The Photosopher instants with Frank Horvatfrankhorvatlephotosophe.com/.../LE-PHOTOSOPHE-Press...The...

LEPHOTOSOPHE,desinstantsavecFrankHorvat

ThePhotosopherinstantswithFrankHorvat

AfilmbySandraWIS


SYNOPSIS"THEPHOTOSOPHER,instantswithFrankHorvat"isafilmaboutphotography.Photographermeetsfilmmakerinagenuinespiritofcomplicitytodelveintoaphotographicquestandintellectualjourneythathasspannedoversevendecades.

*Photo:fromtheGreek"photos"(φωτoς):light*Sophe:fromtheLatin,vocativemasculinesingular"sophus":wisefromtheancientGreek(σοφός) sophós:wise,knowing,specialist,science


THEFILMThephotosopher,instantswithFrankHorvatrecountstheintellectualjourneythathasinspiredHorvat'suncompromisinggazeupontheworldaroundhimandonthephotoshehastaken.Hebringsanhonest,cynicalandsentimentaleyetobearuponhis lifeandwork,onartandonhumanity.Themanandartistspeaksofthepassionthathasguidedhisexistence:photography.Theprojectarose frommymeetingwith thephotographerFrankHorvatwhoallowedmetodelve intohisarchives,hismemoriesandevenhisprivatelife.Nearing90atthetimeofshooting,timeincreasinglygiveshimpauseforthought.Inaseriesofrareandinspiringinstants,heshareswithmehisreflectionsonexistenceandhisvisionofcreativity.


INTENTIONThefilmunfoldslikeaone-on-one,agenuinecollaborationinwhicheachofusinturnbecomesthesubjectoftheotherinakindofduelbetweentheeyeofthephotographerandtheviewfinderofthefilmmaker,adialogueonphotography.

Formypart,camerainhand,Iadapttohim,givinghimthetimeandspacetofeelateasewhileawaitingthemomentofawakening,themomentofconfiding, inwhichherecountsandexplainstomethingshehasneverpreviouslyspokenof...Isoughttobreakdownthebarriersbetweenusandtodispensewiththerequirementsofapre-writtenscreenplay,sothatFrankcouldfeelfreeinbothhismovementsandinhiswords.Ifilmedveritablemomentsoflife,ofreflectionandofcreation,instantsattimesoverwhelmedwithemotion.Ourcomplicitywasinherenttothetelling.

InThephotosopher,instantswithFrankHorvat,IusemyimagestodepictwhatIsee,whattheartistwishestosharewithme andwhat I feel in themoment. I improvise and adapt to the situation. Indeed,with Frank Horvat, one cannot dootherwise.

Andso,wediscoverinturn,theartist,thephilosopher,thephotographer,theson,thefather,theoldman,thefriendandtheconfidant.Welistentothe"Photosopher"ashespeakstousofartandhumanity.

Ihopethisfilmwillenableabetterunderstandingoftheworkofthisgreat,yetrelativelyunknownartist,butalsoadeeperinsightintotheman.


FRANKHORVATwasbornin1928ontheAdriaticcoast,intheItaliantownofAbazzia-todayknownasOpatija-whichbecameCroatianaftertheSecondWorldWar.HecurrentlylivesinBoulogne-Billancourt,nearParis,inhisphoto-studiohome,aspaceinwhichblacksetsthetone.OfJewishparents,hisHungarianfatherandAustrianmotherwerebothdoctors.Theysplitupwhenhewasstillachild,whereuponhismotherfledItalywithhertwochildrentofindrefugeinSwitzerland.Theywouldremaintherethroughoutthewar.In1943,upontheadviceofafriend,Frank,then15yearsold,swappedhisstampcollectionfora35mmcamera.Later hemoved to Paris,where hemet his futurementor Henri Cartier-Bresson. FrankHorvatwas on the staff of theMagnumAgencyfrom1958to1961.

Havingworkedformanyyearsasaphoto-reporter,thethenappliedhisreportageexperiencetofashionphotography.Hismaverickapproachtothegenrequicklyearnedhim international renown.Certainofhis fashionpictureswouldbecomelegendary,butneveroneforrestingonhislaurels,heconstantlyreinventedhiswayofshooting.Indeed,hewasoneofthefirstphotographersofhisgenerationtoswitchtodigital.

Aceaselessphotographicquestthathasspannedoversevendecadesandhisunconventionalapproach,havemadehimalmostunclassifiable.AndforFrankHorvat,now90yearsold,innovationisstillavitalneed.Withadigitalcameraalwaystohand,hecontinuestocapturetheworldaroundhimevendreamingthatonedayhemightswapaneyeforacameralens…

www.horvatland.com


SANDRAWISgrewupinsun-soakedBarcelona.Short-sightedasachild,forms,coloursandoutlineswerebutablur.Soft-focus

washerwayofseeingtheworld.Manyyearslater,Sandrawouldadjusthergaze.Hereyeswouldbecomethelens,herbrain,thecamera.Fascinatedbytheimage,shewouldbegintocapturebeingsandemotions,filmingalmostbyinstinct.Havinggraduated inAppliedForeignLanguages (Businessoption) inToulouse, shemoved toParis tostudyHistoryofArtsat theSorbonneandattheÉcoleduLouvre.There,shedevelopedaninterestinphotography.Shetookpartinculturalprojects,organisingexhibitionswithartistsandworkedaguide. In1998,shewenttoSarajevoaspartofaculturalprojectanddidaphoto-reportagetherebearingwitnesstothereconstructionofthecityafterthewar.In 2000, shemade her début in television as editorial assistant to FrédéricMitterrand. She alsoworks during several years forAmandaLear’sTVshow.Self-taught,shelearnedhowtouseacameraandtorecordsoundandbegantomakereportagepiecesforvariousTVshows.Shootingandinterviewingbecameherstockintrade,andaboveall,herpassion.Fromthatpointon,sheneverput downher camera. She travelled theworld for 15 years shooting hundreds of hours of footage and interviews for France 2,France5,Canal+,MatchTV,Voyage,Arte…Her work has since developed towards new formats and in new audio-visual directions. Today, Sandra's work spans reportage,documentaryandartisticcreation.InherrecentcollaborationwithFrankHorvatshebroadensoncemoreherexperimentalterrain.www.sandrawis.com


CONTACT

SandraWIS

[email protected]

TEASER

https://vimeo.com/257127814www.frankhorvatlephotosophe.com

www.sandrawis.com

WISFilms&FrankHORVATphotographs©2018

The Photosopher instants with Frank Horvatfrankhorvatlephotosophe.com/.../LE-PHOTOSOPHE-Press...The...

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