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: