Anthology Film Archives Screening : Things Fall Where They Lie

Anthology Film Archives Screening : Things Fall Where They Lie


CULTURE VULTURE: STEVE DALACHINSKY ON SCREEN 
at Anthology Film Archives
September 29 – October 31 
premieres 
THINGS FALL WHERE THEY LIE
a film by Nicole Peyrafitte

(ONLINE EVENT)

This is a bitter sweet event. Our dear friend Steve Dalachinsky transitioned a year ago & Steve & Yuko Otomo are 2 of the major protagonists of the film — a magic week we had during the shoot in my Pyrenean hometown. Anthology film archives was Steve’s Annex and having the film NYC-premiered there makes total sense since he still inhabits the place, and since it is a virtual screening he will certainly attend!  So please join in the screening of Things Fall Where They Lie with is part of program 3. But there is a collection of appearances in film and video works by a wide range of filmmakers. Encompassing documentation of Steve’s own performances and readings, short works starring Steve, as well as his guest-appearances and cameos in fiction films and music videos, this series is intended to celebrate Steve’s life and spirit, and to thank him for his untiring dedication to the cinema and to the creative life of New York City and avant-garde culture everywhere. 

Steve Dalachinsky has departed

Steve Dalachinsky has departed

It is impossible to wrap my head around Steve’s departure. I met Steve and Yuko at an Art opening for Mary Beach in the early 2000.  When I permanently moved to NYC in 2007, they were incredibly supportive. They took me around and Steve got me several readings &  introduced me to a lot of great music & musiciens.

When I asked them to be part of my film Thing Fall Where They Lie along with Eric Sarner & Katalin Pataki, they were once again totally supportive. We shot for one week. These two pairs of artists had never met each other and their backgrounds were four different countries and four different mother-tongues. What was supposed to be some sort of historical portrait of Bagnères-de-Luchon, my hometown in the French Pyrenees, became an exercise in poetic drift through their personal  stories. They all fell in love with each other, they shared love for jazz and poetry — their sensitivities coupled with a joyous curiosity took over. For seven days, shooting in cinéma vérité style, I followed them in the once upon a time glamorous spa where we all re-imagined the lives of a famous jazz violinist and of Karl Marx’s grandson, both buried in Bagnères-de-Luchon. 

Steve was inexhaustibly funny, smart, bringing so much to the group dynamic of group — & yes! He was happy for a full week! I personally never saw him so consistently happy for one full week.  I spent countless hours editing the film, and it truly was a joy, I loved looking at Steve on the screen, his soft gaze, his pursing lips, his deambulations….

We have not lost Steve, he departed before us.  Thank you for being you, Steve, and to you Yuko, be strong! We need you! Much much love and we hug you tight.

I am so blessed to have known you, Steve: you enriched and brought much joy to my life. I love you forever.

Film Trailer:
https://vimeo.com/261864528

Steve’s last reading — shortly before the massive brain hemorrhage. He transitioned at 5:04 next morning:

New York Times obit

Art Forum obit

 

 

New Film Trailer & Upcoming Travels

New Film Trailer & Upcoming Travels

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT:
Above is the trailer of my latest film:
THINGS FALL WHERE THEY LIE (2018)
Directed by Nicole Peyrafitte
RUN TIME: 57:43 m
Synopsis:
A filmmaker invites 4 characters for a 5-day visit to Bagnères-de-Luchon, the once-upon-a-time famous and fashionable spa town in the French Pyrenees. The four visitors are Eric Sarner, a poet, translator and broadcaster born in Algeria, now living in Berlin; his wife Katalin Pataki, a Hungarian-born librarian — they met when both lived in Uruguay; and Yuko Otomo, a poet and visual artist born and raised in Japan, who lives in New York with her husband, Brooklyn-born poet, visual artist and jazz critic Steve Dalachinsky. The film follows this group of real-life characters as they are prompted to react to a daily itinerary of (old folklore) events, mysterious (burial) places, excursions, and locals revealing — or not — the connections to the many layers of the town’s and the filmmaker’s history. Can Karl Marx’s grandchild and swing era jazz violinist Michel Warlop meet? Can four languages find each other over lunch and be the talk of the town? Who is buried in what grave? Where did that wedding ring roll? Is he a real shepherd and who is riding on the one (town) horse? What is a better clue: a prehistoric cave or a Spanish border town? Jump on the train and ride that line: Things Fall Where They Lie, and not the other way around.

MAY 26-27
GLASFRYN PROJECT presents:
BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE – a celebration
in the Black Mountains of Wales Glasfryn, Llangattock, Powys
Pierre Joris
Charles Olson now.
Nicole Peyrafitte
Basil King: Mirage. A film directed by Nicole Peyrafitte, co-directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, starring Basil King.
Full program: here

JUNE 6-10
Marché de la Poésie
Nicole’s new book Land0scape out with éditions Plaine Page
Reading/Signature TBA

JULY 20-28
Festival Les Voix Vives de Méditerranée
Details TBA, but both Pierre Joris & Nicole Peyrafitte will present daily performance/readings
More info: here

Things Fall Where They Lie

Things Fall Where They Lie

IMG_0932

Now in Paris. I was still in Bagnères-de-Luchon, my hometown, during the November 13th massacre. Pierre was already back in Paris & I was relieved to hear that he was safe from the horror. At this point it looks like all our family & close friends are safe, though stories of friends of friends killed come up every day. Trying to think empathy vs sympathy.

The week before I wrapped the shoot of my new film Thing Fall Where They Lie. Most likely one of the most intense weeks in my life! It was a rich, surreal & beautifully crazy busy time with my exquisite cast & crew. The cast: Yuko Otomo, Steve Dalachinsky, Eric Sarner, Katalin Pataki. The crew: Pierre Joris, Zia Anger, Asa Westcott, Agnès Mathon, Jean-Louis Peyrafitte. We also had some great local talent & volunteers join our cast & crew. Our base for food, beverages & lunch interviews was Salon NºThé where the sisters Chantal & Kitou Doumenq took good care of us. Do not miss the diaporama below!

The film takes place in Bagnères-de-Luchon, this small town in the French Pyrenees where I was born & raised. A place where celebrities have come & gone since Roman times. They come to take the waters in the summer & enjoy winter sports in winter. Two of these visitors never left & never will. They both died prematurely in Bagnères-de-Luchon & had to be buried in the town cemetery. They are both “under investigation” in this film. From November 1-8 2015, we had a true cinéma vérité expérience. Everyone played along beautifully & together we embraced uncertainty. We filmed layers of temporal, spatial and cultural information combined with particulars about the two deceased, mixed with my biographical and cultural inscription in this matrix. I am looking forward to start the editing process and will keep you posted for sure. Meanwhile, here are some stills of the amazing week, the most beautiful way in which I have ever seen my hometown!  

Thank you everyone involved!

Photos: Pierre Joris, Katalin Pataki, Eric Sarner

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