HD/ stereo sound / Original length: 10:21 / b&w / 0:47 (excerpt)
A film by Jan Locus and Stijn Demeulenaere
- 2020, FIFA, International Festival of Films on Art, Montreal (CA)
- 2020, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin, Paris (FR)
- 2020, World Premiere at IFFR, International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL)
- 2020, Second prize at The Engine Room: International Sound Art Competition, London (UK)
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Brussels was built on a swamp, today there is only one tiny part of Brussels that is still officially a swamp. Although continually threatened by development the area stayed intact largely due to being ensnared between two railroad tracks. Just before first light, filmmaker Jan Locus and sound artist Stijn Demeulenaere recorded the dawn chorus. The city drone permeates the sound of the swamp, and a strange mix enfolds between the sound of an awakening nature and a human presence. Urban drone and bird song merge to a (un)familiar murmur.
Review
“The little what rest of the swamp where the city of Brussels was erected, awakens slowly in this intriguing immersive object by Jan Locus and Stijn Demeulenaere. The work stands out with its magnificent black and white photography and its exemplary sound work. In this film anxiety and beauty are one. It’s impossible to resist this hypnotic outdoor odyssey.”
(FR ) “Le reste du marécage où a été érigée la ville de Bruxelles s’éveille lentement dans cet intrigant objet immersif signé Jan Locus et Stijn Demeulenaere. Dans cette œuvre qui se signale par sa magnifique photographie en noir et blanc et son travail sonore exemplaire, l’angoisse et à la beauté ne forment qu’un. Impossible de résister à cette odyssée hypnotique en plein air. “