Unspoken Cinema

Latest addition to the Library page on Unspoken Cinema: Abstract: "The theoretical-practical thesis starts from the investigation of the poetic processes of the creation of the short film Clearing (a joint work with Maíra Flores) and some conceptual issues that the film tensions: the theoretical limits between reality and fiction addressed through cinematographic realism, and also the dilution of boundaries between the fields of cinema and performance as well as cinema and painting, seeking to delineate contaminations and mutual influences in these different manifestations. Within the theories of cinematic realism, I discuss from André Bazin's theories, in the 1940s, to contemporary conceptions such as Slow Cinema, Contemporary Contemplative Cinema, Realism of the Senses, and Sensory Realism. I turn to the principle of indexicality of the medium to investigate the style characteristics of realist cinema, and explore what Lúcia Nagib will call "physical cinema", tryi...

  Le Slow Cinéma (YouTube) 4'33" (Méline) 25 mai 2025 Par Méline Crampon & Jad Belmaachi « Le cinéma substitue à notre regard un monde qui s’accorde à nos désirs » - André Bazin

"Le slow cinema est un terme de plus en plus utilisé pour définir un courant, ou une « famille » de films (Botz-Bornstein, 2015 : 2), qui, selon Ira Jaffe, « réduisent le plus possible à la fois le mouvement, l’action, les dialogues et les artifices » (Jaffe, 2014 : 9). Dans son ouvrage consacré à ce courant, Jaffe tente de définir le dénominateur commun que peuvent avoir les slow movies en analysant à la fois leur style visuel, leur structure narrative, leurs thématiques, ou leur montage. S’il est difficile de définir de manière définitive, objective et précise, ces films, on pourrait néanmoins avancer que ceux-ci semblent généralement relever du type d’image défini par Deleuze comme étant celui de l’image-temps, celui du cinéma de la modernité, où « ce qui a remplacé l'action ou la situation sensori-motrice, c'est la promenade, la balade et l'aller-retour continuel » (Deleuze, 1983 : 280). Ce courant trouverait alors ses origines, comme l’avance Jaffe, dès les années...

 Il y a dans la Slow TV quelque chose qui ressemble à une provocation tranquille. Pas de rebondissements, pas de climax, pas même de fil narratif à proprement parler. Juste le temps qui passe, un paysage qui respire, des animaux qui vivent leur vie indifférents à la caméra. Et pourtant, des millions de spectateurs s'y arrêtent.  La Slow TV a été popularisée en Scandinavie, en 2009, sous l'impulsion de la chaîne publique norvégienne NRK. Des programmes anti-dramatiques par principe — un trajet de train filmé en temps réel, une croisière côtière sur plusieurs jours, un feu de cheminée de huit heures — qui ont pourtant réuni des millions de téléspectateurs, au point de faire entrer un nouveau mot dans le vocabulaire des médias. Le genre repose sur un pari radical : ne rien faire advenir, laisser venir, et faire confiance au spectateur pour s'y installer. En France, c'est Eden Production, avec le soutien de France Télévisions, qui ouvre le chemin. Nicolas Sallé en est l...

From Tarkovsky to TikTok: The Collapse of Time in Cinema (YouTube) 52'25" (deep kino) 23 March 2026 "This podcast episode explores the philosophical tension between slow cinema and the modern attention economy. The hosts contrast the "sculpted time" of directors like Tarkovsky and Ozu, who used long durations to foster deep human reflection, with the rapid-fire editing of Marvel films and TikTok. They argue that constant digital stimulation has recalibrated our nervous systems, making the patience required for contemplative art feel like a physical struggle. However, the dialogue emphasizes that intentionality matters more than speed, defending both the "gift" of time in arthouse classics and the "energy" of well-crafted fast media. Ultimately, the podcast presents attentive viewing as a modern discipline that must be actively practiced to keep cinematic traditions alive."

Una aproximación al cine contemplativo (YouTube) 4'10" (Casa de Literatura Peruana) 2021 "Exposición virtual de Jorge Santiago Ruesta Chunga sobre cine peruano contemporáneo del cineasta Armando Robles Godoy, así como del cine digital y regional peruano."

"Slow cinema is not merely a stylistic choice — it is a philosophical stance toward time, perception, and the invisible rhythms of human experience. To understand its aesthetic depth, one must explore the broader cultural currents that shaped it: from the alienation of modern relationships to the poetry of consciousness itself." Silvana Porreca; Slow and contemplative cinema: the aesthetic of slow cinema ; in IndieCinema

SPÉCULATIONS : DRY LEAF (Alexandre Koberidze) (YouTube) 53'12" (SPÉCULATIONS) 23 juillet 2026 "A l'occasion de la sortie en salles le 8 juillet de Dry Leaf, dernière réalisation du géorgien Alexandre Koberidze (que l'on avait pu découvrir avec Sous le ciel de Koutaïssi en 2021), Matthias, Théodora, Charles et Aubry reviennent sur cette sortie pas comme les autres. Filmé à l'aide d'un Sony Ericsson W595, le film impose l'étrangeté de son image pixelisée basse-définition autant que sa ritournelle contemplative sur plus de trois heures durant, suivant la recherche décousue d'un père. Intriguant, déroutant, ce dispositif singulier aux antipodes des courses à la technologie menées par Hollywood ne serait-il pas pour nous un moyen de déconstruire notre regard, de réinterroger et peut-être de retrouver, qui sait, un autre rapport au monde. Intervenant.es : Matthias Chouquer Théodora Olivi Charles Mérienne Aubry Piffault" * * * Et aussi un article ch...

"What I’m striving toward, though, is to present a vision of human connection despite that. In The Hole, you can see that final image of the hands reaching out, of one person lifting another up. I will include that visual image in a film, such as in No No Sleep, with two people on the mattress, almost as if that type of human connection can only happen in a dream, in a fantasy—in a film. I want to present those kinds of human connections against the backdrop of urbanization in all its loneliness, alienation and solitude." Isaac Feldberg; Vanishing Points: Tsai Ming-liang on movie theaters, loneliness and the disappearing world; interview for Letterboxd ; 16 July 2026

TAMIL காண்டெம்ப்ளேட்டிவ் சினிமா என்பது 1960கள் மற்றும் 1970களில் தோற்றம் பெற்று, 2000களிலிருந்து விரிவாக வளர்ச்சி பெற்ற ஒரு புதுமையான குறைந்தபட்ச திரைப்பட வடிவமாகும். இது மெதுவான நடை (அன்றாட வாழ்க்கையின் இயல்பான வேகம்), மௌனம் (கட்டுப்படுத்தப்பட்ட உரையாடல்களுடன்), நாடகத் திருப்பமின்மை (தொடக்கமும் முடிவும் இல்லாத அமைப்பு), மற்றும் மிகக் குறைந்த இசை (பெரும்பாலும் நேரடி ஒலியுடன்) ஆகியவற்றால் அமையும் ஒரு துறவறக் கதைசொல்லல் முறையாகும். நீங்கள் புதியவராக இருந்தால் எங்கிருந்து தொடங்குவது? ஒப்பீட்டளவில் எளிதாகக் கிடைக்கக்கூடிய, ஈர்க்கக்கூடிய, ஆனால் மிக நீளமாகவோ மிகக் கடினமாகவோ இல்லாத இந்தத் திரைப்படங்களை நான் வலியுறுத்திப் பரிந்துரைக்கிறேன். எளிமையான வரிசையில் 5 திரைப்படங்கள்: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring (2003) — KIM Ki-duk (2020 ஆம் ஆண்டின் இறுதியில் காலமானார்). ஒரு மனிதனின் வாழ்க்கையின் ஐந்து நிலைகளை, ஆண்டின் ஐந்து பருவங்களின் வழியாக பிரதிபலிக்கும் ஒரு ஜென் கதை. It Must Be Heaven (2019) — Elia SULEIMAN . பாலஸ்தீனம், பாரிஸ் மற்றும் நியூயார்க் ஆகிய இடங்களில் திரைப்பட இயக்கு...

In a region where cinema is measured in song sequences, choreographed fight scenes, and the explosive first-weekend box office of a Rajinikanth release, Abdul Rahman makes films in which very little happens, and that very little is everything. A filmmaker, writer, and cultural organiser based in Tamil Nadu, Rahman occupies a position that is as rare as it is precarious: that of a contemplative filmmaker working entirely outside the logic — commercial, narrative, sensory (also known as “masala cinema”)  — of Kollywood, the Chennai industry that dominates not only Tamil cinema but the cultural imagination of over 80 million people. Where Kollywood offers spectacle, Rahman offers stillness. Where it provides resolution, he leaves space. Where it speaks loudly and continuously, he chooses, with conviction, to fall silent. A decade ago he founded Missed Movies, a project of what Tamil audiences have been systematically denied, or have systematically looked away from. More recently, alo...

 New addition to the Library page at Unspoken Cinema: "This thesis explores Slow Cinema as a form of quiet resistance to contemporary cultures of acceleration through carefully designed mise-en-scène and sustained duration. As life is increasingly shaped by speed and efficiency, cinema has mirrored these changes implementing rapid editing and spectacle. Drawing primarily on Byung-Chul Han’s (2015) exploration of “burnout” provides a framework for understanding these changes.  By situating this thesis within this cultural context, the research considers how slow cinema disrupts linear time and space and offers an alternative affective experience that encourages contemplation, relaxation and stillness as a response to the exhausting, pressurised current cultural condition.   Through a visual analysis of Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) directed by Tsai Ming-liang, this thesis examines how production design creates interstitial spaces that function as temporal containers, al...

The old man (Venkatesan) 8th Street (2026/Abdul RAHMAN/India) 1h Film review by Benoit Rouilly for Unspoken Cinema (containing spoilers voluntarily). A clean, well directed piece by Abdul Rahman, who in just one contemplative hour and three cryptic chapters, evokes the devious outlines of five mysterious stories within four opaque characters… Some stories will remain unresolved as others stand open-ended. Everything takes place, practically in real time around 2am, in a single night-bar, named “8th Street”. A lovely place, with marble pedestal tables, wooden chairs and comfy booths. There are rounded corners to the door-frames like on a boat. Coffee bean wooden patterns form a see through ceiling. And a neo-classical sepia painting on the back wall, representing customers at coffee tables, completes the atmosphere. The protagonist enters the bar last, a clean, well lighted place, and penetrates by the front door this “huis-clos” (=a single action takes place in a single space behind c...

From the director’s statement on his website : “This project challenges traditional documentary storytelling. I aimed to create an immersive, meditative experience that invites patience and openness from viewers. With its mostly silent narrative, the film emphasises the unspoken — highlighting the power of stillness and the sounds of silence. It invites viewers to interpret and create their own stories for each character, filling in the quiet moments, and embracing the ambiguity. Its length and rhythm requires a conscious commitment, but I believe this approach offers a meaningful journey — one that suspends the noise of modern life and offers a space for empathy and reflection. Ultimately, THE VALLEY is a contemplative journey — a chance for viewers to slow down, breathe, listen and observe. It celebrates the power of solitude and the importance of community. In these challenging times, it offers a quiet affirmation of inner peace, resilience, and the profound beauty of stillness.” ...