Eva Lusbaronian about her short "death of the fish" (exclusive trailer)

Eva Lusbaronian Death of the fish (La Mort du Poisson) Was one of two animated shorts that were selected this year for the 57th edition of the fourteen days of the directors, a prestigious programming childbread organized by the French director, which drives in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival.

The 14-minute short film, which was produced by French Powerhouse Miyu Productions in Cannes yesterday and today. Cartoon Brew It is pleased to debut the film's trailer exclusively, followed by a discussion with the director.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iui8fn5pdpu

Set from a lake in a rural cottage, Death of the fish Open with a young girl who discovers a devastating woman – maybe her mother or an adult version of herself – is desperately in the grass. The girl helps her up and soon they start a quiet dance. Your association is abruptly disturbed when a stork appears and kills a fish, which triggers a strange ritual performance, which ultimately leads to a fleeting feeling of calm and balance in the woman.

Eva Lusbaronian.

Death of the fish is a powerful, mysterious and meditative research of crippled depression and mental health. It is clear that this is a deeply personal film that deals with a number of sensitive topics.

“My family environment was released early on the problems of mental health, the effects of trauma and illnesses in general,” director Eva Lusbaronian told Cartoon Brew. “So I deeply questioned the role of the nurse: How I questioned the right balance between the support of relatives and the loss of the loss of the process. At some point, however, I felt overwhelmed by my own emotions.

Despite its weighty topics of depression and the references to grief and loss, the film continuously receive a calm, contemplative atmosphere. From its lavish Seakeside to the Engels -Acappella choirs and the liberating dance sequences, each element works together to lead the viewer and the characters to a current transcendence.

The soundtrack of Pablo Pico with sound contributions from Flavien van Haezevelde and Florian Fabre consists almost exclusively of dengetic sound, with the exception of an almost corresponding acapella performance, which is also spiritual, impressive and deeply moving.

Death of the fish

“At first I didn't imagine any music at all,” said Lusbaronian. “I did not want some extra-wins to be separated from the environment. I imagined that the forest and pond noises could form a kind of natural rhythm. I fear that well-known instruments could bring excessively obvious emotional information. That left the voice behind, and it felt like it was like a way they gave the characters to the characters. to express. “

It is this rejection of the language that also increases the beauty and power of Death of the fish. Instead of relying on the dialogue, he lets his characters speak through movement, an approach that repeated Samuel Becketts End game, In which a character that is frustrated by the senselessness of the words explains that he prefers to be silent than repeat the same old lines.

In this context, no amount of words could correctly convey the complexity of depression without sounding clichés and melodramatic. Instead, the characters express their pain through movement and especially dance.

“In my early concept notes, I wrote about the body that takes over the takeover when words become too painful,” said Lusbaronian. “A gesture can reveal what the voice cannot say. This idea became central. I didn't feel comfortable that I set such a difficult topic on such a difficult topic. On a personal example.”

Death of the fish

Lusbaronian was influenced by Bausch's work and created, even though he was not a choreographer, storyboards and animatic, who imagine every dance sequence. She explained how she approached this part of the process:

I knew that the movement had to be of great importance to compensate for the lack of a dialogue. I was incredibly happy to work with Rainer Behr, Ditta Miranda Jasjfi and Julie Shanahan from Tanztheater Wuppertal. I wrote for each piece of intention notes and described the context of the project and the characters. I also shared sketches and animtical extracts. Rainer Behr served as my connection to the dancers who really lived in their roles. The first rehearsals already felt as if we were on the right track, but when I visited Wuppertal and saw the finished performances, the entire film was there. It was deeply emotional. The biggest challenge afterwards was the processing – the decision on how you can use your work sensibly into the final structure.

However, there were no real difficulties in relation to the direction. “I couldn't have hoped for better employees. We found a very naturally common language. I gave them space for interpretation and improvisation, which led to unexpected, strong interactions between characters. This distance from my own ideas that they develop through others is something that I really appreciate when I work in a team.”

Death of the fish 'S in the quiet landscape is strangely meditative. Some, like me, would combine moments of crippled depression with an unbearable cacophony of words and noises, but it is the opposite here. “For me, the pond was a kind of mirror that reflected the inner fears of every character,” said Lusbaronian. “It is a room that can either push it forward or pull it under itself. It is always a double -edged sword, and an apparently peaceful environment can be easily depressing. Nevertheless, I did not want to take off the film of all hope. After all, nature is cyclical and changes constantly;

Death of the fish

The highlight of the depression of women manifests itself in a strange ritual scene after the death of the fish. For this moment, the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. Depression has completely adopted and limited the perception of reality by women. The associated dance seems to drive away her different trauma for a moment.

The film offers us refreshingly, but in contrast to so many works that approach mental illnesses, in contrast to so many works Death of a fish Avoid a lukewarm, simple output. And that makes the film even more powerful and honest.

There is a slight smile from the woman who indicates that she may have emerged from the depression, but it is a very measured end … Because depression will of course visit again. “I don't think there is a complete remission when it comes to mental illnesses, be it depression, bipolar disorder or fear.

Eva Lusbaronian about her short “death of the fish” (exclusive trailer)

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