I CAN FEEL YOUR HEART BEAT (pt. 2)
Saturday, June 1 | 10:00 PM | Dave Barber Cinematheque | 18A
Part two of a two-part program bound together by an unsettling provocation regarding matters of the heart—metaphorical, literal and visceral.
The three films in this second half pierce the heart as a symbol of love and find ground instead in the domain of fear, anxiety, loneliness, obsession, and desperation. A complex web of toxicity and victimhood is established through ruminations on violence, anatomy, incel culture, the atomizing nature of existence in the digital era, and Exuma, the Obeah Man. What is the face of solitude? I can barely hear your cry for help over the sound of blood rushing in my ears.
*Please note this program contains graphic content and mature subject matter. This program is rated 18A. Viewer discretion is advised. Total runtime 61.5 minutes.
Asterión, dir. Francesco Montagner
2022 | Czech Republic, Slovakia | 15 | 16mm on video | Canadian premiere
Under the burning sun, a solitary bull awaits tireless, whilst a man jumps deep into the darkest waters of his persona, in their common attempt to defeat death.
You Didn't Know Me In My Dream, dir. Lydia Wilson
2023 | Canada | 8.5 | video
A disturbing and claustrophobic piece about a person living in a state of discomfort and paranoia.
The Mechanics of fluids, dir. Gala Hernández López
2022 | France | 38 | video | Canadian premiere
In 2018, an incel (i.e., an involuntary celibate) posts a suicide note on the Reddit platform with the title “America is responsible for my death.” The Mechanics of fluids is an attempt to find answers to his words. A virtual drift on the Internet in search of his digital traces that ends up being an inner journey between two connected solitudes.
Images from: Francesco Montagner's Asterión, Lydia Dyck's You Don't Know Me In My Dream and Gala Hernández López's The Mechanics of fluids