In A Collision of Sorts, inhabitants of the City of Philadelphia, (Pennsylvania, US) go their way, as discontinuous moving dots on satellite imagery. They talk about encounters, visual, economic, political, social and personal but never they seem to meet. Until a bad dream of one of them seems to come true.
The world in which this film plays is Google Earth: an alienating landscape of almost seamlessly stitched-together satellite images of the familiar planet we humans are moving around on. On Google Earth, nothing moves. Buildings, bridges and cars seem warped and flattened and compete for attention with the black weirdness of their own shadows. A virtual camera shows this frozen flattened landscape, reconnoitring the cityscape of the city. Meanwhile we hear sounds and voices. People and animals are down there, crossing the country. It is them who share a physical reality: we hear very intimately their breath, the rustling of clothes, traffic, their vehicles. They travel from one place to another giving the suggestion of a destination.
The interactive website 250 Miles Crossing Philadelphia contains all the raw footage that was the basis for this film.
Watch online:
A Collision of Sorts
Screenings:
How To Move: Close viewing with LIMA, Jan 6, 2020, Amsterdam/online
Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival18-20 April 2019 (in competition)
Chicago Underground Film Festival Chicago, US, June 2018
NEMAF 17 – 25 August 2017 Seoul
NFF Netherlands Film Festival 23 September 2017 Utrecht, NL
A Collision Of Sorts was part of the ‘Gouden Kalf’ Competition at the Netherlands Film Festival in in Utrecht.
RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES PARIS/BERLIN
Thursday March 16 2017
Credits
PolakvanBekkum – director
Julia Guerero – production
David Clayton – production
Rob Das – Editing
Arno Peeters – sound
Huba de Graaff – music
Edward Farrell/Sean McGinnis – software development
With
Daniell & Kate
Kasaan Smith, Grace and Bruno
Akhneton Jones
Sarah Mueller
Ram Riches
Duration
17’12”
Once We Get There
The film “A Collision of Sorts” is based on an earlier (2015) version under the title of “Once We Get There“. (duration 50 min)
sceenings:
FIDMarseille 2016 as part of the “Art in cinema, cinema in art” program, 2016 écrans parallèles (parallel screens)
2ANNAS 2016 where it recieved a Special Mention at the INTERNATIONAL MID LENGHT COMPETITION
250 Miles Crossing Philadelphia
This film again whas based on the web-documantairy project 250 Miles Crossing Philadelphia.
