Seashorts opens the future.
“When you cut into the present, the future leaks out,” – William S. Burroughs
Unless you are not of this day and age, you can not read the future. It is one of the certainties in life. It is closely connected to this other certainty, namely that once you will die. But before we do that, we can still see some good movies and speculate about what we can not know for certain.
In the real old days, they could still see in the future. They had many ways. One of them was the throwing of bones and an oracle could read and predict by the way they fell to the floor. They invented Chinese writing by doing so because they carved in them to keep them apart.
The main theme of Seashorts this year is: The Future. The smaller the festival, the bigger the theme. So the opening will also be part of the theme, if not be future itself.
Since the budget is limited and we could not afford to invite famous oracles from other continents, we worked with some interesting artists and thinkers from a closer circle. Usual suspects so to say, but a few of the best and interesting ones.
The opening will present the unfolding of the future. Most obviously in the virtual work of Ella Raidel (wanderer between Austria, Taiwan and Singapore). Maybe in the future virtual reality will be the only thing left. Who knows?
Essential you may guess will be food. Also, in the future. Dain Said went back to indigenous times for his inspiration, so we will get a real and authentic taste of the future.
No opening without some talking. Do not expect boring speeches, since we asked Amir Muhammad for the words.
Not every opening has music, but in fact they should have. The sound of the future will be brought live by Kamal Sabran.
No festival without young artists. They would never have a future without them. Chloe Yap Mun Ee is one of the more special ones and she has been dared into presenting an art performance. It will be something.
Khavn, living legend from the Philippines, the man who can do everything and more will present clips on the future out of his hundreds of movies (just counting the shorts).
Seashorts director Tan Chui Mui will show a side of herself you might know yet: she will read illuminating poetry from her tiny secret notebooks.
It will be an inspiring, entertaining and surprising evening. It will set a standard for future festival openings.
– Gertjan Zuilhof, Old School Oracle
Curator: Gertjan Zuilhof
Late in life, maybe close to the end of it, Gertjan Zuilhof (The Netherlands 1955) started to make what he called moving drawings. Sort of experimental animation. He does not know yet where it will lead to.
About the same time, but slightly earlier, upon the request of wild Filipino filmmaker Khavn, he wrote his first script. Wilder than any other Filipino script and unfilmable. After that he wrote a handful of filmable ones. One, a Japanese short, Bird Woman by Tokio Oohara, has even been made.
Zuilhof has been and still is, a film programmer since he was 19. And other than writing scripts or making animation he knows how to do that.
