KARACHI: It was a unique experience for music aficionados and lovers of the art of filmmaking on Thursday evening when French filmmaker Vincent Moon presented his ‘live cinema’ at the Alliance Francaise de Karachi. What he does with a great deal of expertise is that he films musicians, mostly in villages, and once done with that, he edits those visual recordings live on stage enhanced by music in front of an audience. He did the same on Thursday.
Prior to that, speaking to the attendees, who largely constituted of young boys and girls, Moon said, ‘Pm glad to be here. This is my first time in Pakistan. I have been travelling and documenting music for more than 20 years. I have been trying to find, in a very singular way, musical cultures. My focus, particularly in the past year, has been on rituals, shamanism, trends, Sufism and many other topics like that. My desire is to question how can we approach reality in a fairly direct way.
He said in the past he used to do a lot of stuff like rock and Indie pop bands but lost the plot. Then he tried to connect as directly as possible with reality.
‘Musicians are human beings. It is really about how we make sounds together. I was living in Paris. I did not want to be part of the music business. I was trying to look at the radical practice of filmmaking, which means, doing everything with the people [that I come across], with the community. That’s what Pm doing in Pakistan. Pm going around and meeting people... I do not sign contract with people. I do not send films away.
The Director of Alliance Francaise de Karachi, Emmanuel Bruerec said, ‘Moon’s art is looking for music and musicians around the world. After that he shows everything he has seen [to viewers], makes music from different countries directly onto screen.
He mixes images and music. He can adapt to whatever you like to hear, be it Persian or Pakistani music.
After the speeches, the filmmaker demonstrated his art to the guests. There was a big screen in front of him and he sat in a chair with his laptop on a small table, flanked by those who had come to watch the show. His performance, with the changes in musical sounds as the visuals appeared on screen, was liked by the audience.