Coneixença EN – Coneixença

Liberate soul from matter

TEN PRINCIPLES OF THE ESSAY DOCUMENTARY

In order to prioritise a film, a critical judgement must be made about it at some point. By knowing the context in which the film was made, we might be able to evaluate it from other perspectives.

Documentaries are associated with the word essay, which comes from the French word essai , translatable as “try”, “attempt”, “approach” or “test”. I apply the documentary essay as a working procedure aimed to grasp an expressive cinematographic form, of a more argumentative than narrative vocation.

Based on the experimentation carried out with the cinematographic precursors, they take the initiative in defining the basic precepts that form the ten principles of the “essay documentary” genre.

1. The resistance economy for working in “km 0”.

There is a relevant principle which guides the start of production and which previous projects have articulated: “Make sure you have exhausted the possibilities of what can be discovered locally.” In other words, the cinematographic project must be linked to the local area, km 0. We can say that there are many worlds close to our own.

2. Intuition as a starting point and being able to define the initial premise.

The initial creative process is more intuitive than rational. We start with a brief written outline and a general guiding premise. The idea is to search for ideas which end up articulating an interweaving of conceptual connections. We start with the functional sense of applying ideas to life. The concept contrasts with the rational logic of the extensive premeditated calculated writing process of the narrative and technical literary screenplays of orthodox productions.

3. Randomness as a trigger for neutralising reason and its premeditations.

We aim to discover what is genuinely manifested, not just locate the manifestation of what reason has premeditated. What we intend is to minimise the risks of conditioning the performative existence to a single descriptive pattern of reality. That is, we position ourselves to facilitate divergent readings of the same phenomenon.

4. The initial exploration of the space and the observation of the protagonists' point of view.

The principal activity is constituted by the author and characters’ vision on the subtle relationships, more or less profound, which they establish with the world. In fact, documentary essays are characterised by the creative impulse as a form of vital witnessing, the reflective pursuit and the intention of delving into what is human. To find something that verifies itself as a carrier of truth, it is necessary to turn to the patient observation of events in the sensitive life.

5. Conceptualisation in order to avoid dispersion and define the field of action.

While there is a great willingness to look closely at what is being produced, it is also important to define some concepts that act as anchors for the vast unknown field of exploration that we will delve into. Production also involves reflecting on the creative process itself by alternating short texts, reflections and activities of documentary-making in parallel, for example, to the filming experiences and the possible alternatives for the musical construction.

6. The mobilisation of a skeleton crew for solo shooting.

Due to the characteristics of the work, the activities must be developed with a small production team, and on many occasions, the author must perform the recording activity alone. Consequently, what may also condition the creation of a documentary essay is the fact of making do without the resources of conventional productions, so closely tied to limited calendars and concentrated work in specialised groups.

7. The assiduity of the activities to discover the future plot.

The regularity and frequency of recording activities practically turn them into a daily event. The fluxes of life are intimately related to the artistic activity itself, because the expressive necessity is honest, and commitment is paramount. The methodology of work requires filmings diversified in time which tend to go on for up to a couple of years. In order to begin the field work with the participation of the future collaborators and protagonists, a weekly filming schedule will be set. Thus, the exploration of reality can be embarked upon together. On another note, any commercial link with the protagonists is ruled out right from the start.

8. Activation of interplay with the protagonists when the action slows down.

The only intentional thing we do is to use playfulness as a resource for activating interaction with a reality that tends to freeze itself parsimoniously. In other words, the projection of fantasy appears as a suggestion through playing. The staging is enriched with action to complement the apparent reality of a certain poetics.

9. The construction of meanings with the essence of the filmed event.

This work formula also makes it possible to access the editing material intermittently, which facilitates the detailed observation of other recorded elements and generates new conceptual challenges in the search for plot structures or expressive tools.

10. The interweaving of events and the emergence of allegories to reveal the world.

Life occurs in multiple events which permanently alter the appearances of spatial and temporal reality. A discovery or stroke of luck stems from the interweaving of certain events into an emotional whole which may end up revealing its intimate meaning. Transformation and lived experience engender the shape of the final work. The completed creation shows a certain identifiable stamp, as can be reflected in the use of cohesive allegories in the representation of symbolic meanings. All in all, we could assert that the definition of the documentary film genre is particularly characterised by the unique way in which the creative process is applied.

PREMISE

We aim to pursue the transformation of matter mainly by working with wood to build instruments in the luthier’s workshop. We want to emphasise the harmonic values of humans with nature. Human activity processing matter to transform it into vibration, vibrations inherent to the universe…

The word matter has, in its Greek and Latin origin, the meaning of wood, construction material, forest, jungle. The uniqueness of the word luthier is interesting; derived from luth (lute), the term really comes from the Arabic al-`ūd (lute), which means “the wood”.

SYNOPSIS

A disciple learns, from the master luthier, the remarkable construction of some string instruments through observation and praxis. A journey in search of those chords capable of taking the human being out of itself.

TRAILER

The Autotelic Notebook

Work in progress

Premise

The most valuable certainty of our condition originates in contemplation.

The film Coneixença (“knowledge” in Catalan) is contemplated with the creation of an online game, based on an interactive notebook called El Quadern Autotèlic (“the autotelic notebook”). The notebook offers content through drawings, illustrations, texts, photographs, music and small video capsules. The user can participate by creating new pages with the incorporation of drawings, texts and photographs.

The plot reflects the construction of the creative process itself in formal terms, offering ideas and concepts mainly linked to nature, music and painting. The content is related to the five acts of the film Coneixença: search, discover, practice, relate and comprehend.

Credits

interpreters MARCO SALERNO, ANIOL PETIT, LAIA BOSCH With the participation of IRIS PETIT, GENÍS PETIT, GLÒRIA CANTERO, JOSEP MARIA PETIT Direction and writing FRANCESC FONT Production Movie-ments Original Music MAGAM (Marta Vila i Vega Montero) Musician performer PACO VICIANA (Benedictus. Karl Jenkins) Photography and camera FRANCESC FONT Postproduction XAVIER PÉREZ Assembly and calibration FRANCESC FONT Voiceover off ANIOL PETIT Màster DCP FROMZERO Sound postproduction and mixes LLUÍS COSTA Recording studio SOUNDCLUB graphic design poster CAROLINA TRÈBOL TECHNICAL ADVICE XAVIER PÉREZ Equipment coordination ERNEST FORTS Slate sequence and Caravaggio Concept art: JOSEP PLAJA, ADRIANA PUIGVERT - DRIN - Assistant director PAU RODRÍGUEZ Photography DANIEL DE JOSE -DEJU-, MARTÍ PLUMA In collaboration with EU ERAM - GRAU EN COMUNICACIÓ AUDIOVISUAL I MULTIMÈDIA In collaboration with Raffaele Pagani Fotografies

Locations

One of this project’s determining factors is the treatment of space. Certain workshop interiors are shown to emphasise space, regardless of the characters. To give space an independent role in the action, because a particular intimate time flows through space.

Located in the northeast corner of Catalonia, we are home to one of the most important identifying elements of the territory, Alt Empordà, an area which stretches from the coastal landscape to the mountain, not to mention the urban landscape. This important identify-defining value of the county’s landscape will frame the film’s exterior scenes in a striking way.

The town of Ordis, home to the luthier’s workshop, lies nestled in a landscape which delves in through narrow paths until reaching the church, flanked by a luxurious cypress. A few barley sprigs are depicted on its shield, allusions to the town’s name and the centuries-old farming of its land.

The learning sequence associated with the board unfolds inside the Chapel of Saint Lucy in Girona.

The different trees referenced are principally located in the landscape of the county of Pla de l’Estany. The maple and willow in Banyoles, the boxwood in Porqueres, the cypress in Ravós de Terri, the walnut tree in Vilamarí and the spruce in Sant Miquel de Campmajor and the spruces of the town of Susqueda in Sant Martí Sacalm.

Aniol Petit’s workshop is in the municipality of Sant Cebrià de Vallalta, near the town of Sant Pol de Mar in the county of Maresme. A space located on the threshold of
Montnegre Corredor Natural Park with extensive formations of holly and cork oak groves.