Documentaries

LES AVATARS DE LA MORT D’EMPÉDOCLE

Jean-Paul Toraille
FRA 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
53 min
V'10

In the summer of 1986, Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub were working in the park of an old Sicilian mansion and in a clearing at the foot of Mount Etna shooting Der Tod des Empedokles. Assistant cameraman Jean-Paul Toraille toyed around, so to speak, with his first video camera, filming the daily work on the set. Now, 24 years later, he was joined by Jean-Marie Straub in editing the material into a film. Anyone who expected the shooting of Les Avatars de la mort d’Empédocle to be an austere affair, an exercise entirely devoid of humour or a Straubian tour de force is proven wrong: so much lightness, joy, concentration, spells of waiting for the sun to come out – and even proper slapstick in between – is hard to find.
This film is not a making of but rather a making in. With the Straubs it’s best not to venture too far in terms of commentary. They’re shooting La Mort d’Empédocle and I am assistant to the cinematographer Renato Berta. At the same time, I am also filming with my first camcorder. Some years later, Jean-Marie, who recalls that digital footage, asks me to edit it together. We assemble memories of those particular moments. (Jean-Paul Toraille)

]]>Les Avatars de la mort d’Empédocle]]> will be screened together with O somma luce on October, 27.

Credits
  • Renato Berta
  • Jean-Marie Straub
  • Danièle Huillet
  • Vladimir Baratta - Pausanias
  • Martina Baratta - Panthea
  • William Berger - Kritias
  • Louis Hochet
  • Jean-Paul Toraille
  • Jean-Paul Toraille
  • Catherine Quesemand
  • Jean-Paul Toraille
Jean-Paul Toraille

Jean-Paul Toraille

Video (Digi Beta)
col
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