Date: 20 October 2012 | Season: London Film Festival 2012 | Tags: London Film Festival
MATI DIOP
Saturday 20 October 2012, at 7pm
London BFI Southbank NFT 3
Among the younger generation of artists exploring new approaches to narrative, the work of Mati Diop is notable for its sensitive portrayal of characters and intimate style of filming. Diop is also an actress, playing leading roles in Clare Denis’ 35 Shots of Rum and Antonio Campos’ Simon Killer, and is the niece of legendary Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty. Her recent short films will be presented together for the first time in the UK.
Mati Diop, Atlantiques, France-Senegal, 2009, 16 min
‘A story about boys who are continually travelling: between past, present and future, between life and death, history and myth.’ (MD)
Mati Diop, Big in Vietnam, France, 2012, 29 min
When a lead actor disappears from set, the director searches for him in the city of Marseille. Stumbling into a karaoke bar, she loses herself in memories of her former home in Vietnam, and encounters a man who shares her sense of displacement. As night becomes day, they walk along the seafront and he recounts the story of his journey from the Far East to Europe.
Mati Diop, Snow Canon, France, 2011, 33 min
Stranded in her parents’ chalet in the French Alps, a teenage girl passes time chatting online with friends, until the babysitter arrives and events take an unexpected turn. Innocent pastimes give way to games of power and seduction.
PROGRAMME NOTES
MATI DIOP
Saturday 20 October 2012, at 7pm
London BFI Southbank NFT 3
ATLANTIQUES
Mati Diop, France-Senegal, 2009, video, colour, sound, 16 min
Sitting by the campfire, a boy from Dakar named Serigne tells his two friends the story of his sea voyage as a stowaway. Not only he, but everyone in his surroundings seems to be continually obsessed by the idea of trying to cross the sea. His words reverberate like a melancholy poem. A story about boys who are continually travelling: between past, present and future, between life and death, history and myth. (Mati Diop)
BIG IN VIETNAM
Mati Diop, France, 2012, video, colour, sound, 29 min
In the forest near Marseille, the Franco Vietnamese director Henriette Nhung is shooting Dangerous Liaisons with the help of her son Mike. But when the lead actor disappears, everything comes to a halt. The film loses its Valmont, and the director soon after. Behind her, she leaves the entire cast and crew, now passengers aboard a ghost ship with only the young Mike as captain. As she wanders the port city, Henriette discovers a world that reminds her of her former home, Vietnam. Here, she meets a man haunted by a long journey with no return. (Mati Diop)
SNOW CANON
Mati Diop, France, 2011, 35mm, colour, sound, 33 min
The French Alps, February 2011. Vanina likes to hear the chalet’s parquet floor squeaking beneath her bare feet. Vanina likes to coat herself in sunscreen cream in front of the stone fireplace. Vanina likes the tawny fur of her rabbit, Souci. Vanina likes to smell the leather of the white sofa. Vanina likes to spend hours contemplating the sultry glow of the eyes of the veiled women on the postcards in her collection. Vanina likes to chat with Eloïse on the internet. But above all, what Vanina likes is her American babysitter, Mary Jane. (Mati Diop)
Back to top
