Maud Inge Marie Talma

This short film with an uncanny plot is a hybrid object. A film, a documentary and a softly hypnotic animation all at once. It celebrates the interconnecting surreal aspects within regional landscapes and dialects.

 

The road trip starts in France in Moselle-Est, near the German border. For a moment, it follows the journey of an international truck driver, who is also an alert observer. The trip ends in Belgium in the Mons-Borinage area, in the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh.

 

Deliberately focused on local languages, the scenes showcase obscure local folklores, village stories, or unexpected encounters with authentic characters. Native storytellers, androgynous children, dancers and a dragon. A surreal gap is created and persists throughout...Ordinary characters become extraordinary. From the utmost raw realism (a barn, a terril), a fantastic backdrop emerges.

 

The way of filming, that mixes immaculate preparation with the right amount of improvisation, enables a natural relationship between actors, never once extracted from their context. Multiple mediums such as gouache and glass paint are used. It is the use of the same zoom lens which connects it all and ensures a visual coherence in the film.

 

Adapted from a text written by Aline Soudier