Relativity: Oberhausen 2021
The transformation of film from surrogate theatre to visual art occurred when the camera began to move. Until then, the cinema's full potential could not be realized; an immobile camera, in the fashion of a theatergoer, stared at a proscenium beyond which the action of the photo-”play” took place. Movement was confined to the actors and their constant regrouping in theatrical space. The liberation of the camera proceeded in stages; first, (though remaining fixed) the camera changed position between shots, bringing the action closer to or removing it from the viewer. This, for the first time, violated what had previously been considered an absolute distance and set the stage for an intricate (…) orchestration of establishing-, medium-, and close-shot. A further step consisted in the development of mechanical devices (special vehicles, cranes, rails, flexible tripods for pans or tilts) to change camera position. (…) It [the] moving camera (....) that served as harbinger of a revolution which – with the development of montage – transformed cinema into an art form. Fluidity of camera, its elaborate, choreographic movement within the frame have since become symbols of creative cinema, offering immediacy, authenticity, and a sense of physical participation which the immobile camera could not match.
Film critic & journalist. Collaborates with local and international outlets, programs a short film festival - BIEFF, does occasional moderating gigs and is working on a PhD thesis about home movies. At Films in Frame, she writes the monthly editorial - The State of Cinema and is the magazine's main festival reporter.
