THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS DIVIDE, AND THE OCEANS ARE WIDE
TYPE
Single-channel video, 4:3, Sound, Color, 11:30 min.
YEAR
2020
PLACE
Berlin, Germany
This short video essay reflects on the connections between childhood memories and present realities through Belle Phromchanya’s personal journey from Thailand to the Netherlands. The video weaves together home footage from family trips in the 1990s, shot by her father, with Belle’s recordings of a senior Thai artist in Amsterdam, who was the same age as her father and became a subject of her work until his sudden passing due to COVID-19. By layering these early years' memories with the struggles of dealing with the uncertainty of daily life, the video shares attempts of capturing the temporality of the moment—and both the beauty and unsettling experience of being elsewhere.
The work was presented at the Majhi International Art Residency Program’s 2020 edition during Berlin Art Week and exhibited at Kunstfort bij Vijfhuizen and River City Bangkok. It was selected for the LeidenShorts Film Festival, CinemAsia Film Festival, and Objectifs’ Women in Film & Photography Open Call Short Films.
Majhi International Art Residency, Berin, Photo by Ludger PaffrathCREDITS
Director & Editor: Belle Phromchanya
Camera: Belle Phromchanya, Tawee Phromchanya
Post-Supervision: Jakkarin Thepvong
Sound Mix: Christoph Scherbaum
Translation: Jeanne Penjan Lassus
PRESS & INFO
→ Objectifs’ sixth Women in Film & Photography
→ Kunstfort bij Vijfhuizen
→ Kunstfort | World of Earth & Microbial Oasis
→ Berlin Art Link | Majhi Art Residency 2020