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: Sound Design Award,

Black Cat Award International Film Festival,

La Paz, Bolivia, 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: Outstanding Sound Design,

FICA - Festival Internacional de Cine Austral,

Córdoba, Argentina, 2023

 

Winner: Best Experimental Music Video,

Parai Musical International Awards,

Tiruchirappalli, India, 2024

 

Winner: Best Experimental Short Film,

RIFFA - Regina Int. Film Festival and Awards,

Regina, Canada, 2023

 

Winner: Special Jury Mention,

The Americas Film Festival of New York,

New York, United States, 2024

 

Winner: Best Experimental Short,

Top Indie Film Awards,

Tokyo, Japan, 2023

 

Winner: Best Editing,

Top Indie Film Awards,

Tokyo, Japan, 2023

 

Honorable Mention: Experimental Film,

Festival de Sorocaba,

Sorocaba, Brazil, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Experimental - Short Film,

Alternative Film Festival,

Toronto, Canada, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Experimental,

Busan New Wave Short Film Festival,

Busan, South Korea, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Production - Short Film,

Festival de Sorocaba,

Sorocaba, Brazil, 2023

 

Nominee: Best Sound Design - Short Film,

Festival de Sorocaba,

Sorocaba, Brazil, 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 + Finalist,

Festival Fotogenia,

Mexico City, Mexico, 2023

 

Official Selection + Honorable Mention,

Hudson Animation & Film Festival,

Hudson, Canada, 2024

 

Official Selection + Honorable Mention,

Post-Cinema Film Festival,

Syracuse, Italy, 2024

 

Official Selection,

AFSAD International Short Film Festival,

Ankara, Turkey, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Anti-War International

Independent Film Festival,

Jõhvi, Estonia, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Asheville Fringe Arts Festival,

Asheville, United States, 2024

 

Official Selection,

Astana International Short Film Festival,

Astana, Kazakhstan, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Athens International Digital Film Festival,

Athens, Greece, 2023

 

Official Selection,

Celaya Experimental Film Fest,

Celaya, Mexico, 2024

 

Official Selection,

Cut International Short Film Festival,

Millville, United States, 2023

 

Official Selection,

EIC - Encuentro Internacional de Cineastas,

Monterrey, Mexico, 2024

 

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 Cinemística,

Granada, Spain, 2024

 

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,

Interrobang Film Festival,

Des Moines, United States, 2024

 

Official Selection,

La Fábrica - Festival de Cine de Tocancipá,

Tocancipá, Colombia, 2023

 

Official Selection,

MARFEST - Matanza Reel Festival,

La Matanza, Argentina, 2023

 

Official Selection,

MEDIAWAVE International

Film and Music Gathering,

Budapest, Hungary, 2024

 

Official Selection,

On Art Dance & Music,

Warsaw, Poland, 2023

 

Official Selection,

OtherMovie Lugano Film Festival,

Lugano, Switzerland, 2024

 

Official Selection,

Portobello Film Festival,

London, United Kingdom, 2024

 

Official Selection,

Revolutions per Minute Festival,

Boston, United States, 2024

 

Official Selection,

The Ostranenie Theatre

Moving Image Art Event,

Manchester, United Kingdom, 2024

 

Official Selection,

The Unprecedented Cinema

International Festival of Short Film,

Tallinn, Estonia, 2023

 

Official Selection,

UNTHINKABLE,

Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom, 2023

 

Finalist,

Prague International Music Video Awards,

Prague, Czech Republic, 2024

 

Semi-finalist,

International Moving Film Festival,

Abadan, Iran, 2023

 

SCREENINGS

 

Corrala de Santiago,

Granada, Spain, 11/2024

 

Teatro de la Ciudad,

Celaya, Mexico, 10/2024

 

Harvard CAMLab - Lower Level Auditorium,

Cambridge, United States, 09/2024

 

The Muse Art Gallery,

London, United Kingdom, 09/2024

 

El Pirata,

Monterrey, Mexico, 06/2024

 

Des Moines Central Library,

Des Moines, United States, 06/2024

 

La Nacional NYC,

New York, United States, 06/2024

 

Casa Astra,

Lugano, Switzerland, 06/2024

 

Cirko-Gejzír Artmozi,

Budapest, Hungary, 05/2024

 

Hudson Creative Hub,

Hudson, Canada, 04/2024

 

Grail Moviehouse,

Asheville, United States, 03/2024

 

The Talleyrand,

Manchester, United Kingdom, 02/2024

 

Parque de las Tejas,

Córdoba, Argentina, 12/2023

 

Doğan Taşdelen Contemporary Arts Center,

Ankara, Turkey, 12/2023

 

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

 

Parque Principal,

Tocancipá, Colombia, 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