EN - In ‘Because We Are Visual’ Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes immerse themselves into the world of public video journals. The Internet and its online communities intend to bring people closer together and to connect them. Yet, surprisingly, it seems that the virtual world confronts these so-called vloggers more than ever with their own loneliness. This documentary allows the viewer to discover this contemporary phenomenon and focuses on the experience of the body within this virtual space. By means of visual material gathered from online sources, the cineastes create a unique poetic realm in which thoughts, fears, desires and worries, shared via the webcam, merge together.
Info
| Title | Because We Are Visual |
|---|---|
| Original title | Because We Are Visual |
| Original version | English & French |
| Status | Completed |
| Category | Docs |
| Year of production | 2010 |
Credits
| Editing | Olivia Rochette & Gerard-Jan Claes |
|---|---|
| Sound | Michel Schöpping |
| Music | Ethan Rose, Mount Kimbie |
Technical specs
| Running time film | 47'12'' |
|---|---|
| Release format | Beta Digit |
| Aspect ratio | 1:1.33 |
| Sound format | Dolby Digital |
| Colour | Colour |
Partners
| Supported by | Scam, bvba Crinto, Marx Van Ranst Vermeersch & Partners |
|---|
Festivals
2011: Hors Pistes, Centre Pompidou, Paris (F) / Berlinaire (BE) / International Film Festival Rotterdam / Courtisane Festival For Short, Video And New Media, Ghent (BE) / Documenta Madrid - International Madrid Documentary Festival (ES) / Docville International Documentary Festival, Leuven (BE) / Festival du Cinema de Brive (FR) / Het Grote Ongeduld! / Xtra, Art Cinema OffOff, Gent (BE) / Hors Pistes - Centre Pompidou (FR) / International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL) / Je suis seul avec vous (exhibition) - Musée des Arts Contemporains (BE) / Pop-Up Video Screening at Mia Vaerman’s - Brussels, (BE) / Hors Pistes Reprise - Le Luxy (FR)
2010: Bâtard Festival, Brussel (BE) / Cinemario - Campo, Gent (BE) / Coming People (exhibition) - SMAK, Gent (BE) / Here We Are Now - Beursschouwburg, Brussel (BE) / International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam - IDFA (NL) / International Short Film Festival Leuven (BE) / KASKfilms - KASK, Gent (BE)
Awards
2011: Prix du Jury Jeunes de la Corrèze (Festival du Cinema de Brive) / Special Mention of the Jury (Videoex Festival 2011) / Special Mention of the Jury – Filmer à Tout Prix 2011 / First Prize Student Competition – Bandits-Mages / Grand Prix du Cinéma Différent (Grand Jury) & la Mention du Jury Presse - 13e Festival des Cinémas Différents et Expérimentaux Paris
2010: VAF Wildcard Documentary (International Short Film Festival Leuven) / Mathilde Horlait Dapsense Award / Legaat Franciscus Pycke Award
Local fest recognises docs from Flanders
Flemish documentaries wowed the juries and grabbed three awards at this year's Filmer à tout prix (11-16 November) doc fest in Brussels. The winning documentaries were Lotte Knaepen’s Na vespera, Sven Augustijnen’s Spectres and Olivia Rochette & Gerard-Jan Claes’ Because We Are Visual.
Winner of the debut section was Lotte Knaepen, a St-Lucas Film Academy graduate, who grabbed the Henri Storck Award, which is worth €3,500, with her film In the Eve(Na vespera). The jury responded warmly to the documentary, praising it for ‘the delicate and strong look of a young filmmaker’ and calling it a ‘visual jewel with rare talent that predicts future excellence’.
Flemish Artists take over VIDEOEX
Disorient by Florence Aigner and Laurent Van Lancker received the Main Prize at VIDEOEX, the International Experimental Film & Video Festival in Zürich (21 – 29 May). Because We Are Visual by another helmers' duo, Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes, was given an Honourable Mention by the Jury.
The International Jury, consisting of Maria Palacios Cruz (BE), Seppo Renvall (FIN) en Georges Salameh (GR) decided to share the Main Prize between two ‘brave’ films which ‘experiment with storytelling and with the absence of images. Both films share a sense of internal rhythm and pacing, as well as a strong correspondence between the chosen formal strategies and the subject matter that is being dealt with.’ Because We Are Visual also received praise from the jury for its ‘fragile beauty, ‘highly complex editing’ and ‘the two young filmmakers’ ambition.’
Local fests add Flemish flavour to line-ups
May promises to be a busy month for Flemish docs and shorts. Both the Docville International Documentary Festival in Leuven (29 April-7 May) and the Brussels Short Film Festival (28 April-8 May) are scheduling a strong selection of Flemish titles. With attention for Flemish productions on the rise internationally, indigenous fests are following course.
The seventh edition of documentary fest Docville is showcasing an ambitious programme, with yet to be released films, previews and one-off screenings. Among the 70 selected docs are a number of Flemish highlights such as Grande Hotel by Lotte Stoops and Waidmannsheil by Klaas Boelen, which were both selected for Hot Docs this year, as well as Peter Krüger’s creative documentary, Antwerp Central, which recently won the Grand Prix at the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA).
Brive awards Because We Are Visual
Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes’ documentary Because We Are Visual has won the Young Audience Award at the European Medium-Length Film Meetings in Brive (6 – 11 April). While both directors only recently finished their studies at the Fine Arts Academy in Ghent (KASK), they’ve already garnered selections for both IDFA and the International Film Festival in Rotterdam.
The Prize in Brive comes with a grant of € 1.500, awarded by the Corrèze Departmental region. The film was selected in the festival’s main program, the European Competition. According to the fest’s website, the documentaries of Olivia and Gerard-Jan ‘evoke a sense of choreographic, compositional experience and understanding. As dance and music, they play with structural elements such as motives, rhythm, dynamics, movement, etc.’
Last edited on 23 November 2012