→ Maas Confusion
Experimental Poetry | 09’30 | 4K DCP 1:85 | Netherlands | 2024
Maas Confuson_still_2024
An overwhelmed video encoder turns confusion into a cosmological force. Poetry and iridescent cinematography reimagine a walk along the Maas River, where bodies merge and emotions shimmer. Through a technical experiment that misinterprets raw camera signals, the film crafts a perception far removed from the clarity of conventional photography. Guided by Clara Afonso’s visceral poem Corps D’écumes, we are invited to linger in confusion and discover what unfolds when the boundaries of our interpretive frameworks give way.
Maas Confuson_still_2024
The technique used in this film was
developed with the support of the Artist Start Grant by Mondriaan Fonds.
Director’s Statement:
“ This film is a technical experiment that transforms cinematography into a philosophical inquiry. By intentionally sending raw camera signals to the wrong encoding format, the overwhelmed video encoder misinterprets the data in real time, creating an iridescent aesthetic. This technical process serves as a metaphor for how our frames of perception and interpretation struggle under excess information. Like the encoder trying to make sense of the input, the film embraces an aesthetic of confusion, where bodies, spaces, and feelings fuse to reveal an unexpected world. Guided by Clara Afonso’s visceral poem Corps D’écumes, the work invites us to linger in confusion and explore what emerges when the clarity of our interpretive frameworks collapse” .
Status: World Premiere IFFR 2025
Director: Ugo Petronin
Cinematography: Ugo Petronin
Editor: Ugo Petronin
Production: Ubelka Films
Cast: Clara Afonso, Margriet Kim Nguyen
Poem written & performed by: Clara Afonso
Music: Courtesy of Nicolas Jaar (2020)