Denmark

AQUARELA takes audiences on a deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Captured at a rare 96 frames-per-second, the film is a visceral wake-up call that humans are no match for the sheer force and capricious will of Earth’s most precious element. From the precarious frozen waters of Russia’s Lake Baikal to Miami in the throes of Hurricane Irma to Venezuela’s mighty Angel Falls, water is AQUARELA’s main character, with director VICTOR KOSSAKOVSKY capturing her many personalities in startling cinematic clarity.

AQUARELA is dedicated to fellow Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov. In attempting to experiment with new forms of representation, KOSSAKOVSKY, too, sets his camera free. If RUSSIAN ARK brought Sokurov to global attention with one gliding, unbroken long take, AQUARELA flies as well, across the globe. The camera’s mobility allows KOSSAKOVSKY to abstract from the water, creating suggestive patterns from both afar and close up. (Fatima Naqvi, Film Comment)


Cinema is a tremendous tool, but we use it wrong. We are still telling stories. I am beginning to hate this. We shouldn’t tell stories, writers are for that – we have to show something. When we listen to stories, we don’t know what is real life anymore. We believe in stories instead, and if they are good, they can maintain our belief for two thousand years, keeping us from seeing what is real. The storymaker is blind. (VICTOR KOSSAKOVSKY)


"How the hell did they film that?" It is a question that pops up regularly when looking at the impressive images of AQUARELA. Russian director KOSSAKOVSKY used the latest high-tech stabilization equipment and filmed with waterproof HD cameras at 96 frames per second, resulting in an overwhelming cinematography. Water is the protagonist in AQUARELA, but not so much in its gentle, life-giving form. KOSSAKOVSKY shows the raw energy of this force of nature, in all its glory and immeasurable power making people seem very fragile in comparison. (DOCVILLE)


 

What happens if we examine what we call the so-called refugee crisis from a different angle: Military recordings, drone photographs, a 360° camera or satellite photographs? What if we look for images we have never seen – or revisit those we have seen but never noticed – and start wondering how they came about and who they are intended for? THE MIGRATING IMAGE follows the pictorial flow of refugees on their journey to and up through Europe. The film is based on photos of refugees and turns the camera back on us – as we created them and ultimately consume them. (Stefan Kruse)