IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS

Catherine Martin

Subjects: Arts & Culture , Asia

Directed by

Catherine Martin

Languages

French, Japanese

Produced by

Les Films de l'Autre - Catherine Martin

86 min., documentary, Québec, Canada, 2023

A meditative state of wonder where the fleeting beauty of shadows evokes our place in the world, the passage of time, and the very essence of life and its fragility.

Synopsis

Junichiro Tanizaki’s literary essay In Praise of Shadows, light and dark, and the origins of photography and cinema are among the strands interwoven in this “cinematic meditation” in three chapters. Fleeting shadows ebb and flow in a glistening half-light, an enchanted dreamlike state that reflects on our place in the world, the passage of time, and the very essence of life and its fragility.

 

Crew

Script writer : Catherine Martin

Cinematography : Catherine Martin

Additionnal images : Mathieu Laverdière, Jean Fugazza

Editing : Catherine Martin

Sound design : Simon Gervais
Sound mix : Stéphane Bergeron

Music : Robert Marcel Lepage

Sound recording : Catherine Martin

Narration : Catherine Martin, Robert Lepage

En bas de ça, c'est pas encore fait

Direction

Catherine Martin

Catherine Martin was born in Québec. She writes and directs all her films, fictions as well as documentaries. Her films have been shown at numerous international festivals (Berlin, Toronto, Oberhausen, Nyon, Buenos Aires, Karlovy Vary, etc.) and won awards in Canada and abroad. Since 2017, she has done her own camerawork, sound recording and picture editing, acting as a producer and director of her documentary essays.

 

Filmography

 

Feature films
• UNE JEUNE FILLE (A JOURNEY), 85 min, 2013
• TROIS TEMPS APRÈS LA MORT D’ANNA (MOURNING FOR ANNA), 87 min, 2010
• DANS LES VILLES (IN THE CITIES), 87 min, 2006
• MARIAGES (MARRIAGES), 95 min, 2001

 

Documentaries and documentary essays
• ÉLOGE DE L’OMBRE (IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS), 86 minutes, 2023
• CERTAINS DE MES AMIS (SOME OF MY FRIENDS), 115 min, 2017
• L’ESPRIT DES LIEUX (THE SPIRIT OF PLACES), 84 min, 2006
• OCÉAN (OCEAN), 50 min, 2002
• LES DAMES DU 9E (THE LADIES OF THE 9TH FOOR), 50 min, 1998

 

Short and medium length fictions or film essays
• LES FINS DE SEMAINE (WEEKENDS), 30 min, 1995
• L’OMBRE (THE SHADOWS), 15 min, 1992
• NUITS D’AFRIQUE , 48 min,1990
• ODILE OU RÉMINISCENCES D’UN VOYAGE, 23 min, 1985
• DE TEMPS ET D’EAU, 2 min., 2011
• QUAND J’AURAI VU LES ÎLES, 14 min, 2010
• ALICE, 30 sec, 2007