LETTERS TO PAUL MORRISSEY
LETTERS TO PAUL MORRISSEY Armand Rovira |Spain | 2018 | 78 min
SYNOPSIS
Drugs, vampirism, existential crises and melodies of another time mark the lives of several characters: a sex symbol of the underground cinema, two cursed lovers, a man seeking his salvation, an unsuccessful actress and a Japanese with a mysterious illness. Five stories, apparently not related to each other, that have a curious relationship with each other: Paul Morrissey, collaborator of Andy Warhol's Factory.
Director
Armand Rovira, Barcelona (1979), combines his work as director and screenwriter with cinematographic teaching in the Master University Frame that is taught at the Lens school in Madrid. LETTERS TO PAUL MORRISSEY has been his debut in the world of feature films. His experimental works have been recognized at prestigious festivals such as the fantastic Festival of Sitges, Karlovy Vary, BAFICI, European Film Festival of Seville, La Rochelle Cinema, Fantasia Film Festival, FICG, PÖFF – Tallinn Black Nights.
SYNOPSIS
Narkotika, vampirisme, eksistensielle kriser og melodier fra en annen tid markerer livet til flere karakterer: et sexsymbol fra underground-cinema, to elskere med forbannelse, en mann som søker sin frelse, en mislykket skuespillerinne og en japaner med en mystisk sykdom. Fem historier, tilsynelatende ikke relatert til hverandre, som har et nysgjerrig forhold til hverandre: Paul Morrissey, samarbeidspartner i Andy Warhol's Factory.
REGISSØR
Armand Rovira, Barcelona (1979), kombinerer sitt arbeid som regissør og manusforfatter med å undervise kinematografi ved Lens-skolen i Madrid. LETTERS TO PAUL MORRISSEY er hans debut i spillefilmens verden. Hans eksperimentelle arbeider er blitt anerkjent på prestisjefylte festivaler som den fantastiske festivalen i Sitges, Karlovy Vary, BAFICI, European Film Festival of Seville, La Rochelle Cinema, Fantasia Film Festival, FICG, PÖFF - Tallinn Black Nights.
DIRECTORS NOTE
When I was a teenager in the 90s I discovered a film that deeply marked me "Trash" (1970) directed by American Paul Morrissey, Paul was a member of Andy Warhol's Factory and his philosophy was to take his film camera to shoot freely in New York. He was the one who inspired me to join a small filming team during the summer of 2013. We recovered an old camera of 16mm and decided to use the negative we had acquired to shoot small stories. The possibility of working in black and white made us believe in the idea of creating something innovative and special. We looked for different emulsions with different expiration dates and we worked with them to do a film with images that had a lot of textures and shadows. The randomness of the process of the development was the key to our final result. Little by little these stories in black and White were growing and with the incorporation of the production company Dynamite films, they ended up becoming what today is Letters to Paul Morrissey.
The film pays tribute to Paul Morrissey and avant-garde cinema figure. With the idea of sending Paul Morrissey the little stories we were filming, I decided to call them 'film letters' to give them a narrative coherence. The brilliant skill of Saida Benzal as a scriptwriter was key to structure them: a letter for each main character. In one of them we were fortunate to have the presence of the legendary American actor Joe Dallesandro. He was one of the most famous male sex symbols of the underground cinema of the 60s and 70s and a whole homoerotic icon whose cult continues to this day. In the words of film director John Waters: “Joe was a wonderful actor who forever changed his sexuality male on the screen.” Working with him in this movie was quite an experience.
Reviews
... en film som prøver å fange deg i garnet sitt, og nekter å slippe deg løs. [...] Spørsmål er om akkurat denne filmen lykkes med det den prøver på, om den klarer å fylle seeren med sin stemning. Det gjør Letters to Paul Morrissey.
Yngve Sikko / Natt&Dag, Norway
Letters to Paul Morrissey är en löst hållen kärleksförklaring till den legendariske The Factory-regissören tillika Andy Warhols närmaste hand, men framför allt en vacker experimentfilm som odlar form och innehåll, inspirerat av verkligheten eller helt fritt diktat, på ett suggestivt sätt.
Jon Asp / Point of View, Sweden
Paul Morrissey was an integral part of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene. He managed the Velvet Underground and director of many iconic art films of the 60’s such as Trash and of course Chelsea Girls. Spanish directors Armand Rovira and S“Paul Morrissey was an integral part of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene. He managed the Velvet Underground and director of many iconic art films of the 60’s such as Trash and of course Chelsea Girls. Spanish directors Armand Rovira and Saida Benzal created a visually stimulating and provocative tribute to the Factory renaissance man, Letters to Paul Morrissey. The film is evocative of the style of Morrissey’s films. Shot in 16mm, and in black and white, Letters is an anthology film that is exactly what it says it is, a series of five letters to the iconic director.
Lorry Kikta / Film Threath , USA
It may seem strange to describe a film like this as “fun”, and yet that’s precisely what it is, with philosophical questions smoothly interwoven with loving throwbacks to Warhol and Morrissey’s biggest hit, Chelsea Girls, and discussions about the importance of eyeliner. Or even a shark, stuck in an aquarium and keeping the secrets of its visitors. With Françoise Hardy singing in the background and Gloria Swanson going full, red-lipsticked diva in Sunset Boulevard once again, playing here on a loop, it might be one of this critic’s favourite black-and-white movies of the year.
Marta Balaga / Cineurapa
A little gem destined to be one of those films that show us that, yes, dear Morrissey, another cinema is possible.
Mireia Mullor / Fotogramas, Spain
Armand Rovira offers us an exquisite visual compilation of some of the themes and aesthetics that marked the undisputed stamp of the author trash par excellence.
Filmin, Spain
My 5 top experimental narratives/crossovers of 2018: 1. "Letters to Paul Morrissey"….
Pawel Wieszczecinski / Kinoscope
Letters to Paul Morrissey captures the viewer and immerses them in a suggestive and strange torrent that takes them to a territory in which art and creation, in their search for new forms and manifestations, can perhaps cure some of our ills… Armand Rovira knows how to lead us on this journey with a spirit, a security and a completely commendable and fully suggestive visual sense.
Cine Arte Magazine, Spain
PRESSBOOK
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LETTERS TO PAUL MORRISSEY
Running time: 78 min
Genre: Drama, Experimental
Languages: English, German and Japanese
Subtitles: English (Norsk kommer snart)
Country/Year: Spain/2018
Shooting Format/Color: 16mm/black and white
Format: Digital 2k, Dolby 5.1.
Cast ALMAR G. SATO, XAVI SÁEZ, MARIA FAJULA, JOE DALLESANDRO, SAIDA BENZAL, AGNÈS LLOBET, ANDREA CARBALLO and ESTEVE TORRES
Director ARMAND ROVIRA / Director “Letter 4” SAIDA BENZAL
Screenplay ARMAND ROVIRA and SAIDA BENZAL
Producer MINTXO DÍAZ, JORGE VIDAL, ARMAND ROVIRA, YAYO HERRERO
Executive Producers MINTXO DÍAZ, JORGE VIDAL
Cinematography EDU BIURRUN / Camera JESÚS PONCE
Editing ARMAND ROVIRA
Sound JESUS LLATA / Music THE YOUTH
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