Ruiz on the film: “I began La présence réelle (The Real Presence) first. I. N. A. had commissioned me to produce a personal vision of the Festival d’Avignon. This became a fiction about the theater because if I had filmed the actual performances at Avignon I would have had to respect their staging, I would not be able to change anything. As such, I wouldn’t be doing anything more than a retransmission of Antenne 2 or FR3. And since a lot would have to be paid for rights to each play, it would end up costing as much as a fiction feature. So it is a story about the theater, a bit Rivette-ish. I shot all the exteriors in Avignon, the interiors in Paris a few days later and I finish the film next Tuesday.”
Blog
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Jago: A Life Underwater
Jago tells the story of an 80 year old sea nomad called Rohani who has spent his life plying the waters of South East Asia’s Coral Triangle. The story is told entirely from Rohani’s perspective, against the spectacular backdrop of the Togian Islands, and recreates events that capture the turning points in his life, as a hunter and as a man. We were able to bring Rohani’s past experiences to life by working closely with his family and friends in the village where he grew up. These are the people you see representing Rohani in the film at various stages in his life. Story telling is a big part of Bajau culture, and a way of preserving traditions through generations, so everyone was very enthusiastic about what we were trying to do and brought lots of ideas of their own, especially Rohani. Although he had never had a camera pointed at him, it certainly wasn’t the first time he’d sat around telling stories. We were just lucky that he let us capture it on film.
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Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story
In 1981, a film about the misadventures of a German U-boat crew in 1941 becomes a worldwide hit almost four decades after the end of the World War II. Millions of viewers worldwide make Das Boot the most internationally successful German film of all time. But due to disputes over the script, accidents on the set, and voices accusing the makers of glorifying the war, the project was many times on the verge of being cancelled.
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Breathing Underwater
In Jeju Province, located off the southern coast of Korea, are the women of the sea, those who hold breath for life. These women still exist and they still dive the old way, without tanks. They go into the waters of 10- to 20-meter depth to harvest seaweed and shellfish to make a living. They make a living in the same sea, but each haenyeo’s sea of life is different. The community is divided into three tiers- Group A, B and C, based on skills and capabilities. One’s rank is determined by sum or breath. Sum, is pre-determined at birth. Therefore, sum is desired. However, the ocean is harsh. May you desire! But seek what is not yours, the ocean will devour you. Life, for these women of the sea, is about holding one’s breath, and containing and controlling one’s desire. The film is a six year record of the lives of the haenyeos in Udo, an islet in the province of Jeju, known to be the birthplace of haenyeo. It is a close look into the lives that stand on the boundary of life and death.
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Pororo: Underwater Adventure
Pororo and his friends visit the stronghold of the Red Hunters, the guardians of the ocean, filled with admiration in their hearts. They face consecutive attacks from sea garbage, nasty sharks, and the terrifying sea monster Situs. Though Pororo and Crong are rescued by Murrok, their attempt to hunt Situs fails, and the creature escapes with their friends swallowed. Refusing to give up on their friends, Pororo and Crong decide to help Murrok capture Situs. However, Murrok’s revealed plan to sacrifice their friends shocks Pororo deeply. Can Pororo and Crong stop Murrok and save their friends?
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Underwater Love
35-year-old Asuka works in a lakeside fish factory. She’s about to be married to her boss, Taki, but one day, she encounters a kappa – a water sprite found in Japanese folklore – and learns that the creature is in fact the reborn form of Aoki, an old crush who’d drowned when they were 17.
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Atlantis: The Underwater City
During a trip to Stonehenge, two youngsters are kidnapped by a mysterious light ray coming from space. Their destination is the mythical underwater city of Atlantis where Princess Lutienne is waiting for the spacecraft. She is longing to see Zoltan, the Legendary magician. He would have helped her to rescue the town from the unwelcome invasion of the terrible aliens called Egrims. The situation is desperate: how can two young human beings face such powerful and big enemies?
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Burning Underwater
Three friends celebrate midsummer together in a remote house. The next morning one of them is missing. Lila and Siiri recount their different takes on last night’s events, trying to figure out where Riina could be. Siiri keeps trying to tell Lila something she is not willing hear.
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Underwater Impressions
Riefenstahl explores the undersea world of coral reefs in various oceans around the world. Soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder.