PUMA is presenting the works of seven international filmmakers as open content to be shown at the World Peace Festival 2011. Words and images below appear courtesy of PUMA.Peace.
“peace starts with me” is a new annual PUMA.Peace commission. This year seven international artists and filmmakers create original works. Curated by PUMA Creative Chief Curator, Mark Coetzee, and produced by Shooting People, these films encompass a diverse range of styles; including 35mm live action, experimental animation and fine art. Conceived as 30 to 90 second films to facilitate online as well as live screenings, the works are based on the idea that “peace starts with me”. PUMA.Peace commissioned these films under an agreement with the artists that they can openly be downloaded and shown, without any fees, thus acting as ongoing tools for peace—for all. The filmmakers range from world-renowned award-winning artists, to recent graduates; all were selected for the quality and scope of their work and their sensitivity in interpreting this year’s theme.
“The goal of our PUMA.Peace initiative is to create programs that foster a more peaceful world than the one we live in today,” said Jochen Zeitz CEO of the Sport & Lifestyle Group, PPR, Paris, France. “Each of us can make a difference in this world as individuals, as corporations and through strategic partnerships. Moreover, at PUMA we feel that we are uniquely positioned to contribute to making the world a better place for generations to come.”
Magali Charrier is an experimental filmmaker and animator and a gruadate from the Royal College of Art in 2010. She juxtaposes live action and animation to investigate the moving body and its failings.
“Peace starts with me. Here. My body.
Through fragmentation and dislocation, this film
explores the body as a place where inner conflicts
and tensions are played out. A frenetic collage
gives way to a more serene version of the body.
Peace comes as a sudden breath born out of chaos.”
Tom Gran and Kayleigh Gibbons
Tom Gran and Kayleigh Gibbons graduated from the University of the West of England in 2010. Their first film Scunner premiered at Encounters Film Festival and was screened throughout the world. This is their second project together.
“For us, peace is about letting go. We all have the
potential to destroy each other and our resistance
to letting go of our defenses makes confl ict
much more dangerous. Our film follows a society
of living threads as they desperately support
hundreds of bladed objects in mid-air.”
Max Hattler
Educated at Goldsmiths and the Royal College of Art, Hattler has made over 20 moving image works and has shown at exhibitions and film festivals worldwide, winning many awards.
“My film is about mirroring and feedback—
abstract patterns and shapes fill the two sides
of the screen, taking us on a journey from
disharmony to peace. Conceptually, it’s about how
violence breeds violence and love breeds love. Only
by turning the other cheek can we bring about
change, understanding and peace.”
Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor studied theatre at Dartington College of Arts. Over the years their films have screened extensively around the world including screenings at Telluride, Rotterdam, London, Sydney, Thessaloniki, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Singapore, Pusan, Durban and Morelia.
“Our film is a portrait of a community, united in a
celebration of peace. What starts as one individual
ends in a large and spectacular group portrait,
with people from all backgrounds standing
together and sharing a moment of tranquility.
Peace starts with me and gradually expands to
include everyone. We are all connected.”
Noriko Okaku
Japanese-born Noriko Okaku studied at the Chelsea College of Art and Design, and the Royal College of Art. Her art ranges from audiovisual work, to performance and experimental animation. She has had solo exhibitions in galleries in Japan and Europe.
“Peace is always in your life, if you look for it. In
my film, the word peace is concealed within an
abstract landscape—at times clearly discernible, at
others hidden. The film is meant to seem chaotic.
Like the principles of Yin and Yang, positive and
negative, peace exists within chaos and vice versa.”
Jacco Olivier
Jacco Olivier lives and works in Amsterdam, where he studied at the Rijksakademie. He is represented by the Victoria Miro Gallery in London; the Marianne Boesky gallery in New York; the Thomas Schulte Gallery in Berlin, and Ron Mandos Gallery in Amsterdam. His work has been exhibited extensively worldwide since 2003.
“My film is an abstract visualization of the feelings
and imagery that haunt me in the transitional
space between sleep and wakefulness. I am a slow
starter—every morning, before I can approach the
world worry-free and open-minded, I need to first
drain the negative. Only then am I happy and at
peace with myself.”
Bill Porter
Bill Porter grew up on the isolated, wind-swept coast of North Cornwall. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art, in 2008, he now works as an animator/director in London and has screened at various animation festivals and galleries around the world.
“Two fighters face one another in the ring, surrounded
by spectators in masquerade. The bell sounds and the
fighters jump into action. The spectators become more
and more frenzied as the blows get harder and the
fighters less guarded. Finally they peak and, exhausted, slump into one another—a moment of peace.”
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