Festival international
"Signes de Nuit"
concept
The
International Festival Signes de Nuit in Paris is comprised of films,
which reflect new views, original imagery and critical approach to the
crucial points of the modern human existence. It is a place for cinema
that expands its own boundaries, that is astonishing, different, potentially
free from the pressure of tradition, ready to give itself to the unpredictable
experiment.
Special artistic forms of these films, which combine music, image, movement,
rhythm, text, space, lighting and time carry not only an aesthetic purpose,
but also broaden the possibilities of communication and understanding
between people within different international communities, with their
mental, social and physiological phenomena. This is the responsibility
of the engaged cinema and audio-visual production.
This opposition and the preservation of the free cultural space is the
goal of Signes de Nuit festival, which was held in 16 different countries
including Lebanon, Cuba, Turkey, Japan, Australia, Peru, Slovenia, Tunisia,
Lithuania and Russia besides the annual festival in Paris, which will
present this year a program with films coming from around 35 countries.
"Signes de nuit" international festival pursues several objectives.
It responds first of all to certain rumors which say that the city's cultural nightlife has lost its vitality. We will prove otherwise. Secondly, it offers a forum for Paris' young, independent film scene which we seek to promote. Thirdly, we present an extremely differentiated cross section of high quality international short and experimental film work.
Finally, the festival is an opportunity to dissolve the borders between different forms of expression such as photography, theater, the public lecture, the presentation of artistic projects, video art and performance, and, above all, between the genres of the cinematographic arts (experimental films, shorts, documentaries and fiction). "Signs of Night" consists of a rich and stimulating night of exchange of ideas and projects.
The dynamism of and excitement for experiencing short/experimental films probably have no equal in the contemporary cultural world. Add to this the opportunity to create an alternative public art scene which sets itself against the increasingly regulated and commercial media situation, and you have a creation essential for culture's survival.
The cinema of transgression, surprise and of "la difference" is potentially free form any constraint imposed by institutions. In order to present its artistic visions, it simply needs a projector and a darkened hall. The relatively low production costs make the cinema "de la difference" independent of commercial interests and offers a constant challenge for those artists ready to throw themselves into unpredictable experimentation.
Offering a wide flexibility, formats such as video, DV, super 8 and 16mm permit almost spontaneous encounters between filmmakers and the public. The cinema "de la difference" is an art forms with perhaps the broadest creative palette, combining sound, image, movement, rhythm, text, space, light and time--thus deploying a richly varied spectrum.
This said, it has been necessary to make a selection within this burgeoning creative scene-- a selection which does not undermine its diversity but rather defends its singularities and does not shirk its confrontation with actual life. This is indeed the goal of the festival "Signes de nuit."
Dieter Wieczorek
