Category: Subtotals

Film essays by vnLab at the Camera Action Festival

The 14th edition of the Kamera Akcja Festival, an event dedicated to film criticism, will feature new productions created at the Film Essay Studio. The Action Education series accompanying the festival will include screenings, meetings and the premiere of the vnLab digital publication.

 

  • October 13, 5:00 pm, Essay on Method meeting. Premiere of the digital publication on the gestures of the film essay 

Stanislaw Liguzinski and Michal Matuszewicz, directors of the Film Essay Studio, will present the digital publication Essay on the Method, edited by Stanislaw Liguzinski and Ariel Avissar. This anthology of ten texts is the result of a joint journey that filmmakers, artists, scholars and members of the vnLab Film Essay Workshop working group took between March 2021 and December 2022. 

Venue: Museum of Cinematography, free admission.
More information: https://kameraakcja.com.pl/wydarzenie/akcja-edukacja-esej-o-metodzie-premiera-publikacji-cyfrowej-o-gestach-eseju-filmowego/

 

  • October 14, 1:00 pm, screening of the essay Solaris Mon Amour, directed by Kuba Mikurda, 2023. 

After the screening, there is a meeting with the filmmakers – Kuba Mikurda, Laura Pawela, Marcin Lenarczyk, hosted by Kaja Klimek. 

Venue: Cinema of the Film School, free entrance.
More information: https://kameraakcja.com.pl/pokaz/solaris-mon-amour/

 

  • October 15, 5:45 pm, screening of essays produced at the Film Essay Workshop. 

The program includes: 

– A short conversation between brother and sister, by Temra Pavlovi?, Stefan Pavlovi?, Poland, Netherlands 2023, 27’21”
– Room 404, dir. by Elysa Wendi, Lee Wai Shing, Poland, Hong Kong 2023, 29’40”
– Non Duality, dir. by Tomasz W?gorzewski, Poland 2023, 25”
– Wanda, dir. by Anna Baumgart, Poland 2023, 20’53”
– Subtotals, dir. by Mohammadreza Farzad, Poland, Germany, Iran 2022, 16′ 

Venue: Kinematograf Cinema, Museum of Cinematography, admission free.
More information: https://kameraakcja.com.pl/pokaz/akcja-edukacja-eseje-z-pracowni-vnlab/

Subtotals by Mohammadreza Farzad – a meditation on the uncertainties of life

Do you keep a record of your gray hair?
The number of crushes you had on women?
The number of houses, you have owned or rented?
The number of kisses, you have exchanged?
The number of times, you’ve flown in your dreams?
Maybe you have counted, maybe not.
Anyway, does counting make a difference
in a life lived beyond numbers?

Subtotals (Majmouan) is a film about the aftermath that can never be applied to one’s life as a product. Inspired by a short story of the same title by Gregory Burnham and Autoportrait by Edouard Leve, composed fully of 8mm home movies of Iranian society, Subtotals is a meditation on the uncertainties of life that doesn’t hand out any bills.

Subtotals is the first project developed in the context of the Essay Film Studio of the vnLab in Lodz Film School. The world premiere of the essay took place at the IFF Berlinale 2022 as part of the prestigious Forum Expanded section, and the Polish premiere at the Millenium Docs Against Gravity festival. The film essay won the Golden Apricot award at the Yerevan International Film Festival.

Mohammadreza Farzad – was Born in 1978 in Iran, Teheran. He started his career as a poet and literary translator. Dozens of books have been published with his translations. His career as a documentary filmmaker started with Into Thin Air and Blames and Flames which premiered at Berlinale, Forum Expanded section. Farzad has been a PhD student at the Film Factory headed by the legendary Hungarian auteur Bela Tarr. His subsequent works premiered at dozens of national and international film festivals and gained numerous awards. Forget-Me-Not Egg (2013) was first shown at Thessaloniki Film Festival, Wedding: A Film (2015) premiered in the “Next Masters” section of the Leipzig Documentary film festival. He has been invited as a jury member to film festivals such as CPH: DOX, Jihlava, Pilsen, DokuBaku, Cinema Verite. He is currently working on his first feature film produced by Radovan Sibert of Pink Production. Majmaouan (Subtotals) is his third-time participation in Berlinale Forum Expanded.

Subtotals was awarded with the Golden Apricot for best short film at the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival. 

Congratulations!

 

Subtotals

Director and screenwriter: Mohammadreza Farzad
Sound design: Hasan Shabankareh
Editing: Amir Adibparvar
Music: Afshin Aziz
Post-production: Hamidreza Fatourehchia
Produced by Lodz Film School Executive Producer, Road River Films
Producers: Krzysztof Franek, Kuba Mikurda, Stanis?aw Liguzinski, Afsun Moshiry, Dagna Kido?

“Subtotals” at international film festivals

We’re pleased to announce international film festivals, where our production from Film Essay Studio – “Subtotals” by Mohammadreza Farzad will be presented.

Berlinale, Berlin International Film Festival • Forum Expanded. Germany (2022)
Millenium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival • Poland (2022)
Oberhausen International Short Film Festival • Germany (2022)
New Horizons International Film Festival • Poland (2022)
Golden Apricot International Film Festival • Yerevan. Armenia (2022)
MDOC Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival • Portugal (2022)
DokuFest International Documentary and Short Film Festival • Kosovo (2022)
Melbourne International Film Festival • Australia (2022)

“Subtotals” (Majmouan) is an essay film about an accounting never being applied to one’s life’s products. Inspired by a short story of the same title by Gregory Burnham and the novel “Autoportrait” by Édouard Levé, and wholly composed of 8mm home movies of Iranian people, Majmouan is a meditation on the uncertainties of a life that doesn’t hand you any bills.

Subtotals

Director and screenwriter: Mohammadreza Farzad

Sound design: Hasan Shabankareh

Editing: Amir Adibparvar

Music: Afshin Azizi

Post-production: Hamidreza Fatourehchia

Produced by Lodz Film School Executive Producer, Road River Films

Producers: Krzysztof Franek, Kuba Mikurda, Stanis?aw Liguzinski, Afsun Moshiry, Dagna Kido?

“Subtotals” at IFF New Horizons!

 

After the world premiere at the IFF Berlinale, “Subtotals” from our Film Essay Studio will be presented at the IFF New Horizons.

“Subtotals” is a film about the aftermath that can never be applied to one’s life as a product. Inspired by a short story of the same title by Gregory Burnham and “Autoportrait” by Edouard Leve, composed fully of 8mm home movies of Iranian society.

Subtotals is a meditation on the uncertainties of life that doesn’t hand out any bills.

 

Screenings:
25.07 4:15 pm
28.07 7:15 pm + filmmakers Q&A
30.07 1:15 pm + filmmakers Q&A

 

Subtotals | Sumy cz??ciowe | Majmouan

dir. Mohammadrez Farzad

prod. Lodz Film School, Road River Films

Polish premiere of “Subtotals” at the Millenium Docs Against Gravity festival!

 

After the world premiere at the IFF Berlinale, “Subtotals” from our Film Essay Studio will be presented at the Millenium Docs Against Gravity festival. “Subtotals” is a film about the aftermath that can never be applied to one’s life as a product. Inspired by a short story of the same title by Gregory Burnham and “Autoportrait” by Edouard Leve, composed fully of 8mm home movies of Iranian society, Subtotals is a meditation on the uncertainties of life that doesn’t hand out any bills.

 

“Subtotals” will be presented in the best shorts competition.

More information on the festival website.

 

Subtotals | Sumy cz??ciowe | Majmouan

dir. Mohammadrez Farzad

prod. Lodz Film School, Road River Films

“Subtotals” Mohammadreza Farzad
Premiere at IFF Berlinale 2022
The first project developed in the Essay Film Studio of the Lodz Film School.

“Subtotals” (Majmouan) is an essay film about an accounting never being applied to one’s life’s products. Inspired by a short story of the same title by Gregory Burnham and the novel “Autoportrait” by Édouard Levé, and wholly composed of 8mm home movies of Iranian people, Majmouan is a meditation on the uncertainties of a life that doesn’t hand you any bills.

The film is shown in the Berlinale interdisciplinary section Forum Expanded, which programme reflects on the medium of film, socio-artistic discourse and a particular sense for the aesthetic.

Subtotals (Majmouan)
Directed by Mohammadreza Farzad
Produced by Lodz Film School Executive Producer Road River Films

Screenings of “Subtotals” at Berlinale 2022
Premiere:
13.02, 14:00 Kino Arsenal 1
Following shows:
14.02, 20:00 Werkstattkino @ silent green
19.02, 14:00 Werkstattkino @ silent green

The film is also available as part of the Berlinale European Film Market for holders of industry accreditation.