Since he made his debut in 2002 at IFFR with Japón, for which he received a special mention that same year for the Caméra d’Or at Cannes, Carlos Reygadas has been regarded as a distinct voice in international cinema. That dream debut was followed by Batalla en el cielo, Stellet licht and Post tenebras lux – films whose uncompromising style and occasionally provocative content served to perpetuate his reputation as a contrary genius.
Part of his visual language and approach – for instance using non-professional actors – is related to the oeuvre of filmmakers whom Reygadas has taken as his greatest examples: Andrej Tarkovski, Robert Bresson and Carl Th. Dreyer. Yet these influences also acquire a completely unique approach, in films that chuck overboard just about all the conventions in the field of dramatic structure, timing and actor directing in favour of a poetic visual language that links the world of the senses to the transcendental. This iconoclastic approach yields an enchanting oeuvre that, at its best, breathes new life into the audience’s relationship with the cinematic medium.
Using film fragments, Reygadas and programmer Gerwin Tamsma go through his oeuvre, focusing on the development of his personal film language. Of course, the masterclass will also be about Nuestro tiempo, Reygadas’ latest film, in which he casts himself and his wife Natalia López as protagonists.
