IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS
86 min., documentary, Québec, Canada, 2023Directed byCatherine Martin
Produced byLes Films de l'Autre - Catherine Martin
LanguagesFrench, Japanese
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.
Film details
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
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