Independent Films, Drama
El cuadro
by ideami
El cuadro mixes different technologies into one work, high speed photography, filmmaking, animation; The team of el cuadro arrived to the volcanic island of Lanzarote to express the concept of obsession, blending different technologies and ways of transmitting what goes on in the mind of the person trapped between reality and distorted perception. / Synopsis: A metaphore about obsession. A girl contemplates a framed photograph of a volcanic landscape . The artwork gradually captures her until she appears inside. Once there, the animal atmosphere inside the landscape will start to absorb the girl´s personality. She tries to escape but the artwork becomes her prison. The rest of the film shows that delicate exchange between being and not being in the thing she is obsessed with, living more inside that outside, the artwork becoming the only thing that is mostly present in her mind, but also the small cracks on the landscape that somewhere remain open showing the path back to balance and peace of mind.
* See below more comments and info about Lanzarote Island, The music of El Cuadro, Ideami Films and the technology behind El cuadro
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Poster
Details
Language: Silent
Year of production: 2006
Length: 9 minutes
Country: Spain
Directors:
Javier Ideami
Producers:
Ideami Films - www.ideami.com
Actors:
Barbara Kalas
Film Festivals:
Festivals
* Nominated Best Photography & Winner Best Music at the Ateneo en Corto Film Festival 2007
* International Gijon Film festival, Spain
* Aguitar film Fest, Spain
* IFCT U.S.A Film Festival 07
* Aarhus Denmark FilmFest 07
* Audiovisual SubImagen Zamora, Spain
* Ateneo en Corto Festival, Canary Islands
* Festival Audiovisual de Manresa, Spain
* Mostra Minima Film Festival, Spain
* festival du cinema espagnol de toulouse, france
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Film reviews for El cuadro
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ideami
One of the reasons that makes - El cuadro- a unique film is that it mixes and blends different technologies and ways to make films into one single work;
some of the material of el Cuadro is made with a special high-speed photography technique created by Ideami Films (www.ideami.com); this technique allowed the team to use photography techniques without being restricted by the typical limits of film cameras;
Other parts of the film are animated mixing photography and animation techniques, and finally other parts of the film are combining together animation with film and movement that relates and ties them both together;
This blend of different techniques is also a metaphore of the state of mind that the obsessed person can have; a state of mind sometimes closer to reality, sometimes more surreal, dreamy or artificial; The girl´s mind changes its perspective through the film and so does the technology below that supports the film; The real landscape, the filmed landscape, the photographed lanscape, the proyected landscape, all of them blend around the girls´s mind, expressed by different technologies working together.
Very important was the great effort, work and acting of Barbara Kalas, who had to work in very windy and difficult weather conditions to express the visceral volcanic expression of the lanzarote landscape, the sense of despair, the blending of her femenine and volcanic sides as the - cuadro - starts to trap her mind
Ideami / Ideami Films
www.ideami.com
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ideami
The music has a big weight in - El cuadro - and manages to express the tension needed at each of its scenes. The composer, Oscar Colomina, is one of the most promising young spanish composers; he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and at present Oscar undertakes doctoral research at the Royal Academy of Music under the supervision of Simon Bainbridge. The music of el cuadro is made of fragments from one of Oscar´s works -"Open the Curtains" -, an intense and profound composition that perfectly fits the atmosphere of the film. Another great support comes from conductor Pablo González, winner of the Donatella Flick competition from the London Symphony, the most prestigious conducting competition in Europe, as well as the Cadaques first prize and many other prizes around Europe. Pablo is one of the most succesful young conductors in Europe, and for this occasion he conducted the Young International orchestra city of Oviedo, Spain, in a live recording at the main Auditorium of Oviedo in August 2006. The Young International Orchestra city of Oviedo is composed by young and bright musicians from different nationalities.
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ideami
Javier Ideami (also known simply as Ideami) has been blending art and technology for many years; as a filmmaker, Javier won the 2nd prize for new filmmakers at the International Gijon Film Festival and produced the animated film - the magic mountain - in 35mm, which was finalist at numerous film festivals; With El cuadro Javier brings even further the mixture of technologies to express a metaphore, bringing photography, film, animation and the blending of them together into one single work.
As a photographer Javier has exhibited in different european countries and worked for many firms; he currently teaches as well photography masterclasses at London and other venues (http://www.ideami.com/)
Javier has been active also in design (working for different european firms), music (playing the piano and composing for some of his works), painting & drawing (selling his portraits for some years), as well as directing different international creative projects such as Ewidi (www.ewidi.com), a new Internet Plaform in 30 languages where people can publish, search and interact in any language
Ideami has received numerous prizes, the last one of them 1 month ago as part of the Artistic team RAN, receiving one of the 10 prizes awarded by the new museum of modern art Laboral in Spain, in a competition where 131 projects from 26 different countries were presented
More about his works can be seen at this online portfolio: www.ideami.com
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ideami
Lanzarote is the easternmost of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean ca. 125 kilometers off the coast of Africa. The island's name in the native Guanche language was Tite-Roy-Gatra, which may mean "the red mountains". [Source - Wikipedia]
El cuadro was mainly filmed around Timanfaya National Park; Timanfaya National Park is entirely made up of volcanic soil. The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736. The volcanic activity continues as the surface temperature in the core ranges from 100 to 600 ºC at the depth of 13m, which is demonstrated by pouring water into the ground, resulting in a geyser of steam which is an attraction for tourists. In 1993, UNESCO granted the qualification for the Biospherical Reserve. [Source - Wikipedia]
The scenarios of Lanzarote are ideal to express the tormented mind of an obsessed being; at the same time, the promises and potential of volcanic soil are the door that remains open for new life to appear and for the person to regain balance and a realistic perspective of life.
Lanzarote is a very windy island which sometimes was a real challenge for the team. The peaceful ocean and the intense volcanic atmosphere blend together in the same way that they blend in the mind of humans when they get obsessed with something.
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