RAFAEL HASTINGS
Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival

Del 8 al 12 de mayo del 2024 se llevó a cabo la quinta edición del Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival. En esta ocasión, se realizó una proyección y presentación de la película«EL INCONDICIONADO DESOCULTAMIENTO (4 CORTOMETRAJES SOBRE EL HECHO DE DESAPARECER)», así como una exposición de la vida y trayectoria de Rafael Hastings a cargo de José-Carlos Mariátegui. 

Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival 
Presentación

A continuación, presentamos una transcripción de los momentos más importantes de la presentación de «EL INCONDICIONADO DESOCULTAMIENTO, CUATRO CORTOMETRAJES SOBRE EL HECHO DE DESAPARECER» que se llevó a cabo en el Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival.

What you will see today is THE UNCONDITIONED UNCONCEALMENT (FOUR SHORT FILMS ON THE ACT OF VANISHING) an ambitious production made up of four short films which was created and directed by Rafael Hastings in 1974. For almost fifty years both the original and the censored version of the film were considered lost until I found the original copy in the Spanish Cinematheque in 2021, leading to a careful film’s sound and image restoration.

We begin with THE ISLAND OF THE IMMORTALS (A LEGEND OF HO-CHI’S TIME), one of the most beautiful «pieces», and of the four, possibly the most narrative.  The work narrates part of an oriental legend that portrays the difficulty and impotence to reach the three sacred mountains, staged by the arid and extensive landscapes of the Paracas Bay… The rocky coast of southern Peru is presented as a mirage through its most emblematic monuments, such as the gigantic trident-shaped geoglyph or «Candelabro» of the Nazca culture, representing the World Above (Hanan Pacha). These references to the Andean cosmovision are combined with the appearance of two naked young men, portraying the first married couple, Fo-Hi (first emperor of China) and Niu-Kua (goddess in charge of the reproduction of all living beings).

This is followed by INCONDICIONADO DESOCULTAMIENTO Y/O UNA APROXIMACIÓN AL HECHO DE DESAPARECERER, the most abstract piece, as well as being the only one that lacks narration and delves into the concept of death based on the notion of pre-Columbian cultures that saw death as a state of transit that had to be accompanied by rites and ceremonies. To this end, special effects are used to stage the movements of funeral masks and false heads with elaborate and colourful feathered headdresses, which are part of a late tradition on the central coast. This tour fuses shots of the rocky landscape of the Paracas Bay with the re-appearance of Fo-Hi and Niu-Kua, the mythical couple who are responsible for the creation of mankind…

The third work is LEYENDA DE DOS JARDINES (FROM AN ANONYMOUS DOCUMENT COLLECTED BY OCTAVIO PAZ) This work takes the meaning of death to a poetic space. Singer-songwriter Susana Baca recites Octavio Paz’s poem «A Tale of Two Gardens». The poem poses a subtle comparison between Western and Hindu culture with the aim of seeking a historical reconciliation and achieving coexistence between these two worlds, and how the cultures of Asia were connected to American cultures.

Finally, THE FOUR CELESTIAL POLES (FROM A STONE TESTIMONY FILMED IN SECHIN, CASMA, PERU) links the oriental legend of Niu-Kua with the iconography of the petroglyphs and monoliths of Sechin. Niu-Kua, goddess of the reproduction of living beings, undertook the arrangement of the Universe by bringing the country of Ki into balance and thus achieving the union between Yin and Yang. The rich imagery of the stone bas-reliefs at Sechin alludes not only to human sacrifice, but also to the restoration of the original state as a quest for the human condition.

Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival 
Material promocional

Para la presentación de «EL INCONDICIONADO DESOCULTAMIENTO (4 CORTOMETRAJES SOBRE EL HECHO DE DESAPARECER)» de Rafael Hastings. La organización del festival se encargó diseñar material promocional para el día del evento, la cual fue difundida en la redes sociales del festival así como en ATA.

Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival 
Audio conferencia

De la presentación de «EL INCONDICIONADO DESOCULTAMIENTO (4 CORTOMETRAJES SOBRE EL HECHO DE DESAPARECER)» que se llevó a cabo en el 5th Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival, logró grabarse el audio; el cual ya se encuentra disponible en nuestras redes sociales para que pueda ser escuchado.

Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival 
Página web

Para la difusión del evento, la organización del festival diseño un sitio web con información acerca de las presentaciones y películas a presentar. Así también, se diseño una página propia para la presentación de Rafael Hastings.

Ingresa en el siguiente enlace: https://istanbulexperimental.com/1800-short-selection-from-the-desktop-kopyasi

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