FILM PROJECT IN COLLABORATION WITH ELISA POL [Nerval Teatro]
first premiered in frame of the interdisciplinary performance evening DREAMER, in frame of INEQUILIBRIO FESTIVAL 2022, hosted by Teatro Armunia, Castiglioncello (It)
The meeting & exploration of two women with a special relationship to the mountains resulted in a poetic testimony about mountaineering, time spent outdoors and the lessons it can teach us, inspired by the diaries of the two performers and anecdotes of other female wanderers and mountaineers.
“I believe that I now understand in some small measure why one goes on a pilgrimage to a mountain. The journey is itself part of the technique by which the divine is sought. It is a journey into Being; for as I penetrate more deeply into the mountain’s life, I penetrate also into my own. For an hour I am beyond desire. I am not out of myself, but in myself. I am. To know Being, this is the final grace accorded from the mountain.”
– Nan Shepherd, THE LIVING MOUNTAIN
The mountains, an archaic powerful environment.
What is the fascination with this environment that some feel?
This film is a collaboration and meeting of film maker and choreographer Andrea Hackl and the Italian actress Elisa Pol, two women with a special relationship to the mountains – that is far from ‘conquering the mountain’ but rather speaking of a dance with this environment. It is inspired by the meaning that this environment holds for them personally as well as the lessons moving within it can teach all of us.
A MOUNTAIN PORTRAIT is a poetic testimony about time spent outdoors, with an at times humoristic note. Mostly driven by a deep love for the environment, this film equally opens up a window onto the (daily) challenges and tasks as well as the danger the mountains can hold. – and the sense of support it bring between people.
It is a collage of personal stories overlapping with reflections and anecdotes of other female wanderers and mountaineers, such as Nan Shepherd (The Living Mountain) and Rebecca Solnit (Wanderlust).
Landscapes have a language of their own, expressing the soul of things, lofty or humble, which constitute them, from the mighty peaks to the smallest of the tiny flowers hidden in the meadow’s grass.
– Alexandra David-Néel
CREDITS
concept: Andrea Hackl & Elisa Pol
choreography + direction: Andrea Hackl
performance + voice over: Andrea Hackl + Elisa Pol
camera: Dariy Karyakin + Andrea Hackl
[ outdoor footage: Andrea Hackl – shot on previous treks around the Montblanc Massif and across the Pyrenees ]
editing: Andrea Hackl
recording text / voice over: Robbert van Hulzen
sound: Robbert van Hulzen + Andrea Hackl
MUSIC:
– Meydan – Away & Elk
– Scott Buckley – Machina
[promoted via chosic.com]
TEXT:
memories + original writing from travel diaries from Andrea Hackl + Elisa Pol,
recordings during conversations for the production of this film
original writing from the piece Walking Memories by Elisa Pol
excerpts from Nan Shephert, The Living Mountain + Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust
STUDIO: 4Bid gallery
SCREENINGS
2022
- JUN – PREMIERE at INEQUILIBRIO FESTIVAL, Italy
- OCT – Cortomontagna – Premio Leggimontagna, Udine Italy
2023
- MAR – UNDER_THE_RADAR Festival, Vienna
- MAR – HONORABLE MENTION at LENSDANS Festival Brussels
- SEP – POOL TANZFILM FESTIVAL, Berlin
2024
MAR – Danc’in Cinematic Spaces Festival, Ascona Switzerland
A SPECIAL THANX
goes to Angela Fumarola & Teatro Armunia for giving the impulse for this collaboration and supporting it financially
as well as the Austrian Cultural Forum of The Hague kindly supporting the production of this film.
ANDREA HACKL PROJECTS 