LE FUNAMBULE, tournage d'un court-métrage sur les chemins de Compostelle

Le Funambule A collaboration between Matteo Michelini, artist-researcher, Carlota Weber, actress and performer, and Baffo Studio (Davide Fecarotti and Noé Vercaemst), a duo of multidisciplinary artists. The estimated amount of money has been reached folks... but the fundraising campaign continues! For more information, see at the bottom of the page! Thanks to everyone who donated <3 SYNOPSIS A documentary about the pilgrimage to Compostela of an actress in search of the interpretation of her role. 14 days to complete the final 200 km of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. 14 days to interpret a few lines from Jean Genet's Tightrope Walker. This is the challenge that Carlota, an actress who becomes a pilgrim, has set for herself. Atheist, she is not seeking a higher spirituality through this means. Her journey finds its motives elsewhere. In the sacred Galician land, Carlota sets out on the paths in search of the interpretation of Genet's text, a mystical prose where the poet addresses a brutal and radiant message to his lover-tightrope walker Abdallah, who has committed suicide. STATEMENT OF INTENT You're burning. On your wire, you are lightning. Or if you wish, a solitary dancer. Lit I don't know by what that illuminates you, consumes you, it's a terrible wretchedness that makes you dance. The audience? They only see the fire, and thinking you're performing, unaware that you are the arsonist, they applaud the fire. Jean Genet, Le Funambule, 1958. Walking as a pilgrim as if it were the walk of a tightrope walker. Through this openly experimental project, we want to explore all the creative possibilities of an actress's journey under the influence of this territory of mystical wandering where walkers search for themselves. Why the pilgrimage to Compostela? Today, this pilgrimage has become more than just a devout itinerary; it's a place to reinvent oneself, to write a new self-narrative, often after a significant event in one's personal or professional life. Thus, it's an initiatory and transformative journey that makes us become someone else. We draw inspiration from this aspect of the Camino to tell another metamorphosis—the transformation of the actress-pilgrim into a character, that of the poet Jean Genet. This documentary tells the story of an actress's search for her own role, a process that applies to every living being beyond the realm of artists. So, the pilgrimage won't be that of a Christian, but that of a young artist. Our film aims to depict, through the lens of a demanding terrain, the wear and tear of a body and its wandering in the attempt to achieve a goal: becoming a theater character or simply becoming someone. FILM SHOOTING PROCESS This cinematic project is conceived as a synthesis between documentary film and video performance. On one hand, we want to let the location where the interpretation of the Tightrope Walker takes place speak, with its characters, sky, temporality, and settings—unveiling the social and poetic reverse of its landscapes. On the other hand, this documentary material will intersect with the imaginary world of interpretation—and vice versa—perceived through the lens of a camera. To express this dichotomy, we plan to use two distinct film techniques: digital and analog. The digital, an almost limitless source of images, will be employed to describe the concrete universe of the pilgrimage. With analog—using 16mm film—we will convey the theater and performance scenes where Carlota will attempt to interpret the text. The goal is to recreate the conditions of performance for Carlota; film, like the stage in live arts, allows for only one take. One shot: that's the challenge we want to tackle. PREPARATION FOR THE PILGRIMAGE SHOOT The approach we're taking in preparing for this film is to anticipate as little as possible about what will happen during the shooting. This is why we earlier mentioned an experimental approach. We would like to prioritize an immediate and intuitive experience with the paths of Compostela, given that what we currently lack is the reality of the pilgrimage. Aside from learning the text and various physical exercises, we're collaborating with Marie Pictet, actress and visual artist, in creating a mask that will be one of the theatrical devices we'll use. Masque, Marie Pictet (2023) An experimental action is an action whose result is not predictable. Being unpredictable, this action is not concerned with its pretext. Like the earth, like the air, it doesn't need it. The execution of an indeterminate composition regarding its execution is necessarily unique. John Cage, Silence - Lecture and Writings, 1961. FUTURE STEPS Although it can be viewed and presented independently, this film is not a standalone project. It will later be conceptualized in a hybrid format. In fact, it will serve as a support for an upcoming theatrical production, which will bring this cinematographic creation onto the stage. MOOD BOARD TEAM PRESENTATION Matteo Michelini After earning a degree in Modern Literature at Sorbonne Paris IV in 2021 and completing actor training in 2022 at the École du Jeu under the guidance of pedagogue and director Delphine Eliet, Matteo is currently pursuing a Master's in ArTeC at Universités Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis and Paris Nanterre. This is a research-creation program, an innovative education that introduces students to art-based research, a practice bridging the gap between universities and national art schools. Currently, he is engaged in research-creation exploring the actor's faith through experimental workshops with actors, which have been designed around the similarities between the mysticism of methods for the actor by Antoni Vassiliev or Jerzy Grotowski and The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Carlota Weber With a degree in Philosophy and Performative Arts from Sussex University in the United Kingdom, Carlota is currently a student at the École Jacques Lecoq in Paris and has completed a year at the Laboratory of Movement Studies (LEM). Carlota is undergoing a completely unique and non-traditional training in France, which offers students a learning experience based on bodily work rather than theatrical literature. Carlota also leads theater workshops for children that she interweaves with her personal practice, exploring the stage as a realm of possibilities and reinvention to discover new ways of being and doing in a fragmented and saturated world. Baffo Studio: Davide Fecarotti and Noé Vercaemst Davide is a photographer and is currently in his third year at ENSP (École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie d'Arles). After earning a Bachelor's degree in Photography from ESA de Saint-Luc in Tournai, Belgium, Davide co-founded the artist studio Baffo Studio in partnership with collaborator Noé Vercaemst. A former student of ESA de Saint-Luc in Tournai, Noé is currently studying for a Bachelor's degree in Photography at ECAL (École Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne) and is Davide's partner within Baffo Studio. The work of Baffo Studio oscillates between quirky advertisements promoting apple pies and more traditional projects blending documentary rigor with fiction. Notably, Baffo Studio has recently worked on the Jacquemus SS22 Paper Campaign. In their work, Davide and Noé blend major photographic influences such as Luigi Ghirri, Robby Müller, and Stephan Gladieu, as well as directors and aesthetes like Takashi Kitano, Jacques Tati, and Antonin Peretjatko, given their concern for staging and the plasticity of installations within a body of work that combines irony and organicity. RECENT WORKS OF BAFFO STUDIO Fishy Flakes, 2022 Derborence, 2023 Devenir une ruine, 2023 Mémoire du froid, 2023 Mythes et clichés, 2023 ; Directed by Morgane Ubaldi and Gabrielle Lubliner; Photography by Davide Fecarotti