Method000002

What are you creating? I'm currently working on a 5 to 7-minute short film about the cemetery I discovered next to the garage of my building. My intention is to explore the shared stillness within this special site, nestled between the garage and the cemetery. Why are you making it? I pass by the site every day and find it very appealing. I've always liked the idea of visiting a site, observing it, and improvising based on the observation process. This marks my first project in the city of Rotterdam, and I want to employ this kind of practice, this mode of production, to explore the immediate space around me. How does this project relate to other things you have done in your previous practice? I have tried various different mediums in my previous endeavors. I began as a photographer and later became deeply involved in performance and film. Many of my experiences working with other mediums still influence my current practice. Similar to my performance pieces, the creation of this film is closely tied to the body and how it perceives a specific site. It requires the presence of the body and addresses the concept of improvisation. How do you anticipate this project being different from what you've already done? Many of my previous film projects started with sites I was already familiar with. In the making of this project, I intend to explore and study the site. By actively engaging with it, I've discovered many new factors and uncovered a new layer of texture within the site. I've constantly shifted my role from being an observer to actively engaging with these new discoveries. What significant choices have you made during this project? At one point, while working and observing the site, I discovered that it is an abandoned Jewish cemetery. This sudden realization changed my plan and had a profound impact on the project. The site is now intertwined with many politically and culturally significant events and backgrounds that I didn't initially intend to address. This disruption has affected many of my previous ideas and my overall perception of this work. Consequently, I am currently conducting research and seeking more details about the site to figure out a way to either address or avoid this very specific cultural background. Does this work promise anything? I believe that, on some level, this work also delves into the process of filmmaking. It addresses the power of paying attention through its pacing and duration. What questions does your work pose? As I mentioned in the previous response, this project is primarily about film, looking, and listening. I believe it proposes a way of using film to address something that exists beyond the boundaries of film, in our awareness. The question that arises is how our attention and our perception of time, through the process of viewing and creating the film, may alter our relationship with the world outside the film.