Maria's Silence
A film by CESARE BEDOGNE'
"I have been
a bush and a bird
a boy and a girl
a mute fish in the sea"
(Empedocles, Purifications)
This film is based on documentary material but is not, strictly speaking, a documentary film. Nor it is a work of fiction. The film rather appeared to us like a dream, not a nocturnal dream, but one which unfolded day by day while shooting. A dream shared between the photographer-director and the actress (or, better, the woman portrayed in the feature), which nevertheless seemed to follow its own, enigmatic necessity through which the daily shots joined almost magnetically, interweaving in a pattern of superimposed layers that unceasingly merge and dissolve one in another, in the constant flux, crystallization and reshaping of psychic interior. At a certain point, this dream seems to end but in fact it only opens up to another dream, or hallucination, where the film itself abruptly starts to burn, unleashing new and old visions - fragments of reality - until it is put out by a sudden storm and dissolves in a twilight of sea-waters. In this sense, the film is also a meditation on the elements, Water and Fire, Wind, Earth and Skin, inspired by a Sun-Eye that appeared almost by itself in one of the first shots and took possession of the narration, in the endless flow and unfathomable metamorphosis of all things and beings.
Country: Italy, Greece
Runtime: 38 mins
Genre: Documentary / Experimental /Avant-Garde/ Visual Poetry
TRAILER
"DARKLY ONEIRIC, DEEPLY MYSTERIOUS, SUBLIMELY BEAUTIFUL AND UNCOMPROMISINGLY LYRICAL, MARIA'S SILENCE IS THE MOST MESMERIZING, TRASCENDENTALLY CINEMATIC FILM I HAVE SEEN THIS EVENING AT BERLIN REVOLUTION FILM FESTIVAL"
(Nikola Gocic, from Experimental Film Society)
AWARDS
CONCRETE DREAM FILM FESTIVAL 2018, Los Angeles, BEST FILM (Philippe Mora Award for Avantgarde Cinema),
AMIIIWORKFEST 2018, Vilnius, BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE
TIMELESS AWARDS, Wroclaw. (Poland), Summer 2021 edition), BEST OF TIME AWARD "in recognition of timeless excellence in film-making"
4th edition EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS, Amsterdam (2019), BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
NEW YORK CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
APHRODITE FILM FESTIVAL, New York, BEST DIRECTOR EXPERIMENTAL
FICCSUR 2018, Valparaìso, Chile, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE
SANTORINI FILM FESTIVAL, Greece, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE
IL VARCO FILM FESTIVAL 2018, Pescara (Italy), HONORABLE MENTION FOR EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA
VERTIGO FILM FESTIVAL, Milano, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR AWARD (2020)
ROMA PRISMA FILM AWARDS, BEST EDITING (May 2018)
14th season VIRGIN SPRING CINEFEST (Calcutta, India), (BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
POLLINO INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Italy - BEST OF FEST, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST EDITING, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DEEP FOCUS FILM FESTIVALl 2021, Brooklyn (New York), HONORABLE MENTION OF THE JURY
PURE MAGIC INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Amsterdam, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
ATHENS INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY ART FILM FESTIVAL, HONORABLE MENTION OF THE JURY
MASTERS OF CINEMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Moscow 2021, HONORABLE MENTION
TOKYO INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY FILM FESTIVAL, 2021, HONORABLE MENTION
INDIE MOVIES SPARK FILM FESTIVAL, Utrecht 2021, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST LEAD ACTRESS (awarded to Maria Frepoli)
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Arvika 2021, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
ZAGREB INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Croatia 2022, HONOURABLE MENTION
SIPONTUM ARTHOUSE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Italy 2022, FILM OF THE MONTH/BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
LUIS BUNUEL MEMORIAL AWARDS, Calcutta 2022, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
EUROPE FILM FESTIVAL, London/Amsterdam 2022, JURY SPECIAL AWARD-BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT
SYNSAPALUM IFF, Amsterdam 2022, HONORABLE MENTION
TOKYO INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY FILM FESTIVAL 2022 HONORABLE MENTION
AMSTERDAM FREEDOM INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
ART BLOCKS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Copenhagen 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
FOTOFILM IFF, Istanbul 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
TAGORE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Bolpur, India 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
HUMAN SHADES FILM FESTIVAL, Milan 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
CULT CRITIC MOVIE AWARDS, Calcutta, India 2022, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
IMMAGINA Florence Film Festival, Italy 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
4th DREAM MACHINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Los Angeles 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM OF THE YEAR
3rd SUN OF THE EAST AWARD, Bolpur, India 2023, HONORABLE ACHIEVER
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:
69th MONTECATINI INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
16th ONE SHOT INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (Yerevan, Armenian Centre for Contemporary Experimental Art, 2018)
14th HARLEM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, New York 2019
5th CINEMISTICA FILM FESTIVAL, Granada 2018
10th ATHENS INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL FILM FESTIVAL (upcoming, 9-15 December 2021)
BILBAO EXPERIMENTAL FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL(Fundación BilbaoArte Fundazioa, 2018)
ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
BERLIN REVOLUTION FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
NEW VISION FILM FESTIVAL, Amsterdam 2019
FOGGIA FILM FESTIVAL, Innovation Movies section, 2018
NUOVO FESTIVAL DEL CINEMA DI ALGHERO, 2018
BEIJING INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, China 2017
NORWEGIAN INTERNATIONAL SEAGULL FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
LONDON GREEK FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
AVIFF CANNES ART FILM FESTIVAL 2019
NEW WAVE MOTION FILM FESTIVAL,CHINA 2019
RIBALTA FILM FESTIVAL, Italy 2022
ROME OUTCAST INDEPENDENT FILM AWARD, 2022
AMSTERDAM SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, 2022
FESTIVAL DE CORTOMETRAJES DE EUROPA, Barcelona 2022
BERLIN ART FILM FESTIVAL, 2022
STANLEY FILM AWARDS, London, 2022
31st MEDIAWAVE - ANOTHER CONNECTION FF, Kiscsos.z Hunagary 2022
CAMBIO IFF, Istanbul 2022
WEST SIDE MOUNTAINS DOC FEST, Greece 2022
WSXA AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands 2022
UNIVERSAL FILM FESTIVAL SAMOTHRAKI, GREECE
6th EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, Barcelona 2022
FOTOFILM INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, ISTANBUL, 2022
TATRA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Slovakia, 2022
GOA IFF, India 2022
ULTRACINEMA XI, Mexico 2022
SERBEST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Kishinev, Republic of Moldova 2022
SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL SHORT WEEK, 2022
AMSTERDAM LIFT OFF FILM FESTIVAL, 2022
16th FROZEN FILM FESTIVAL, SAN FRANCISCO 2022
17h L'EUROPE AUTOUR DE L'EUROPE, PARIS 2022
24th MADURAI INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY AND SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, INDIA 2022
ETERNAL FILM FESTIVAL; Firenze, Italy 2023
GENEVE FILM AWARDS, Switzerland 2023
EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, Bucharest, Romania 2023
OTHER SCREENINGS
ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF CULTURE, ATHENS (Film and Photography exhibition, 14 November / 8 December 2018)
OGA Video art Exhibitions, Natura e Sogno, Roma 2018
LA GALERIE PHILOSOPHIQUE, Grandson (Switzerland), Film and Photography exhibition 12 December 2021/12 February 2022
CREDITS
Directed by CESARE BEDOGNE’
Storyline by CESARE BEDOGNE’
With MARIA FREPOLI
Photography and Editing by CESARE BEDOGNE’
Shakuachi Flute played by Masayuki Koga and Carl Abbot
Running time: 38 minutes
Filmed on the island of Lesvos (Greece) in the period January-May 2017.
Editing completed in September 2019
An excerpt from Philippe Mora's speech in Hollywood, on occasion of the CONCRETE DREAM FILM FESTIVAL Awards Cerimony:
“It was very difficult to judge and I took it seriously… What is "Avant-Garde,what IS Avant-Garde?"? There is a whole tradition about Avant-Garde in art and it starts with the Dada's, with Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, and Avant-Garde means being ahead, ahead of everyone else, that’s what it is. It also means disruptive and it is very difficult for an artist to be disruptive because you cannot really sell your paintings (…). It is difficult to be an Avant-Garde artist in any form particularly because, as I said, if you are disruptive no one wants to see it. (...) In movies, it is even more difficult to be Avant-Garde because it involves more money. So, what is great now is that you can be an Avant-Garde artist with basically no money on digital stuff.
(…) The winner is Maria’s Silence. I should say why, just briefly… The whole history of the Avant-Garde is in this film, including Japanese cinema, including Man Ray’s photography, including all sexual aspects of the Avant-Garde art, and it reminded me also of that great Japanese film “Woman from the Dunes”, by Teshigahara. What really got me is that it is visually beautiful, it is like a dream, it is surrealism but also there is a shot of what looked like twigs burning. Cesare Bedogné repeated this shot and only after I looked at the film for the second time I realized it wasn’t twigs burning, it was 16 mm film. And so, the film also comments on the sad demise of film, even though he shot this - I checked – on digital... It is a terrific film. It has got all the themes of the Avant-Garde in it in a very graceful way”.
"Dreamlike, transcendent, transitional in tone and manner, contemplative, visually and aurally arresting, and truly cinematic in its grand scope, this 38-minute short from director/producer Cesare Bedogne, screened at the 2020 Berlin Revolution Film Festival, captures the pure essence of meditative, inward-focused awareness-seeking thematic explorations, doing so with an execution that dramatically draws the viewer into its web of elements both real and fantastical"
(from a review by Kirk Fernwood, written on occasion of the Berlin Revolution Film Festival: please read the full review in the Biography&Texts page of this web-site).
A review (in Italian) written on occasion of the Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival:
https://ordetv.blogspot.com/2022/05/focus-tra-sogno-e-poesia-il-cinema-di.html
Here is a selection of digital stills from the film, printed in 53x28,5 cm size (A2) on archival baryta paper:
"I have been
a bush and a bird
a boy and a girl
a mute fish in the sea"
(Empedocles, Purifications)
This film is based on documentary material but is not, strictly speaking, a documentary film. Nor it is a work of fiction. The film rather appeared to us like a dream, not a nocturnal dream, but one which unfolded day by day while shooting. A dream shared between the photographer-director and the actress (or, better, the woman portrayed in the feature), which nevertheless seemed to follow its own, enigmatic necessity through which the daily shots joined almost magnetically, interweaving in a pattern of superimposed layers that unceasingly merge and dissolve one in another, in the constant flux, crystallization and reshaping of psychic interior. At a certain point, this dream seems to end but in fact it only opens up to another dream, or hallucination, where the film itself abruptly starts to burn, unleashing new and old visions - fragments of reality - until it is put out by a sudden storm and dissolves in a twilight of sea-waters. In this sense, the film is also a meditation on the elements, Water and Fire, Wind, Earth and Skin, inspired by a Sun-Eye that appeared almost by itself in one of the first shots and took possession of the narration, in the endless flow and unfathomable metamorphosis of all things and beings.
Country: Italy, Greece
Runtime: 38 mins
Genre: Documentary / Experimental /Avant-Garde/ Visual Poetry
TRAILER
"DARKLY ONEIRIC, DEEPLY MYSTERIOUS, SUBLIMELY BEAUTIFUL AND UNCOMPROMISINGLY LYRICAL, MARIA'S SILENCE IS THE MOST MESMERIZING, TRASCENDENTALLY CINEMATIC FILM I HAVE SEEN THIS EVENING AT BERLIN REVOLUTION FILM FESTIVAL"
(Nikola Gocic, from Experimental Film Society)
AWARDS
CONCRETE DREAM FILM FESTIVAL 2018, Los Angeles, BEST FILM (Philippe Mora Award for Avantgarde Cinema),
AMIIIWORKFEST 2018, Vilnius, BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE
TIMELESS AWARDS, Wroclaw. (Poland), Summer 2021 edition), BEST OF TIME AWARD "in recognition of timeless excellence in film-making"
4th edition EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS, Amsterdam (2019), BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
NEW YORK CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
APHRODITE FILM FESTIVAL, New York, BEST DIRECTOR EXPERIMENTAL
FICCSUR 2018, Valparaìso, Chile, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE
SANTORINI FILM FESTIVAL, Greece, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE
IL VARCO FILM FESTIVAL 2018, Pescara (Italy), HONORABLE MENTION FOR EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA
VERTIGO FILM FESTIVAL, Milano, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR AWARD (2020)
ROMA PRISMA FILM AWARDS, BEST EDITING (May 2018)
14th season VIRGIN SPRING CINEFEST (Calcutta, India), (BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
POLLINO INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Italy - BEST OF FEST, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST EDITING, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DEEP FOCUS FILM FESTIVALl 2021, Brooklyn (New York), HONORABLE MENTION OF THE JURY
PURE MAGIC INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Amsterdam, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
ATHENS INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY ART FILM FESTIVAL, HONORABLE MENTION OF THE JURY
MASTERS OF CINEMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Moscow 2021, HONORABLE MENTION
TOKYO INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY FILM FESTIVAL, 2021, HONORABLE MENTION
INDIE MOVIES SPARK FILM FESTIVAL, Utrecht 2021, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST LEAD ACTRESS (awarded to Maria Frepoli)
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Arvika 2021, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
ZAGREB INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Croatia 2022, HONOURABLE MENTION
SIPONTUM ARTHOUSE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Italy 2022, FILM OF THE MONTH/BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
LUIS BUNUEL MEMORIAL AWARDS, Calcutta 2022, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
EUROPE FILM FESTIVAL, London/Amsterdam 2022, JURY SPECIAL AWARD-BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT
SYNSAPALUM IFF, Amsterdam 2022, HONORABLE MENTION
TOKYO INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY FILM FESTIVAL 2022 HONORABLE MENTION
AMSTERDAM FREEDOM INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
ART BLOCKS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Copenhagen 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
FOTOFILM IFF, Istanbul 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
TAGORE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Bolpur, India 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
HUMAN SHADES FILM FESTIVAL, Milan 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
CULT CRITIC MOVIE AWARDS, Calcutta, India 2022, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
IMMAGINA Florence Film Festival, Italy 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
4th DREAM MACHINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Los Angeles 2022, BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM OF THE YEAR
3rd SUN OF THE EAST AWARD, Bolpur, India 2023, HONORABLE ACHIEVER
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:
69th MONTECATINI INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
16th ONE SHOT INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (Yerevan, Armenian Centre for Contemporary Experimental Art, 2018)
14th HARLEM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, New York 2019
5th CINEMISTICA FILM FESTIVAL, Granada 2018
10th ATHENS INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL FILM FESTIVAL (upcoming, 9-15 December 2021)
BILBAO EXPERIMENTAL FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL(Fundación BilbaoArte Fundazioa, 2018)
ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
BERLIN REVOLUTION FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
NEW VISION FILM FESTIVAL, Amsterdam 2019
FOGGIA FILM FESTIVAL, Innovation Movies section, 2018
NUOVO FESTIVAL DEL CINEMA DI ALGHERO, 2018
BEIJING INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, China 2017
NORWEGIAN INTERNATIONAL SEAGULL FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
LONDON GREEK FILM FESTIVAL, 2018
AVIFF CANNES ART FILM FESTIVAL 2019
NEW WAVE MOTION FILM FESTIVAL,CHINA 2019
RIBALTA FILM FESTIVAL, Italy 2022
ROME OUTCAST INDEPENDENT FILM AWARD, 2022
AMSTERDAM SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, 2022
FESTIVAL DE CORTOMETRAJES DE EUROPA, Barcelona 2022
BERLIN ART FILM FESTIVAL, 2022
STANLEY FILM AWARDS, London, 2022
31st MEDIAWAVE - ANOTHER CONNECTION FF, Kiscsos.z Hunagary 2022
CAMBIO IFF, Istanbul 2022
WEST SIDE MOUNTAINS DOC FEST, Greece 2022
WSXA AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands 2022
UNIVERSAL FILM FESTIVAL SAMOTHRAKI, GREECE
6th EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, Barcelona 2022
FOTOFILM INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, ISTANBUL, 2022
TATRA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Slovakia, 2022
GOA IFF, India 2022
ULTRACINEMA XI, Mexico 2022
SERBEST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Kishinev, Republic of Moldova 2022
SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL SHORT WEEK, 2022
AMSTERDAM LIFT OFF FILM FESTIVAL, 2022
16th FROZEN FILM FESTIVAL, SAN FRANCISCO 2022
17h L'EUROPE AUTOUR DE L'EUROPE, PARIS 2022
24th MADURAI INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY AND SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, INDIA 2022
ETERNAL FILM FESTIVAL; Firenze, Italy 2023
GENEVE FILM AWARDS, Switzerland 2023
EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, Bucharest, Romania 2023
OTHER SCREENINGS
ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF CULTURE, ATHENS (Film and Photography exhibition, 14 November / 8 December 2018)
OGA Video art Exhibitions, Natura e Sogno, Roma 2018
LA GALERIE PHILOSOPHIQUE, Grandson (Switzerland), Film and Photography exhibition 12 December 2021/12 February 2022
CREDITS
Directed by CESARE BEDOGNE’
Storyline by CESARE BEDOGNE’
With MARIA FREPOLI
Photography and Editing by CESARE BEDOGNE’
Shakuachi Flute played by Masayuki Koga and Carl Abbot
Running time: 38 minutes
Filmed on the island of Lesvos (Greece) in the period January-May 2017.
Editing completed in September 2019
An excerpt from Philippe Mora's speech in Hollywood, on occasion of the CONCRETE DREAM FILM FESTIVAL Awards Cerimony:
“It was very difficult to judge and I took it seriously… What is "Avant-Garde,what IS Avant-Garde?"? There is a whole tradition about Avant-Garde in art and it starts with the Dada's, with Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, and Avant-Garde means being ahead, ahead of everyone else, that’s what it is. It also means disruptive and it is very difficult for an artist to be disruptive because you cannot really sell your paintings (…). It is difficult to be an Avant-Garde artist in any form particularly because, as I said, if you are disruptive no one wants to see it. (...) In movies, it is even more difficult to be Avant-Garde because it involves more money. So, what is great now is that you can be an Avant-Garde artist with basically no money on digital stuff.
(…) The winner is Maria’s Silence. I should say why, just briefly… The whole history of the Avant-Garde is in this film, including Japanese cinema, including Man Ray’s photography, including all sexual aspects of the Avant-Garde art, and it reminded me also of that great Japanese film “Woman from the Dunes”, by Teshigahara. What really got me is that it is visually beautiful, it is like a dream, it is surrealism but also there is a shot of what looked like twigs burning. Cesare Bedogné repeated this shot and only after I looked at the film for the second time I realized it wasn’t twigs burning, it was 16 mm film. And so, the film also comments on the sad demise of film, even though he shot this - I checked – on digital... It is a terrific film. It has got all the themes of the Avant-Garde in it in a very graceful way”.
"Dreamlike, transcendent, transitional in tone and manner, contemplative, visually and aurally arresting, and truly cinematic in its grand scope, this 38-minute short from director/producer Cesare Bedogne, screened at the 2020 Berlin Revolution Film Festival, captures the pure essence of meditative, inward-focused awareness-seeking thematic explorations, doing so with an execution that dramatically draws the viewer into its web of elements both real and fantastical"
(from a review by Kirk Fernwood, written on occasion of the Berlin Revolution Film Festival: please read the full review in the Biography&Texts page of this web-site).
A review (in Italian) written on occasion of the Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival:
https://ordetv.blogspot.com/2022/05/focus-tra-sogno-e-poesia-il-cinema-di.html
Here is a selection of digital stills from the film, printed in 53x28,5 cm size (A2) on archival baryta paper:
