PLANET A
[video HD, 07'40", 2008]
Production: Le Fresnoy, Studio National des Arts Contemporains
Director: Momoko Seto
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[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...
[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.
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
[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
[Distribution]
Agence du court-métrage, Paris [Fr]
HeureExquise! Lille [Fr]
Le Fresnoy, Studio National, Tourcoing [Fr]