has joined Garrone, actors Sarr and Moustapha Fall in Marrakech. “He’s one of the three guys who inspired the movie with his life and his experience,” Garrone explains, continuing “every frame of the movie is connected with some real story, of someone who really lived that experience. Behind these numbers are human beings,” Garrone continues, “human beings who are exactly like us, with the same desires — to move, to look for a better life, to discover the world.” Like looking in a mirror really. Only that mirror holds up the similarity of the power of humanity, not the reflection of our different skin tones. And what that entails, as far as privilege.

- E Nina Rothe

Io Capitano premiered at the 80th Venice Film Festival, where Garrone was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director and Sarr won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor. Now, the film is nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Oscars, which Garrone tells A.frame has made him "incredibly proud." | AFrame Article

Images:

The New Yorker

E NINA ROTHE

Kang diego | kang_junior64

EdisonFilmHub

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op e n

“True self-confidence is the courage to be open… it is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow. “

- Carol S Dweck

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“…Most of us really want to offer the world something of quality, something that the world will consider good or important. And that’s really the enemy, because it’s not up to us whether what we do is any good. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that the world is a very unreliable critic, right? So you have to ask yourself, do you think that human creativity matters?  Well, hmm, most people don’t spend a lot of time reading poetry right, they have a life to live and they’re not really concerned with Alan Ginsberg’s poems or anybody’s poems… until their father dies, they go to a funeral, you lose a child, somebody breaks your heart, they don’t love you anymore. And all of a sudden you’re desperate for making sense out of this life. And has anybody ever felt this bad before? How did they come out of this cloud? Or the inverse, something great; you meet somebody and your heart explodes.  You love them so much you can’t even see straight.  You know, you’re dizzy, did anybody ever feel this before, what is happening to me?  And that’s when Art’s not luxury, it’s actually sustenance.  We need it."

- Ethan Hawke on the innate need to provide value | TED, June 2020.

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slow factory | Join us in supporting @nolcollective to getting the last weavers in Gaza: Husam, his brother, and their families to safety. Please go to their Go Fund Me link to help preserve ancestral cultural knowledge and the protection of the people who steward it.

🥀 It is heartbreaking to have to displace ancestral craftsmen from their Native Land. Ceasefire. End the occupation. Free Palestine 🇵🇸

ID: via @sf_access

image 1: An orange background with half of the graphic an image of colorful, dyed threads in orange, red, and burgundy. In black text reads “Connecting the Dots/ Fashion and Palestine: The Last Weavers in Gaza. At the top in black reads “Slow Factory”; at the bottom, our boilerplate in white “Systemic change for collective liberation.”

image 2: An image of a Palestinian man holding up red woven textiles with a cigarette in his mouth. In black text reads, “The last weavers in Gaza — who work with Nöl Collective have lost family members as well as their work spaces amidst the genocide in Gaza. At the top in black reads “Slow Factory”; at the bottom, our boilerplate in white “Systemic change for collective liberation.”

image 3: An image of a Palestinian man on a cart with a pile of red woven threads that is being pushed by a gray donkey. In the center a chat bubble reads “Everything in the house is gone. Money is obsolete against the bombs. The situation is unclear. We have lost everything.” At the top in black reads “Slow Factory”; at the bottom, our boilerplate in white “Systemic change for collective liberation.”

image 4: A grid of images from Gaza showing bombed homes, living rooms, and bedrooms. In the center in white text reads, “Nöl Collective is fundraising to get the last weavers of Gaza: Husam, his brother, and their families to safety.” At the top in white text reads “Slow Factory”; at the bottom, our boilerplate “Systemic change for collective liberation.”

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words by @drkiranrahim

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POOR THINGS, 2023 | Costume: Holly Waddington

“I was looking at very light fabrics that were beautiful and luxurious but not too grown-up,” she says. “To me, it was important there was a sense of organic in every detail. Victorian dresses are heavily textured and involve a lot of bits of dead animals, such as feathers, so I found embossed silks and a beautifully woven mix of silks and linens to get these unruly textures.” 

The color palette keys into the sexual overtones of the film. “I was exploring everything that had a connection to the body,” says Waddington. “I used a soft palette of pinks that look like human skin."

“One of the great things about working with Yorgos [Lanthimos, director] is that he isn’t somebody who comes to you with a finished sense of what things should be. He very much encourages a rich, creative process for each of his collaborators,” she said.

Holly Waddington won the award for Best Costume Design at the 2024 Oscars.

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What would a woman be, if she were able to start from scratch?

POOR THINGS | 2023

Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos