Swing and Sway

Onefilm,twowomen,threerules:aone-yearvideocorrespondence,everythreeweeksandmodelledonexperimentalfemalefilmartists.ThetwofriendsFernandaPessoaandChicaBarbosabegintheirdialoguebetweenSãoPauloandLosAngelesintheupheavalsof2020–inthemidstofpandemics,electioncampaignsandanti-racistprotests.Inthoughtful,sometimesplayfulvisualessaystheyalsosearchforfeministcinematographicformsforthefemalebody.<br/>　　MarieMenken,YvonneRainer,ChickStrand,CherylDunyeandXimenaCuevasareonlysomeoftherenownedexperimentalfilminspirationsfor“SwingandSway”.Sixteenreferencesarelistedintheopeningcreditsandthestylisticvarietyisproportionatelywide:blackandwhiteandcolour,analogueanddigitalimages,textinsertsandvoiceovers,CGIandstopmotion,dissolves,overexposures,coloureffects.Inthiscinephilepotpourri,orientationisprovidedbyclipsofpoliticalevents.“IleftBrazilunderBolsonarotocometoTrump’sUnitedStates”,Barbosareflectsonherstatusasanimmigrantdeniedpoliticalparticipation.Meanwhile,PessoabecomesanactivistduringtheSãoPaulomunicipalelectionsandasksherselfaquestionthatotherleftmovementswillalsoasklookingbackon2020:“Wedidn’twin–butwemovedforward?”