Symphonic Distress

(2022)

 

SYNOPSIS

 

The music came first: a mixed contemporary

piece by composer Yuliya Zakharava,

in which instrumentalist Pamela Reimer plays

a piano score, while also triggering

prerecorded sequences and incorporating

vocal and percussive elements. Asked

to provide a visual component for the work,

I was struck and conquered by its intensity

and beauty from the very first listen.

Although both the music and the film are

in themselves apolitical and stateless,

the wish to collaborate and the urgent

impulse to express ourselves through art

have been exacerbated by the outbreak

of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

The intention, therefore, while avoiding

any direct reference to war, is to tacitly

evoke certain universal emotions born out

of its consequences: fear, suffering, outrage,

vulnerability, abnegation, hope.

 

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

 

Experimental short film / Music video

Runtime: 10:04 • 4K Video

Color / Black and white • Aspect ratio: 1,33:1

Language: Silent film

 

CREDITS

 

Screenwriting, directing, photography,

editing, production:

Marco Joubert

Composer:

Yuliya Zakharava

Piano, voice, percussions:

Pamela Reimer

Interpretation:

Marie Tifo

Puppeteer:

Alexandra Gorlin-Crenshaw

Extras / Hands:

Marco Joubert, Pamela Reimer

Animals:

Camouflage, Clara, Cosmos

With support from:

 

 

 

 

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

 

Winner: Best Music Video,

Aasha International Film Festival,

Nashik, India, 2023

 

Winner: Best Experimental Film,

Cinema Cappuccino,

Jaipur, India, 2023

 

Winner: Best Music Video,

Ciudad del Este Independent Film Festival,

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, 2023

 

Winner: Best Experimental Short Film,

RIFFA - Regina Int. Film Festival and Awards,

Regina, Canada, 2023

 

Winner: Best Experimental Short,

Top Indie Film Awards,

Tokyo, Japan, 2023

 

Winner: Best Editing,

Top Indie Film Awards,

Tokyo, Japan, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Experimental,

Busan New Wave Short Film Festival,

Busan, South Korea, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Music Video,

Top Indie Film Awards,

Tokyo, Japan, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Original Idea,

Top Indie Film Awards,

Tokyo, Japan, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Music,

Top Indie Film Awards,

Tokyo, Japan, 2023

 

Official Selection + Honorable Mention,

Festival de Sorocaba,

Sorocaba, Brazil, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Anti-War International

Independent Film Festival,

Jõhvi, Estonia, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Astana International Short Film Festival,

Astana, Kazakhstan, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Athens International Digital Film Festival,

Athens, Greece, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Black Cat Award International Film Festival,

La Paz, Bolivia, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Cut International Short Film Festival,

Millville, United States, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Ekurhuleni International Film Festival,

Germiston, South Africa, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Encuentro para Cinéfagos -

Festival de CineArte en la Frontera,

San Cristóbal, Venezuela, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Festival Fotogenia,

Mexico City, Mexico, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Festival Internacional de Cine Austral,

Córdoba, Argentina, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Ícaro Festival Internacional

de Cine en Centroamérica,

Guatemala City, Guatemala, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Indefilm Fest Le Havre,

Le Havre, France, 2023

 

Official Selection,

La Fábrica - Festival de Cine de Tocancipá,

Tocancipá, Colombia, 2023

 

Official Selection,

MARFEST - Matanza Reel Festival,

La Matanza, Argentina, 2023

 

Official Selection,

On Art Dance & Music,

Warsaw, Poland, 2023

 

Official Selection,

The Unprecedented Cinema

International Festival of Short Film,

Tallinn, Estonia, 2023

 

Official Selection,

UNTHINKABLE,

Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom, 2023

 

Semi-finalist,

International Moving Film Festival,

Abadan, Iran, 2023

 

SCREENINGS

 

Studio New Star Art Cinema,

Athens, Greece, 12/2023

 

Barco Utopía,

Mexico City, Mexico, 12/2023

 

Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias -

Salón Dorado,

Guatemala City, Guatemala, 11/2023

 

Arsenal Cinema,

Astana, Kazakhstan, 11/2023

 

Cinéma Le Studio,

Le Havre, France, 11/2023

 

Whitefriargate,

Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom, 10/2023

 

Fundación Cultural Bordes,

San Cristóbal, Venezuela, 10/2023

 

Levoy Theatre,

Millville, United States, 09/2023

 

Teatro Municipal Ciudad del Este,

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, 09/2023

 

Anant Bajaj Limitless Ideas Hub,

Jaipur, India, 08/2023

 

Jõhvi Kinomaja,

Jõhvi, Estonia, 08/2023

 

Chono Lulu Bistro & Bar, Park Pięciu Sióstr,

Warsaw, Poland, 08/2023

 

Shu-Box Theater - University of Regina,

Regina, Canada, 08/2023