| International Filmmaker Spotlight GARINE TOROSSIAN curated by PAUL LEE International Filmmaker Spotlight: The Recent films of Garin� Torossian Born in Beirut, Lebanon, and moved to Canada in 1979, Garin� Torossian is a Toronto based filmmaker of Armenian descent whose collage films have won numerous awards, and have screened at almost every conceivable venue around the world - including live rock shows, art galleries, and five consecutive appearances at the Berlin International Film Festival. She is primarily a self-taught filmmaker and photographer. Mining a rich palette of colours and textures, superimpositions and dissolves, mixing formats of super 8, 35mm and video, Torossian creates stunningly sophisticated films that bridge the gaps between visual, sound art, cinema and the rock video. There have been retrospectives of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as Ottawa's Cinematheque and Yerevan's Cinematheque, Berlin Arsenal, Telluride Film Festival, and Winnipeg Cinematheque. Her film, GIRL FROM MOUSH(1994), was awarded best experimental film at the Melbourne Film Festival. SPARKLEHORSE(1999) received honorable mention at the 2000 Berlin International Film Festival. HOKEES(2000) won gold prize for experimental drama at the Houston Film Festival and best short at the AFFMA film festival. BABIES ON THE SUN(2001) won the Panorama shortfilm prize at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival. This spotlight programme showcases some of Torossian's most recent award-winning work. GARDEN IN KHORKHOM Garin� Torossian, Canada, 2003, 14 min., colour and B/W. Inspired by the works of Armenian American painter Arshile Gorky, the film is a tapestry of footage provided by Armenian-Canadian director Atom Egoyan�s feature film ARARAT and footage shot by Torossian. GARDEN IN KHORKHOM is an impressionistic film, a homage to Arshile Gorky that focuses on his relationship to Armenian art and to his mother. SHADOWY ENCOUNTERS Garin� Torossian, Canada, 2002, 15 min., colour and B/W. A homage to the work of the Quay Brothers, the film is a synthesis of collaged moving and still images taken directly from the Quay Brothers' 35mm films and re-contextualized in order to metaphorically and responsively capture and reframe the qualities of the films of the Quay Brothers. The richly textured and layered imagery that resulted delves the labyrinthine and secret realms of the Quay Brothers' world. SPARKLEHORSE Garin� Torossian, Canada, 2000, 9 min., colour. Inspired by three songs by the band Sparklehorse, the film conveys subtly and with characteristic poetry the way people communicate with and value each other in a world of spiralling mediation. BABIES ON THE SUN Garin� Torossian, Canada, 2001, 5 min., colour. Inspired by the song of the same name by the band Sparklehorse, the textured and layered style of the film gives the impression of blurred memories floating in the subconscious mind, offering nostalgic, weathered images of �childhood�. HOKEES Garin� Torossian, Canada, 2000, 26 min., colour. HOKEES is the story of Anahid � a contemporary Armenian woman who is pregnant with the child of her Turkish lover haunted by the past. An artistic blending of the real and unreal, of the past and present, are tightly woven into an emotionally visual experience. In Armenian, Hokees literally means �soul� or �spirit�. Total running time: 69 minutes |
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