12 / 06 / 24 CRAZY FISH SING / STILL HERE
On 12 June 2024, Suranga Katugampala, Peter Bruno, Simone Brioni discussed with me their collective book Crazy Fish Sing. A Soud Rature of ‘Still Here’, which was inspired by their co-production for their upcoming film, Still Here. Next to screenings of excerpts of the upcoming film, we discussed the making process and contents of the visual art book, which includes stills, drawings, and poetic and philosophical reflections on filmmaking in general and producing this film in particular, and travels through media, geographical spaces, and languages. It includes (amoung others) cinematographic, psychoanalytic, scholarly, architectural, and design perspectives, and is an experience in itself. The reader gets immersed in stream-of-consciousnesses, and is referred from pop music, to comic books, to more abstract theory.
This event was part of the ARTES Film Lab series entitled Edit, (Re-) visit. Film in Research / Research in Film, during which meetings we discuss filmmaking processes, research endeavours, and anything and everything that entangles the two. Indeed, the discussions of the Film Lab circle around ‘the intricate relationship between the practices related to cinematographic productions, the practices of academic work, and theory and reflection (Brioni, Polezzi, Sinopoli, 2023).’
This production is an example of where current academic work is steering towards: it is multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary, in that it combines disciplinary perspectives, intermingles them, and goes beyond the academic perspective through interaction between artists, academics, and practicioners of various fields.
Description: Crazy Fish Sing (Yogurt Editions 2024) is a visual art book inspired by Suranga Katugampala’s forthcoming film, Still Here. Situated in an experimental territory on the border between noir and documentary, the film is shot in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Milan, Italy. Transporting the reader through its real, imagined, and affective geographies, Crazy Fish Sing offers a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on the making of Still Here and the questions this film raises about cultural hybridity, urbanization, and realism.
For more information about the book, you can follow this link, and see the video below.
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Linde Luijnenburg 