Not content to remain merely inspired by the giallo films of
the 1960s and '70s, filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani seem determined
to reinvent giallo as its own genre. The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears is
their latest foray into feature film and it is screening as part of the Toronto International Film Festival's Vanguard Programme.
Cattet and Forzani made several short films on a miniscule
budget before their feature debut, Amer, in 2009. These short films speak in a
commanding language despite containing little to no dialogue.
2002's Chambre Jaune was awarded Best International
Fantastic Short Film at Sitges and also screened at Montreal's Fantasia
Festival, eventually appearing on Synapse Films' Small Gauge Trauma: Vol. 1,
a 2006 compilation of Fantasia short films.
L'Etrange Portrait De Le Dame En Jaune, from 2004, won The
Cult Film Archive Award at the 2006 Kinofilm in Manchester as well as Best
Short Film at Spain's Festival de Terror de Molins del Rei in 2005.
In 2009, Cattet and Forzani released Amer, which examined
three different phases in its female protagonists's life--childhood,
adolescence, and adulthood--all marked by sensual discovery and visceral unease.
In an interview with Australia's Desktop, the duo reveals
that Amer was not only shot in 39 days, but also that they "tested all the
storyboards with a DV-cam and tested all the camera settings before the
shoot." Additionally, they note, "we shot the total film with the two
of us acting all the characters" before the actors eventually came on
board. The result was 900 shots and 2,200 cuts, which is astonishing
considering their limited funding.
2012's The ABCs of Death boasts a segment from Cattet and Forzani,
the exquisite "O is For Orgasm." Like their previous work, it shows
Cattet and Forzani continuing to explore and expand the same visual and sonic
hallmarks of their previous works: garish colors, deep shadows, experimental
mise en scene, and re-recorded and non-diegetic sound.
For The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears, screening at
this year's Toronto International Film Festival Vanguard Programme, Cattet and
Forzani adopted a slightly more narrative approach, described on the AnonymesFilms website as such: "A woman vanishes. Her husband inquires into the
strange circumstances of her disappearance. Did she leave him? Is she dead? As
he goes along searching, he plunges into a world of nightmare and violence . .
. "
With Cattet and Forzani behind the cameras, one can expect
more sumptuous, provocative images, but no doubt there will be surprises, too.
THE STRANGE COLOUR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS Screening Times:
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Thursday, Sept 12th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 3
Saturday, Sept 14th, 12:30 PM SCOTIABANK 8
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