Chambre 415.30 rue Rottembourg - 75012 ParisTél : 06.89.35.48.38chambre415@gmail.com

enpresence

a film by NiNo LaisNé

with

céciLe druetviNceNzo capezzuto

pabLo zapicodaNieL zapico

chambre 415. presents

FraNce - 2013 - 8 miN - Hd - 16:9 widescreeN Format - coLour - stereospaNisH witH eNgLisH subtitLes

press kit available on www.ninolaisne.com

length 8 min 14country of production Franceyear of production 2013

shooting format digital HDscreening format fichier HD (.MOV, H264) ou Blu-Ray

speaking spanishsubtitles available english / french / portuguese

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distiNctioNs :

This project has received the Aide Individuelle à la Création grant from the DRAC Aquitaine and is also the winner of the Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes award for ‘Jeune Création Vidéo Cinéma’ in partnership with Arte Creative.

On a stage in an empty theatre, a singer with a compelling voice sings a Venezuelan tonada, accompanied by a theorbo and a baroque guitar. At the back of the room, a door quietly opens and a woman appears. She watches the scene, captivated by the music. The trio launches into La Embarazada del Viento, a traditional folk song about a teenage girl’s mysterious pregnancy.The woman is moved in barely perceptible ways, shaken up inside.

a film by NiNo LaisNé

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enpresence

Origins

In the beginning, there was La embarazada del viento, the traditional song from the Margarita Islands off the cost of Venezuela. I’ve been listening to this song for more than ten years and when I first heard it, I was immediately aware of the strange potential of these lyrics, which are a sort of folkloric version of the Annunciation. I am very interested in religious reminiscences in traditional music. During a residency in Monflanquin in 2010, I started writing a project on this music. I have wanted to film musicians for a long time now and it seemed to me that this text echoed a certain unrest which was already present in my work. I finished the scenario a few months later and the filming took place in the spring of

2012. With this project, I wanted to capture the emotional disturbance that listening to certain pieces of music can provoke. I think that this feeling has something universal about it. We have all had the experience of being deeply moved by a piece of music and being dazzled, overwhelmed and left contemplative. I was interested in a moment that is not usually subjected to the view of the spectator, a private instant even though the theater is by essence a place for public performance. Ever since I started doing videos, I had never staged a dialogue. In this case, I wanted to approach speaking without using a classical fictional dialogue. The song was a good alternative. It enabled me to introduce narration in an indirect way.

An ambiguous presence

Generally speaking, I try to achieve a sort of disorientation or loss of bearings and to shake up the viewer’s certitudes a little. Even with an 8-minute film, it’s important for the viewer to be confronted with an unordinary object and for him/her to reexamine his reflexes and habitual reactions a little. All of the elements of this film contribute to troubling the viewer a little more. Obviously, the androgynous quality of Vincenzo’s voice is the first element. Right from the first note, we wonder about the gap between what we see and what we hear. But we couldn’t focus on just that for the whole film. The viewer’s attention needs to be given new impetus and turn to successive details. The appearance of the young woman is therefore a micro-event. I often work with Cécile Druet, and I know her potential for provoking a certain ambiguity. In a certain

nino laisne par sabrina prez

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way, it is a discreet echo of Vincenzo’s character. And although I just touch on the mystical aspect of this film, there is an exchange which is created between them, despite the fact that their eyes never really meet. I wanted a connection to be made that went beyond the technical trick of shot/counter-shot. And the confusion created by their ambiguous physiques also added to the complexity of this dialogue.

The theorbo & baroque guitar

As for the musicians, the choice was obvious, especially for their mastery of baroque plucked chords. They didn’t know Venezuelan music at all and maybe that is what tempted them to do this project. What appealed to me about the twin brothers, beyond the sensitivity of their interpretation, was that I have never seen two musicians with more musical complicity, even in their glances, their silences. This made the musical part very easy. I was able to use their long-standing complicity which was evident on stage. We’ve spoken of the dialogue between Vincenzo and Cécile, but there is also another dialogue which is established between the instruments : the theorbo in a form of sensuality, of depth, which complements the brilliance and dynamics of the baroque guitar. The musicians live in Spain and in preparing for the film everything had to be done at a distance. I hardly talked to them about the fictional aspect of the film. I sent them the scores and based on that, we talked mostly music. For the Tonada, I gave Daniel a space for improvisation to support the voice. For the second piece, I purposely left the meter in 5/8, which is typical of

Venezuelan music, and a way to count and accentuate time which was absolutely not used in the 17th century. This mix of cultural origins was important to me.

Musical crossover

For this film I allowed myself to do the musical arrangements. As I myself am a member of an Argentinian music ensemble, I wanted to put my skills as a musician to work in my video practice. I know the repertory of South American folk music pretty well and also frequently venture into the world of Baroque music. This film enabled me to find a kind of overlapping between these two epochs and to create bridges between the two styles.

Aesthetic Considerations

One point I discussed a lot with Victor, my director of photography, was that the codes that we used for the onstage scene were very much like those for the typical filming of a concert, the way the instruments were framed in the shot and how the close-ups alternated with shots of the whole ensemble…Whereas all of the shots of Cécile look a lot more like fiction. It seemed like an interesting idea to me – to juxtapose these two typologies: one reflecting reality and the other being more about fantasy. As for the lighting, it is also more artificial on the actress. When I capture intimate moments, I like there to be something like camouflage, when the character seems to dissolve into the surroundings. That is why we made the lights on the young woman go through an evolution. When she appears, the contrasts are relatively strong,

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whereas the more the film goes on, the more the image softens, which results in Cécile gradually disappearing.

Piety & Renaissance

The lyrics of the song speak clearly about an episode like the Annunciation. For many viewers, Cécile’s presence is asexual, and I have often heard that angels have no sex… I don’t think I have to say any more… (laughs). I am fairly comfortable with a religious interpretation of this film, but I don’t want to necessarily induce this reading of it. Things are left sufficiently open as is. Like the changing light on the actress. It’s a detail that slips into the flow of the film. The viewer may not perceive it, but it’s there. Sure, we could make a connection to the history of pictorial representation: there are a lot of barely perceptible tricks for

transforming the light that would provoke a strange or even mystical effect. We could carry this comparison with the Renaissance even further, and talk about the sensuality of certain gestures for example. When Daniel tilts his head slightly back, we could almost talk about voluptuousness, like that which we find in those paintings that mingle pain and ecstasy.

interview done in March, 2013

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filmographY 2014 . esas lagrimas son pocas / in progress2013 . en présence (piedad silenciosa)2012 . un instant

exhibitions ( selection )

2014 . Les dérivés de la photographie / FRAC Aquitaine (Bordeaux, France)2014 . Touristes / image/imatge art center (Orthez, France)2014 . 12m2 / image/imatge art center (Orthez, France)2014 . Reflect what you are / Public garden (Bordeaux, France)2013 . COOP.1 / COOP association (Bidart, France)2013 . la nuit de l’instant / Les ateliers de l’image (Marseille, France)2013 . 5 regards sur le 1% / Conseil Général de Gironde (Bordeaux, France)2012 . la perte du désir de plaisir / Off selection, Rencontres Photographiques (Arles, France)2012 . l’espace de l’autre / Centre d’Art et Photographie (Lectoure, France)2011 . 20 ans / Pollen residence (Monflanquin, France)2011 . wiesbadener fototage / 7e Biennial photography (Wiesbaden, Allemagne)2011 . the life of an artist / Gallery Live in your Head (Genève, Suisse)2010 . vides / Pollen residence (Monflanquin, France)2010 . glissements de terrain / 11e Parcours Contemporain (Fontenay-le-comte, France)2010 . désir / Museum of Fine Arts (Bordeaux, France)2009 . connexion / Gallery 3ième porte bleue (Paris, France)2008 . la belle vie / Gallery Le sentiment océanique (Bordeaux, France)2008 . art et paysage / Les rencontres festival (Artigues-près-Bordeaux, France)2008 . empanadate! / Plan B (Buenos Aires, Argentine)

By creating images on the borderlines of cinema, Nino Laisné questions our relationship to time and to narrative. All of his work is filled with a kind of attenuated tension that acts to trouble the viewer. His projects have led to his being exhibited in different countries such as: Germany, Switzerland and Argentina. He is regularly invited to produce new pieces in the context of creative residencies (Pollen in Monflanquin, Maison Chevolleau in Fontenay-le-Comte, etc.), and he received the Aide Individuelle à la Création from the DRAC Aquitaine in 2011. His recent videos projects have also been presented in different cinemas. In parallel to his visual art productions, Nino Laisné is a guitarist in the tango quintet, Músicas Recuperadas, which he co-directs with Miguel Garau. For the past few years, he has reflected on religious traces in traditional music and has been interested in the direct or indirect influence of the Baroque period. En présence (piedad silenciosa) exists at the intersection of these different investigations.

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screenings ( selection )

2014 . FIAC ! Paris, Cinéphémère du Jardin des Tuileries (Paris France) 2014 . FID ‘International Film Festival’ Marseille (France)2014 . ‘Silence on court’ festival, Les Voûtes cinema (Paris, France)2014 . week-end museum Télérama, image/imatge art center (Orthez, France)2014 . 1 artist / 3 video, Les arts au mur artothèque (Pessac, France)2014 . FIPA, selection of Pépinères Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes (Biarritz, France)2013 . pink room, L’atelier d’Estienne art center (Pont-Scorff, France)2013 . la nuit défendue, multimedia library Jacques Ellul (Pessac, France)2013 . festival internacional de cine de Toluca (Mexique)

grants & resiDencies2011-2012 . residence Ecriture de lumière, coordinated by Pollen (Lot-et-Garonne, France)2011 . grant Aide Individuelle à la Création (AIC) de la DRAC Aquitaine, 20112010 . residence at Pollen (Monflanquin, France)2010 . residence at the Maison Chevolleau (Fontenay-le-Comte, France)2008 . Culture-France grant, study project in Buenos Aires (Argentina)

eDUcation 2009 . DNSEP, with honors, School of Fine Arts, Bordeaux2007 . DNAP, with honors, School of Fine Arts, Bordeaux

pUblishing 2014 . En présence (piedad silenciosa) [CD] / soundtrack , 1000 ex, éd. Altaïs Music2013 . Un instant [DVD] / film, 1100 ex, éditions Pollen, CRARC Aquitaine, Chambre 4152012 . Station / personal catalog, 1200 ex, éditions Pollen2010 . Os convidados, fragments / exhibition booklet, 500 ex. self-publish2009 . María / partition, 30 ex. self-publish

press & catalog ( selection) ‘‘Nino Laisné, le temps suspendu’’ / Les inrocks lab, interview by Anna Hess, june 2014Metavilla / folder on the exhibition Touristes on line, april 2014L’art même / n°60, cover and article, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles éditions Wagnis Fotografie / catalog of the 7th edition of Wiesbadener Fototage, sept. 2011«Résidences croisées» / Le festin, n°76, dec. 2010‘‘Maintenant, demain et après demain’’ / Spirit, n°59, april 2010Amours et corollaires / catalog of the exhibition, may 2010 Désir / catalog of the exhibition, april 2010Art et paysage / catalog of the exhibition, jan. 2009

Troubling and singular, Cécile Druet has been seen in strong roles: as a charismatic Queen Elizabeth in Marie Stuart de Schiller; as a simian version of Lady Macbeth, under the direction of Jean-Marie Broucaret (Les Chimères company) ; a cantankerous woman in Suite 1 by Minyana, directed by Frédéric Maragnani (Travaux Publics company); or most recently as Tanaïs, queen of the Amazons, in a reinterpretation of Penthésilée. Wishing to further her research into experimental theater, she became involved with the company Chris Cadillac, whose Las Vanitas continues to extend the boundaries of theater. In parallel, Cécile Druet has expanded her experiences to include stage direction and directing workshops. In 2009, her path crossed Nino Laisné’s. En présence (piedad silenciosa) is their fourth collaboration.

Regularly, Vincenzo Capezzuto collaborates with L’Arpeggiata ensemble directed by Christina Pluhar and features on the ensemble’s most recent recording by EMI/Virgin Classics: Via Crucis (2010), Los Pajaros Perdidos (2012), Mediterraneo (2013), Music for a while (2014), performing all over the international music festivals including the Carnegie Hall in New York, the BBCProms and Wigmore Hall of London and Accademia Filarmonica Romana. He worked both as a dancer and a singer with the Accordone ensemble at the Salzburg Music Festival and with European Baroque Orchestra. The american writer Donna Leon invited him, as the only singer, for her project Gondola ( book + CD ) with the Pomo d’oro baroque ensemble directed by Riccardo Minasi and with Cecilia Bartoli as special guest. He also participated on the recording “Ti amo anche se non so chi sei” together with the most prestigious italian singers as: Franco Battiato, Lucio Dalla and Gianni Morandi.In 2011 Vincenzo created along with Claudio Borgianni Soqquadro Italiano.

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Pablo Zapico is a regular performer in ensembles as Forma Antiqva, Estil Concertant, La Ritirata, La Reverencia, Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, La Hispano-flamenca, Académie Baroque Européenne d’Ambronay, European Union Baroque Orchestra and Akademie Für Alte Musik Berlin. He has recorded more than twelve CDs for the most prestigious labels, in special for Winter&Winter, and has participated in live and recorded broadcasts for Radio France Musique, BBC, RTVE and Catalunya Musica. As a teacher he has given masterclasses in Venize, Melbourne, Bordeaux, Singapore, Madrid... Currently he is appointed lute teacher in the Federico Moreno Torroba Conservatory in Madrid.

As a founding member of the ensemble Forma Antiqva, Daniel Zapico has played extensively in important festivals throughout Spain and in several concert tours in Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Japan, Serbia or Singapore, achieving great success between audience and critics. With Forma Antiqva, he has recorded seven albums. The recently released Opera Zapico, was awarded in some of the most important magazines of music. Forma Antiqva is an exclusive artist for the German label Winter&Winter.He also works with many differents ensemble, like La Caravaggia, La Ritirata directed by Josetxu Obregón or the Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla.Since 2008 he teaches Early Plucked Instruments in the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Zaragoza (Spain), and since 2009 he also teaches in the Academia de Música Antigua de Gijón (AMAG).

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actressvoicebaroque guitartheorbo directordirector of photographyassistant opératorstudio managergaffersound manscriptphotographvideo editingtimingmusic editing, mixingsound editing, mixing production with the support of

music

Cécile DruetVincenzo CapezzutoPablo ZapicoDaniel Zapico Nino LaisnéVictor ZéboThibault SolinhacMatthieu ChevetOlivier TrombettaDavid ManeMarine PédeboscqJulien RichaudaudMaud RamierAlexandre SadowskyMireille FaureJeanne Delplancq Chambre 415 DRAC AquitaineThéâtre des 4 saisons de Gradignan

Tonada para dos tristezaswords and music : Ignacio Izcarayperformed by Vincenzo Capezzuto and Daniel Zapico

La embarazada del vientowords and music : Constantino Ramonesarrangement : Nino Laisnéperformed by Vincenzo Capezzuto, Daniel and Pablo Zapico

Improvisación sobre el passacalleperformed Daniel and Pablo Zapico

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photographies © Nino Laisnéexcepted p. 4 et 12 : photographies © Julien Richaudaud

conception graphique : Chambre 440.translation : Patricia Chen

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supports & partNersHips :

www.ninolaisne.com