History of a Tree
by Flatform, Italy 2020, 24'
SCREENPLAY, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXTS: Flatform   IN COLLABORATION WITH: Unisalento, Conservatorio Tito Schipa - Lecce, Museo di Storia Naturale del Salento - Calimera
PRODUCTION: Museo Nazionale del Cinema di Torino con il sostegno dell’Italian Council, Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea del MIBACT (6a edizione 2019)   LANGUAGE: vo: Arbaresh, Romanès, Griku, Byzantine Greek, Albanian, Yiddish, Turkish, Spanish, French and Salentino; sub: Italian

Schermo dell'Arte - Archivio Film  Presented at Lo schermo dell'arte 2020

The tree in Flatform’s story is the oldest oak in Europe. Around 900 years old, known as Quercia dei Cento Cavalieri, it is located near Lecce. This territory has long been crossed by migrations. The tree, a silent witness, has long sheltered travellers and pilgrims, and collected their stories. The camera moves among its gnarled branches, its leaves and thick bark. Nature sounds alternate with short dialogues imagined and written by the film’s authors: a narrative about the cultures and people who’ve stopped at or passed by the oak over nearly a thousand years. Different languages - Arbaresh, Roman, Griko, Byzantine Greek, Hebrew, Yiddish, Turkish, Spanish, French and Salentino dialect – tell us about the migratory flows which formed modern Europe.

Flatform is an artist collective based in Milan, active since 2006. Their works have been awarded prizes at festivals including Quinzaine des Realisateurs in Cannes (2019), the IFFR International Film Festival Rotterdam, Mostra del Cinema Venice. Works by Flatform have been shown in many museums and institutions including, among others, Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Centre Pompidou, MSU-Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.

Selected Filmography;
Quello che verrà è solo una promessa, 2019; Undici Tracce, 2018; Quantum, 2015; Trento Symphonia, 2014.

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