The Daughters of Fire + Man in Black
Pedro Costa & Wang Bing / Portugal, France, United States & United Kingdom / 70 min
Two expressive new films by Pedro Costa and Wang Bing – screened together.
The Daughters of Fire
Pedro Costa / Portugal / 2023 / 9 min
A new short work by Portuguese film artist Pedro Costa. Three women sing to each other across a violent volcanic eruption in Cape Verde.
Since the turn of the millennium, Pedro Costa has established himself as one of the greatest contemporary film artists, but in his own paradoxical way. As an innovator who pays homage to tradition, he has developed an obscure imagery that is at once unmistakably his own and belongs to the people who appear in his films. usually in roles where they play versions of themselves. The new short film ‘The Daughters of Fire’ is no exception – and yet. The film’s three parallel performances are separated in a triptych, but tied together by the singing voices of the three female cast members. The women are sisters, separated from each other not only by the film’s setting, but by the eruption of the Fogo volcano on Cape Verde Island. A unique work in its own right, which according to the director is a pre-study for an upcoming film. Shown with Wang Bing’s ‘Man in Black’.
Man in Black
Wang Bing / France, United States & United Kingdom / 2023 / 61 min
One of China's greatest composers recounts his dramatic life story on an empty theatre stage in an unusually expressive film by Wang Bing.
Wang Bing is recognised as one of the most important documentary filmmakers of the last twenty years. He is also known for his extreme thoroughness and very long films, such as ‘Youth (Spring)’, which is just over three hours long and can (and should) also be seen at this year’s CPH:DOX. ‘Man in Black’ is in every way an exception to Wang’s other work. It is only one hour long, shot in one take in an empty theatre in Paris with a single person in front of the camera: Xilin Wang, one of China’s most prominent modern composers and a dissident who for decades lived under the unforgiving scrutiny of the authorities. The theatre sets a suitably expressive tone for his dramatic life story, which he portrays in the nude, accompanied by excerpts from his music. The film is shown together with Pedro Costa’s short film ‘Daughters of Fire’.