PLANET A

[video HD, 07'40", 2008]

 

Production: Le Fresnoy, Studio National des Arts Contemporains

Director: Momoko Seto

 

video [Watch the trailer of Planet A]

 

 

[synopsis]

Salt: trace, absence of water, passage of time,invading epidemic, living cemetery.
Water: manoeuvre, absolute value, fertility, rhizomes, chance.
Cotton: corruption, economic issues, hydrophily, desertification.


The world has become a vast dried out planet, where the growing of cotton, over exploited for economical reasons is the main cause of desertification. A saline desert covers acres of dried out land where strange salt trees appear.
This phenomenon echoes an even greater ecological disaster, the desertification of the Aral Sea. And man is always responsible...

[read in French]

 

[Statement]

This film shows a worrisome, strange yet playful world composed only of salt crystal formations. The crystals’ physical beauty and their corrosive features create a curious antinomy which reminds us of a living, invading and dangerous creature.
I am interested in the « science-fiction » genre that uses pessimistic parabolas to evoke the world in which we live. Through the salt world, I would like to implicitly express the theme of desertification, which affects certain areas of the globe, which, like the Aral Sea, are victims of industrialization and excessive economy use.
Two very simple matters, salt and water, recreate a surrealist space and at the same time, suggest the possibility that this phantasmagoria can one day (if not already) be an irreversible reality.

[read in French]

 

Shooting Format: Photos series
Projection Format: HD
Sound Format: Dolby SR
No dialogues.


[Screening & Festival]

Panorama 9-10 [exhibition currator: Bernard Blistène], Toucoing [Fr], june-july 2008

61st International FIlm Festival of Locarno, programmation Play Forward, Locarno [Ch], aug 6-16 2008

Festival International du Film Spot et du Film Court d’Environnement, Montpellier [Fr], sept 1-5 2008

St. Petersburg International Youth Film Festival, [Ru], oct 9-13 2008

Festival “Temps d’images” at la Ferme du Buisson, MARNE-LA-VALLEE [Fr], oct 10-19th 2008

53rd Corona Cork Film Festival [Ir], oct 12-19 2008

Curtocircuito International Short Film Festival, Santiago de Compostela [Es], oct 17-24 2008

Cine Eco, 14th International Environmental Film and Video Festival of Serra da Estrela [Pg], oct 18-25 2008

8th Festival Internacional de Escuelas de Cine, Buenos Aires [Ag], oct 20-25 2008

15th INTERNATIONAL FILM AND TV SCHOOLS' FESTIVAL MEDIASCHOOL, Lodz [Pl], oct 21-25 2008

22nd Braunschweig Int'l Film Festival [De], nov 4-9 2008

FIRST FRAME 2008: International Students' Film Festival, New Dehli [In], nov 5-6 2008

12th International Short Film Festival Winterthur, Winterthur [Ch], nov 5-9 2008

20th Internatıonal Istanbul Short Film Festival [Tk], nov 5-12 2008

25th Kassel Documentary Film & Video Festival, Kasssel [De], nov 11-16 2008

Kinofest, International Digital Film Festival, Bucharest [Ro], nov 14-16 2008

Festival ArtCourtVidéO, Arles [Fr], nov 19-23 2008

6th Festival International du Film d’Environnement, Paris [Fr], nov 19-25 2008

the International Short Film Festival Leuven [Be], nov 29-dec 6th 2008

31st Rencontre Henri Langlois, Poitier [Fr], dec 05-10 2008

Asian Hot Shot Berlin, [De], jan 13-18 2009

Collective Screening @ Eiga bi gakkou (Tokyo Film School) jan 17th 2009

International Short Film Competition of the 22th Stuttgart Filmwinter, [De], jan 22-29 2009

38th International Film Festival Rotterdam, [De], jan 21-fev 01 2009

Transmediale.09, Berlin [De], jan 28-fev 01 2009

26ème Festival International du Premier Film d’Annonay [Fr], jan 30-fev 09 2009

Tricky Women Festival, Wien [At], march 5-9 2009

Tampere Film Festival [Fi], march 4-8 2009

VidéoFormes, Clermont Ferrand [Fr], march 11-29 2009

Festival du court-métrage de Limoges [Fr], march 11-15 2009

Forum des images, Paris [Fr], Selection of NEMO, april 2nd-5th 2009

Lille Art Fair [Fr], april 3-6th 2009

Un festival c’est trop court, Nice [Fr, april 14-19 2009

5th Rencontres Audiovisuelles, la fête de l'animation, Lille [Fr], april 16-19 2009

The International Festival of Animated films AniFest 2009, Třeboň & Teplice [Cz], may 1-5, 7-10 2009

Festival Bandits-Mages, Bourges [Fr], may 10th 2009

Athens Video Art Festival, [Gr], may 14-17th 2009

Festival Internacional de Cine Ecológico y de la Naturaleza de Canarias [Es], may 16-23rd 2009

Festival du Développement Durable, Genève [Ch], june 6-7 2009

Le Festival de films d’animation Folie-Ô-Skop, Québec [Ca], june 11-12 2009

19th Videofestival Bochum, [De], june 18-20 2009

FEST - International Film Festival, Espinho [Pt], june 20-28 2009

POOL/LOOP Rote Fabrik, Zurich [Ch], july 2-4 2009

Remixed Competition of the 17th Curtas Vila do Conde IFF, [Pt], july 4-12 2009

Festival international de l’image environnementale, des Rencontres d'Arles [Fr], july 7-12 2009

Programmes du Fresnoy au festival d'Hiver à Porto Alegre [Pt], july 27 - 2 aug 2009

Animation Festival @ ARS Electronica, Linz [At], 3-8 sept 2009

E-Festival, Shanghai [Cn], 10-13 sept 2009

Kota 2032 Film Festival, Skopje Republic of Macedonia, sept 14-20 2009

festival Kosmorama, Turku [Fi] sept 20th 2009

Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal, [Ca] oct 7-18th 2009

Leids Film Festival, Leiden [Nl] oct 27 - nov 1st 2009

2nd International Festival of Cinema and Environment Zaragoza, ecoZine, [Es] nov 6-15 2009

Animated Dreams animation festival at the 13th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Tallinn [Ee] nov 18-22nd 2009

colloque Géométrie et Images Numériques à la Gare Numérique de Jeumont, [Fr] (14/01-05/02, 2010)

l’exposition « Récurrences » organisée par l’espace d’art actuel Le Radar [Fr] fev 16-28 2010

Institut français de Tokyo, [Jp] march 2010

Oslo Screen Film Festival , [No] march 12-14 2010

21es Rencontres Cinéma-Nature, Dompierre-sur-Besbre [Fr], march 27+28 2010

Vienna Independent Shorts [Au], may 27- june 2nd 2010

« Normandie Impressionniste » et « Les lumières vues par le numérique », Club Deauville [Fr], aug 08 2010

Article Biennale, Oslo [No], sept 15th-oct 15th 2010

Exposition "titre à venir" (commissaire Pascales Pronnier) QUT University, Brisbane [Australia], oct 15th-nov 8th 2010

collective exhibition at l'Espace d'Art de la société générale de Casablanca [Ma], dec 16th 2010- april 30th 2011

« Images en mouvement – Mumabox », Le Havre [Fr], march 16th 2011

« Waby Savvy » collective exhibition at JAUS organized by Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles [USA], march 18th - may 1st 2011

La nuit numérique du LAM, Lille [fr], nov 15th 2011

Bibliothèque de la Part-Dieu, Lyon [fr], 18h30 nov 24th 2011

Festival tricky women "Creation of uncanny matter" at the Figurentheater LILARUM, Wien [au], march 15-17-23-24th 2012

Unrest, Hahanut gallery, Tel Aviv [is], may 1st 2012

Malestar, Casa de fefa, La Havana [cu], may 18th 2012

EcoCup film festival, Moscow [ru], may 18-20th 2012

Nuit blanche au Palais de Tokyo, Paris [fr], oct 6th 2012

Bushwick film festival, “Unrest” presented by Imagespassages, Brooklyn, NY [USA], oct 6th 2012

Timelapse Showfest, Pozuelo de Alarcón [es], oct 28th 2012

Oslo Central Station presented by Oslo Screen Festival [no], aug 2013

Rencontres Internationales Sciences et Cinémas, Marseille [fr], oct 10th-19th 2013

La Nuit blanche, Paris [fr], oct 3th 2015

L'hybride, Lille [fr], oct 9th 2015

FIAC Grand Palais, Paris [fr], oct 22nd 2015

Mori Art Museum, exhibition "The Universe and Art" Tokyo [jp], july 30th 2016 - jan 9th 2017

OW & AFTER, International Video Art Festival - Moscow [Ru], oct 22-29th 2016

Exhibition "Universe and Art" at ArtScience Museum, Singapore, April 1st – July 31th 2017

Exhibition HORTUS 2.0, Avignon [Fr], June 1st - aug 27th 2017

Exhibition "Le rêve des formes" at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris [Fr], 9-14th aug 2017

Platforme web de Beaux-Arts Magazine, aug 2017

Screening at Eac Les Roches for the exhibition Charlotte Charbonnel, Chambon-sur-Lignon [Fr], aug 8th 2017

Serie Mania Lille [Fr], April 27th - May 5th 2018

Collective exhibition for "Paysage-Fiction" at Tétris for "un Été au Havre" [Fr], June 23 - setp 3 2018

Journées du patrimoine in Nice au Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art contemporain de Nice, [Fr], sept 15th 2018

Journées du patrimoine by EDIS in Avignon / Aredenome grenier à sel, [Fr], sept 15th 2018

La journée Talents en courts du Festival International du Court Métrage de Lille, [Fr], sept 22nd 2018

Collective exhibition for "Paysage-Fiction" at Bel Ordinaire, for the 18th edition of Festival accès)s(, Pau [Fr], oct 11th - dec 8th 2018

Masterclass at Anifilm, International Festival of Animated Films, Liberec [CZ], June 26th 2021

 

 

[AWARDS]

Tampere Film Festival, 2009: Diploma of Merit

Oslo Screen Film Festival, 2010: Grand Prix

 

 

[TV diffusion]

NHK program "Degista", dec 2008, jan 2009
ARTE, Metropolis, jan 24 2009
Souvenir From Earth, FreeTV, French/Gremany

 

 

[DVD Released]

transmediale.09 - video selection
Fôlie ô Skop, international selection, Québec
ANIMATION AVANTGARDE - DVD 01, Wien 2012

 

 

[Distribution]

Agence du court-métrage, Paris [Fr]
HeureExquise! Lille [Fr]
Le Fresnoy, Studio National, Tourcoing [Fr]