JAAR THE LAMENT OF IMAGES
A documentary about Alfredo Jaar, 2017
Written and Directed by:
PAULA RODRIGUEZ SICKERT
Produced by:
PAOLA CASTILLO, ERRANTE PRODUCCIONES
PAULA RODRIGUEZ SICKERT, VISIONAFILM
Camera: John Márquez, Enrique Stind,
Sound: Boris Herrera, Shinya Kitamura
Editor: Titi Viera Gallo
Music: Nicolás Jaar, Nascuy Linares
Original w/ English subtitles
Supported by Fondos Audiovisuales del Consejo de las Artes y la Industria Audiovisual en Chile.
The documentary "JAAR the lament of the images " invites us to know the person, the thought and work of Alfredo Jaar, Chilean visual artist greater international recognition. The documentary focuses on his vision of the role that should be at the art and the artist in society today.
Jaar proposes that art is the last place in the society from which it is still possible to sensitize against social conflicts, as the mainstream media and much of the world of politics, have lost credibility to abide by the rules imposed by the society of the spectacle. Jaar as an artist has taken responsibility or "mission" during his career spanning over 40 years. All Jaar works are artistic responses to real events that pose social, cultural or geopolitical in different parts of the world.
JAAR el lamento de las imágenes observa el proceso creativo de Alfredo Jaar, uno de los artistas más relevantes del arte contemporáneo . Sus obras abordan grandes problemas en diferentes lugares del mundo, como la emigración en la frontera entre México y USA, el genocidio en Ruanda o el golpe militar en Chile. Jaar cree que el arte es “el último lugar” de libertad en nuestra sociedad, y desde esta trinchera despliega su obra como un acto de resistencia. Esta es la primera película que se realiza sobre este gran artista, y es también un recorrido por su obra expuesta en Finlandia, Venecia, Buenos Aires, Santiago y Nueva York. La banda sonora del documental pertenece a su hijo Nicolás Jaar, uno de los músicos más influyentes en la electrónica mundial actual. Dirigido Paula Rodríguez Sickert y producido por Errante Producciones www.errante.cl
Public Award
at the Architecture Festival in Portugal
Encabezado 1
JAAR the lament of the images English Trailer
JAAR el lamento de las imágenes
Trailer de trabajo de investigación
The documentary received the Audience Award at the Architecture Festival in Portugal, it was selected in the most prestigious film and architecture festivals in the world, such as: Cinetekton in Mexico, Dart Barcelona in Spain, Dokuarts in Germany, Tallinna Graafikatriatriennaal in Estonia, Artecinema and Lo schermo dell'arte Film Festival in Italy and Cracking the Frame in The Netherlands. It has been screened at the Cinemateca in Madrid, in more than 20 cities in Chile, and on Colombian public television through Señal Colombia.
Jaar, Lament of the Images
Is it possible to be a pessimistic artist and, at the same time, driven by undaunted optimism in one’s own artistic practice? The New York-based Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar with his internationally present installations that combine elements of photography, architecture and theatre is the living proof.
Jaar reacts to the dramatic injustices and catastrophes of our times, whether it is the military dictatorship in his home country Chile, the fate of illegal immigrants at the US-border, the apocalyptic conditions in Brazilian goldmines, or the genocide in Rwanda. Paula Rodríguez Sickert’s film honours the profound humanistic attitude behind Jaar’s works and public interventions.
Her general decision to approach Jaar’s thinking and oeuvre solely through his own voice, is highly appropriate considering his works which never cease to critically reflect their own artistic conduct and effects.
The insights into Jaar’s emotions and thoughts in the process of his work are convincingly supported by the soundtrack of film composer and DJ Nicolas Jaar. Highly present and transparent, yet never intrusive, Jaar’s son engages in an eye-to-eye dialog with the work of a father who never tires to revolt against the “criminal indifference” of the world, also and not least the art world.
Paula Rodríguez Sickert
Paula Rodríguez Sickert (*1963 in Santiago, Chile) lived in Berlin between 1989 and 2014. She obtained a degree in architecture from the Berlin School of Arts (Hochschule der Künste) in 1992 and the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin (DffB) in 2002. She embarked on her professional career as a documentary film director and Television journalist. A number of her documentaries, such as, “First Steps“ (1998), “Pinochet´s Children“(2003) have been awarded by international film festivals. The Documentary “Isabel Allende” (2008) has been distributed on television channels around the world. In 2010, she founded her the film production company VISIONA Film productions in Berlin. After moving back to Chile she filmed the 8-chapter series, “Muertes Anunciadas” (2016), a journalistic report from Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia regarding the subject of femicide, in which she was director, scriptwriter and producer.
