One. Experimental film. 16 min. Black & White. Surround Sound. Hungary / Serbia. 2023
Director & Sounddesigner: Nadine Poulain
Production: Milan Milosavljević. Academic Film Center SCCC Serbia / Más Media Production Kft.
Sound Mixing: Roman Strack
SYNOPSIS
The experimental film One features an annual growth ring of a tree that, being singled out and possessing a radiant glow, evokes a sense of the planetary.
In front of a pitch black backdrop, the ring appears, disappears and reappears, at times suddenly, at other times gradually. What changes is its scale and the angle it is seen in. Testing out the frontiers of perception, the flatness of the circular shape gives way to a three-dimensional object.
The minimal, yet grand imagery unfolds to a musical soundtrack of intensely high notes and an extreme bass. Otherworldly and intangible, One takes the viewer on a journey that amalgamates earthly and cosmic spheres, the real and the imaginary.
The project has been realised with the support of the Film Center Serbia and the Academic Film Center SCCC Serbia.
STILLS
TRAILER
REVIEW
THE MIRROWED WORLD
The short experimental film One by filmmaker and composer Nadine Poulain consists of only two different visual elements: A ring or a bowl and the sky. The title also appears to be reductive and rather descriptive, yet, just like Hemingway’s iceberg, it points towards an underlying foundation.
In One we witness the construction of an (inner) world. A white plane dissolves into a cloudy sky in slow motion, whilst floating harmonies build a spheric sound that emphasises the mysteriousness. All of a sudden we are confronted with a black screen. One observers oneself trying to discern schemes. Due to the dark ambient sound of the musical composition, a near meditative condition is reached.
It remains dark for quite some time, until finally a circular shape, that slowly enlarges, appears. The mind tries to interpret what it sees (and hears). Is is a planet? A lunar eclipse? The viewer, who has been informed regarding the content will know that it is an annual growth ring of a tree. Yet, this knowledge is not a hindrance for worlds, even a complete universe, to unfold.
Soon, however, the angle changes. The game of light and shadow does not allow the visualisation of a planet anymore. The three-dimensional bowl turns into a two -dimensional ring. The illusion is destroyed. It takes a moment to come to terms with the fact that the mind had been tricked. With several changes of perspective, Nadine Poulain deconstructs the subjective projection. Everything ends as it began: white light. What is the following cloudy sky disguising? A cosmos full of potential. Also a regeneration of an inner universe, which, far away from linearity, rests in itself.
In One the annual growth ring of a tree becomes the symbol of a cyclical regeneration process. Whilst the depiction of it oscillates between that of a circle and that of a bowl, the basic form, which after Platon is the most accomplished form, remains. The shape of the circle knows neither beginning, nor end and stands for unity and wholeness. Therefore, it finds itself diametrically opposed to the characteristics of the line.
The Romanian philosopher of religion, Mircea Eliade, describes the ‘godly time’ as a ‘time of origin’, a time that refers to the primordial myth. This myth constitutes the most powerful creation myth: the creation of the world. It not only finds its echo in traditional and non-western thought, but also (in a largely unconscious manner) in contemporary societies of modern, linear thinking man. One of the most famous examples is the rite of New Years Eve.
Filmmaker Nadine Poulain pursues a minimalist approach with One. In symbioses with the human capacity for projection, the film, nevertheless, unfolds a powerful imagery. A mythologically charged play of light and thought of a mirrored world unfolds: On earth as it is in heaven.
Daniel Schlichter 2023 Translated from German
SCREENING HISTORY
- 2024 Mono No Aware Film. LANDSCAPES OF THE FURURE MEMORY –
Contemporary program of short experimental films from Serbia. New York. USA - 2024 Ribalta Experimental Film Festival. Vignola. Italy
- 2023 Alternative Film/Video Festival. Belgrade. Serbia
- 2023 Bogotá Experimental Film Festival. Bogotá. Colombia
- 2023 One Shot International Film Short Festival. Yerevan. Armenia
- 2023 Martovski Festival – Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival. Belgrade. Serbia