Focus Vivian Ostrovsky
Vivian Ostrovsky
Focus Vivian Ostrovsky
The tribute to Vivian Ostrovsky surveys the 40-year-plus journey of a prolific filmmaker renowned for short films (Super 8, animation, family films, essays and one-of-a-kind portraits about women artists) and her use of montage and collage methods. Fascinated by movement, the dizzying dimension of creation, mobility of thought, and identity, Ostrovsky makes sensitive, engaging films, each of which revisits notions of in-betweenness. Vivian Ostrovsky lives in the United States.
Movie — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 1982. 9 min. No dialogue.
Route: Paris to Provence, via New York, Amsterdam, Rio, and Jerusalem. Places, people, and lights, discovered by chance as the nocturnal journey unfolds, with an eclectic soundtrack to match.
M.M. in Motion — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 1992 (restaured version from 2020). 35 min. French. English subtitles.
Between 1988 and 1991, Vivian Ostrovsky filmed Mathilde Monnier and her company during the development and production of six choreographies. This fascinating film was restored in 2020.
World Premiere
Wherever was never There — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2011. 6 min. English, portuguese and russian. French subtitles.
An intimate film made on the 30th anniversary of the death of her father, Rehor Ostrovsky. The filmmaker re-collects snippets of her first 8mm and Super 8 films, old photos, letters, family trips, and holidays.
North American Premiere
DizzyMess — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2017. 7 min. No dialogue.
Loss of balance can be a catalyst for exploring new spaces, leading to a sense of giddiness — and even, perhaps, of foolishness. Ostrovsky focuses on how dizziness can inspire artists to move beyond their known borders.
Canadian Premiere
Hiatus — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2018. 6 min. Portuguese and english. French subtitles.
The protagonist of this film is the reclusive, introspective Ukrainian-Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (1920−1977). It is based on a single TV interview broadcast only after her death.
Unsound — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2019. 4 min. Silent film.
In a silent film, how can one make the spectator see the sound ? A vivid and noisy assemblage of archival and contemporary images that plays on the present and the past to explore sound and silence in film.
Canadian Premiere
SON CHANT — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2020. 12 min. French. English subtitles.
Rediscovering a forgotten night sequence of Chantal Akerman and Sonia Wieder-Atherton leaving a brasserie in Montparnasse where the three of them had dined together, Vivian Ostrovsky decides to make a film homage to Akerman and her close collaborator, cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton.
World Premiere
The tribute to Vivian Ostrovsky surveys the 40-year-plus journey of a prolific filmmaker renowned for short films (Super 8, animation, family films, essays and one-of-a-kind portraits about women artists) and her use of montage and collage methods. Fascinated by movement, the dizzying dimension of creation, mobility of thought, and identity, Ostrovsky makes sensitive, engaging films, each of which revisits notions of in-betweenness. Vivian Ostrovsky lives in the United States.
Movie — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 1982. 9 min. No dialogue.
Route: Paris to Provence, via New York, Amsterdam, Rio, and Jerusalem. Places, people, and lights, discovered by chance as the nocturnal journey unfolds, with an eclectic soundtrack to match.
M.M. in Motion — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 1992 (restaured version from 2020). 35 min. French. English subtitles.
Between 1988 and 1991, Vivian Ostrovsky filmed Mathilde Monnier and her company during the development and production of six choreographies. This fascinating film was restored in 2020.
World Premiere
Wherever was never There — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2011. 6 min. English, portuguese and russian. French subtitles.
An intimate film made on the 30th anniversary of the death of her father, Rehor Ostrovsky. The filmmaker re-collects snippets of her first 8mm and Super 8 films, old photos, letters, family trips, and holidays.
North American Premiere
DizzyMess — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2017. 7 min. No dialogue.
Loss of balance can be a catalyst for exploring new spaces, leading to a sense of giddiness — and even, perhaps, of foolishness. Ostrovsky focuses on how dizziness can inspire artists to move beyond their known borders.
Canadian Premiere
Hiatus — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2018. 6 min. Portuguese and english. French subtitles.
The protagonist of this film is the reclusive, introspective Ukrainian-Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (1920−1977). It is based on a single TV interview broadcast only after her death.
Unsound — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2019. 4 min. Silent film.
In a silent film, how can one make the spectator see the sound ? A vivid and noisy assemblage of archival and contemporary images that plays on the present and the past to explore sound and silence in film.
Canadian Premiere
SON CHANT — Vivian Ostrovsky. USA. 2020. 12 min. French. English subtitles.
Rediscovering a forgotten night sequence of Chantal Akerman and Sonia Wieder-Atherton leaving a brasserie in Montparnasse where the three of them had dined together, Vivian Ostrovsky decides to make a film homage to Akerman and her close collaborator, cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton.
World Premiere
| Director | Vivian Ostrovsky |
In Partnership with
Image tirée du film DizzyMess // Image from the film DizzyMess
Image tirée du film Hiatus // Image from the film Hiatus
Image tirée du film Movie // Image from the film Movie
Image tirée du film Son CHANT // Image from the film Son CHANT
Image tirée du film Unsound // Image from the film Unsound
Image tirée du film Whenever was never There // Image from the film Whenever was never There
Image tirée du film M. M. in Motion // Image from the film M. M. in Motion
Production
Vivian Ostrovsky
Vivian Ostrovsky was born in New York; she went to high school in Rio de Janeiro and then to university at Paris-Sorbonne, studying psychology and filmmaking. She began her career at Ciné-Femmes, a distribution company devoted to feminism and its visibility. When she became a filmmaker herself, in 1980, she left activism behind. Known as an experimental filmmaker due to her approach to animation, film as diary, and the notion of collage, Ostrovsky has spent more than 40 years travelling the world, embracing daily life, family, films, and film history with a curious and generous gaze, enhanced with a playful and ironic sense of humour. She currently lives in the United States.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team.
