Country: France
Year: 2014
Duration: 19'
What remains of the city of Fukushima, semi-abandoned after the accident at the nearby nuclear plant: a monkey, wearing a human mask, wanders around all alone in an empty restaurant, where it works as a waitress. A dystopic environment, without any trace of humanity. The only example left is the monkey, trapped in a false role which, unconsciously, it is forced to endlessly relive and repeat. Reality (the experiment with the monkey-waitress really took place) and fiction mix, interweave and blend against the background of a desolate place.
Biography
film director
Pierre Huyghe
Pierre Huyghe (Paris, France, 1962) lives and works in Paris. There he studied at École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs. His works have been exhibited internationally. His recent solo presentations include a major touring retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, LACMA, Los Angeles, and Museum Ludwig, Cologne, in 2014, and an exhibition of screenings of the film The Host and the Cloud (2010) at Museu d’art Contemporani de Barcelona in Spain in April 2014. He won, among the many recognitions he was awarded with, the Special Prize at Biennale di Venezia for the French Pavillion in 2001, the Hugo Boss Prize in 2002, the Haftmann Prize in 2013, and the Think:Film Award at Berlinale in 2015, thanks to Untitled (Human Mask), selected in Forum Expanded section.
FILMOGRAFIA
The Host and the Cloud (2010), Untitled (Human Mask) (cm, 2014).
Declaration
film director
“Huyghe’s film is skilfully lit, shot and edited, and the effect is both quietly medidative and compelling. But while the artist has contrived the scenario, and overlaid meaning and mood, for the monkey there is nothing fictional about it. If she seems scared by the rattling noises, that’s because she is. She is not an actor in a role but an animal trained to perform. Huyghe’s art may be beautiful but is never easy, and the result here is disturbing to watch.” (G. Murray Brown, “The Financial Times”)
Cast
& Credits
regia/director
Pierre Huyghe
fotografia/cinematography
André Chemetoff
montaggio/film editing
Pierre Huyghe, Nicolas Chaudeurge, Katie Mcquerrey
suono/sound
Raphael Sohier
produttori/producers
Anna Lena Vaney, Victorien Vaney
produzione/production
Anna Lena Vaney Films
contatti/contacts
Anna Lena Vaney Films
annalenavaney@mac.com
www.annalenafilms.com
Pierre Huyghe
fotografia/cinematography
André Chemetoff
montaggio/film editing
Pierre Huyghe, Nicolas Chaudeurge, Katie Mcquerrey
suono/sound
Raphael Sohier
produttori/producers
Anna Lena Vaney, Victorien Vaney
produzione/production
Anna Lena Vaney Films
contatti/contacts
Anna Lena Vaney Films
annalenavaney@mac.com
www.annalenafilms.com
