PRODUCCIÓN / FINANCIACIÓN República Checa / Eslovaquia / Grecia
El proyecto documental Olympic Halftime habla de arquitectura, movilidad y urbanismo olímpicos
por Martin Kudláč
- El proyecto cross-media checo de Haruna Honcoop ha sido presentado en el reciente evento profesional Goes to Cannes del Marché du Film
Este artículo está disponible en inglés.
Czech-Japanese filmmaker Haruna Honcoop is currently preparing a follow-up to her experimental film and cross-media project Built to Last – Relics of Communist-Era Architecture, entitled Olympic Halftime. She will be continuing the exploration of the topic from her previous work, reflecting on architecture and urbanism, only this time it will revolve, as the title suggests, around the Olympic Games, including stadiums and Olympic Villages. The director says her aim is to “research the Olympic legacy across the European and Asian continents”. Honcoop plans to approach the project as “a visual-cinematic and social reflection” of the topic, having already found a protagonist for the documentary – a Chinese photographer investigating ruins – alongside experts offering their insights, including the author of the book Olympic Risks, Will Jennings, and philosopher and architect Marc Perelman.
The film’s producer, Vít Janeček, adds that Olympic Halftime zeroes in on the phenomenon of the Olympic Games from the perspective of mobility, which is what generates the biggest side effects. “We have studied maybe all of the major films on the issue of hosting the Olympics, and our doc is, I think, an exceptional synthesis of the reflection of Olympic architecture and urbanism, including its negative aspects, and reflects on the problem of mobility. Shouldn't the Olympics lead by example and become local in the age of unsustainable mobility in the context of globalisation? The film features international stars of the intellectual world who have something to say on the subject,” Janeček told Cineuropa.
The Czech producer confirmed they are shooting while pursuing finances for the project, and they are currently in negotiations with French and Swedish producers. Olympic Halftime passed through several pitching forums, including Ex Oriente 2019 and Sunny Side of the Doc 2019, netting the IDF Award and the Sunny Side of the Doc Award. Janeček admits that the current situation with COVID-19 will most likely disrupt the original plans to shoot in China during the summer and autumn, although they are still hoping to premiere the film in the first quarter of 2021, in particular eyeing Rotterdam or Berlin. The project was also pitched at the most recent Cannes Marché du Film and will also be introduced at the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum in September.
Similarly to Honcoop’s previous project Built to Last – Relics of Communist-Era Architecture, Olympic Halftime has also been conceived as a cross-media project. An interactive map will be set up online that will trace Olympic ruins or functioning stadiums via crowdsourced photos and personal stories. The sum total of the material should provide a sort of digital archive of these places, allowing us to “follow the gradual transformations of Olympics venues”, according to the director.
Olympic Halftime is being produced by Vít Janeček, of Czech outfit D1film, Slovak company VIRUSFilm and Greek production house 2K films. The project received support from the Czech Film Fund for both development and production.
(Traducción del inglés)
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