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30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

Fern Silva

Fern SILVA (1982, Portugal) studied Art and Film at Massachusetts College of Art. He has been a filmmaker since 2005, debuting with the short Off to the Races. His films have been screened at numerous festivals, galleries and cinematheques, and multiple times at IFFR. Wayward Fronds (2014) was nominated for Best Short Film at Cinéma du Réel. The following year, Scales in the Spectrum of Space was nominated for the same award. From 2018 to 2019 he was a fellow at Harvard University’s Film Study Center. Rock Bottom Riser (2021) is his feature film debut.

Filmography

Off to the Races (2005, short), If There’s Hell Below… (2005, short), Bate Palmas (2006, short), Manhole (2006, short), Millions Now Living (2006, short), Water Babies (2007, short), Notes from a Bastard Child (2007, short), Spinners (2008, short), After Marks (2008, short), Sahara Mosaic (2009, short), Servants of Mercy (2010, short), In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails (2010, short), Peril of the Antilles (2011, short), Passage upon the Plume (2011, short), Concrete Parlay (2012, short), Tender Feet (2013, short), Wayward Fronds (2014, short), Scales in the Spectrum of Space (2015, short), Ride Like Lightning, Crash Like Thunder (2017, short), The Watchmen (2017, short), Rock Bottom Riser (2021)

More info: Fern Silva

Fern Silva at IFFR

  • Rock Bottom Riser

    Hawaii as the intersection of ancient Polynesian culture, nature, colonialism, religion and astronomy. Full of immense images.

    • Bright Future

  • Notes from a Bastard Child

    Images close to the surface disinter stories that won’t stay still.

    • Short: As Long As It Takes

  • The Watchmen

    “Visibility is a trap”, wrote Michel Foucault with regard to the panopticon as a model of control. Fern Silva’s The Watchmen opens opportuni

    • Bright Future Short

  • Scales in the Spectrum of Space

    A dive into the collective memory of the City of Chicago. In a very associative way, Silva samples 35 films to compile a mini city symphony.

    • Deep Focus
    • Regained

  • In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails

    Eclectic hotpot shot in an overheated Brazil. People are oppressed, baby turtles swim out to sea and our culture decays.

    • Spectrum Shorts

  • Sahara Mosaic

    From ancient Egypt to Las Vegas and McArabia: Sahara Mosaic puts the old and the new world on top of each other in an experimental travelogue.

    • Spectrum Shorts