MICHAEL ALMEREYDA - PARADISE

The work of the American filmmaker, scenarist and producer Michael Almereyda (1960) lies on the boundary between documentary and fictional film. In New Orleans, Mon Amour (2008), for instance, he interweaves a romanticised story with images of the city a year after hurricane Katrina had passed through. Paradise, composed like an essay, performs the task of a personal diary – a method that Jonas Mekas has also often used – in which Almereyda shot pictures in 24 cities in the course of ten years. Observing the world with tenderness and a keen eye for details, Paradise rejects any notion of a plot or clear storyline. Children and adults, friends and strangers, landscapes and seasons all pass by in this poetic trip. Although the shots and scenes slip by pleasantly, leaving the viewer room for interpretation, Almereyda sketches his self-portrait in the shadows of the work. The seemingly simple Paradise calls attention to modest moments in life. While observing with great attention, Almereyda sees miracles in apparently banal things. Michael Almereyda - Paradise 2009, video, 82’, b&w, English Spoken