Aitor Gametxo´s short film ´A silent symphony´ at Punto de Vista festival

The International Documentary Film Festival of Navarra Punto de Vista, to be held between 6 and 11 March 2017, has selected the work of the filmmaker Aitor Gametxo "A silent symphony” (Cicha Symfonia) to participate in the Competitive Selection of the festival, The Central Region.

The selection committee has seen a total of 1,290 films (654 feature films and 636 short films) and have included the piece of Gametxo, who took part and developed the project in the artist exchange program ‘Joan etorriak’, created by San Sebastián 2016, the European Capital of Culture, the Etxepare Basque Institute, Wroclaw 2016, and Donostia Kultura.

"A silent symphony " is a short film portraying the Polish city of Wrocław and its deaf people community. In the urban symphonies of the previous century, "the city" was often represented by repetitive motives. Such was the case of filmmakers such as Vigo, Ruttman, Ivens and Vertov, who associated the steps, the machines and the reflections, and tried to explore the possibilities of the cinema from the movement. The movement is also the essence of all the sign languages of the world. In the elaboration of the message not only the signs are used, but also the space, the facial expression and the gestures. As in any other language, it is a key element in the processes of generation and consolidation of collective identity. The shadows, reflections, darkness and gestures that take place in the city leads the spectator to a silent reflection around the film language of this work on movement, the real nucleus of cinema and sign language.