PEDRO COSTA - OÙ GÎT VOTRE SOURIRE ENFOUI?

The work of the Portuguese filmmaker, Pedro Costa (b. 1959) is characterized by long, unbroken images. In Où gît votre sourire enfoui?, he observes Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub, key figures in modern cinema, during the editing of their film, Sicilia! in 1999. The result is a documentary that gives an exceptional insight into the creative process of filmmaking. Costa filmed the couple at Le Fresnoy, the French postgraduate audiovisual research centre where they were also teaching. The foundations for their aesthetic decisions are clarified during the course of their conversations and discussions. They tell personal anecdotes, tease one another and philosophize on cinema. The film creates a warm, good-humoured and ineradicable image of the deep bond and the creative symbiosis between the two. Costa portrays the filmmakers as romantics, intellectual soul mates, socially engaged activists, movie lovers, idealists and innovative artists who inspire each other. 

2001, 104’, 35 mm, colour & b/w, French & Italian spoken with English subtitles


The Ecran d’Art series is a monthly screening of artists’ film and/or video jointly organised by argos and Cinema Arenberg, in collaboration with La Cambre Academy.