Disappearance in Three Acts | Act One
Act One | Act of Mourning is an ethnography of violence reflecting on a history of conflict in Central Mexico. The film appropriates visual motifs from 18th century European Romantic landscape tradition with its depiction of the uncontrollable power of nature and cataclysmic extremes, echoing violent occupation of land in rural Mexico. The film posits a decolonial approach to the visual representation of violence in Mexico, transporting us beyond the realm of suffering into a space for quiet contemplation as the violent terrain of occupation enters the frame. Through a poignant testimony of a kidnapping survivor, intertwined with the pastoral rural landscapes of her captivity, the film documents geographies of disappearance at the threshold of detectability.
Act One | Act of Mourning is the first installment of the trilogy.
Credits
Disappearance in Three Acts | Act One
Color, Stereo
HD
15 mins.
2024
Directed by Victor Arroyo
Sound Design and Score by Christian Olsen
Sound Post-production by Christian Olsen
Post-production by PRIM
Productions Réalisations Indépendantes de Montréal
Preview 1 min.
Exhibitions | Screenings
Proyector Video Art Festival
2025
Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin
2024
Bogotá Short Film Festival
2024
Galerie B-312
2024
Deluge Contemporary Art
2024
