Private Eyes

Michael Pilz has made films and for several years – since December 1987 to be precise – he has made video diaries. He does that as part of a project he calls Private Eyes. He now has an archive of more than 260 hours of video.Pilz started filming on super8 in the early sixties and he wants to adopt specific details of his approach – for instance editing in the camera – for his video work too. He is very fond of the immediacy of the ‘amateur medium’ in approaching reality as open-mindedly as possible. In his opinion this technique can enrichen the language of cinematography.Pilz’s videos are mainly about looking at and listening to more or less everyday and personal events. He compares working with video like this with making notes in a notebook, but then with the added value of the visual language. In the face of the large stream of contemporary films that concentrate on superficial issues, he wants to develop a way of film-making that is also introspective. Pilz will talk about his work and his approach when presenting the video fragments.During the presentation Pilz will draw on his archive and screen specially-selected fragments, including shots of the Rotterdam Film Festival itself, where he has regularly been a guest along with his video camera.