Echoes

"a minimalist yet multilayered work that led us to reflect on both geopolitical and ecological questions. In its simplicity, it lingered with us and echoed long after the screening. The piece captured our attention down to the smallest details, its paradoxical power lying in the way strong messages were conveyed calmly and with restraint. Though outwardly static, the film was full of inner movement. Sound, image, light, and delicate movement complemented each other seamlessly. Themes of migration and ecological suffering emerged – the sound resonating like a cry, reminding us of the possibility of extinction."

Kati Kallio (Finland), Judith State (Romania) and Andreas Hannes (The Netherlands), jury of Bucharest International Dance Film Festival - Best film award / September 2025

 

"Baleines stands out as a rare example of underwater videodance that succeeds aesthetically and conceptually. Underwater filming often results in technical or visual compromises, but here it achieves a poetic precision that feels natural and deliberate. The dancers maintain an eerie stillness, suspended between immersion and verticality, while the surface of the water becomes a luminous ceiling reflecting the light.
The piece embraces the nature of the aquatic medium rather than fighting against it. The choreography is slow, almost imperceptible, allowing the weight of the water to dictate the rhythm. The lighting is masterfully designed, with beams that trace the contours of the bodies and give them sculptural depth. Shadows and reflections merge into an atmospheric, hypnotic visual field where the distinction between movement and stasis dissolves.
The dancers are dressed in formal office clothing — blouses, straight skirts, and high heels — as if they had been interrupted in their daily routine underwater. This choice introduces a striking tension between the ordinary and the surreal, between the rigidity of social roles and the fluidity of their new environment.
The work also has something of videoperformance. The bodies are not in active motion but often frozen in suspended gestures, creating a state of contemplation rather than dance. These moments of stillness, together with the symbolic setting, transform the image of the dancers into that of performers in an extended act of endurance and immersion.
The editing is composed mainly of dissolves and slow camera drifts, reinforcing the sensation of a continuous, floating time. The sound design, built on long violin tones that recall whale calls, deepens this sense of suspension. The overall result is a slow, immersive drift through an aqueous dream, where image, sound, and movement fuse into a single, weightless choreography."

Blas Payri, jury of Encontre Internacional de Videodansa i Videoperformance in Valencia / October 2025