OVER YOUR CITIES GRASS WILL GROW
A film by SOPHIE FIENNES
2010 | 109’ | 35MM
Feature documentary
SYNOPSIS
Fiennes’ latest cinematic quest bears witness to German artist Anselm Kiefer’s alchemical creative processes and renders as a film journey the personal universe he has built at his hill studio estate in the South of France.
In 1993 Kiefer left Buchan, Germany for La Ribotte, a derelict silk factory near Barjac. From 2000 he began constructing a series of elaborate installations there, comprising 48 buildings, and a labyrinth of tunnels, bridges, lakes and towers. Traversing this landscape, the film immerses the audience in the total world and creative process of one of today’s most significant artists.
Shot in cinemascope, Fiennes’ film constructs visual set pieces alongside observational footage to capture both the dramatic resonance of Kiefer’s art and the intimate process of creation. This polarity – in terms of scale, sensibility and time – animates the film, creating a multi-layered narrative through which to navigate the complex spaces of La Ribotte.
Here creation and destruction are interdependent; the film enters into direct contact with the raw materials Kiefer employs to build his paintings and sculptures - lead, concrete, ash, acid, earth, glass and gold. OVER YOUR CITIES GRASS WILL GROW gives privileged access to Kiefer’s last days at La Ribotte prior to his move to Paris, where he now lives and works.
Anselm Kiefer’s monumental body of work occupies a fascinating place in the canon of late 20th Century art. Born in 1945, a son of post-fascist Germany, he initially embarrassed his country through his excavations of the nation’s recent past when he photographed himself performing Nazi salutes in the landscape. Kiefer came to prominence in 1980 when he represented his country in the Venice Biennale. His work is now held in museums and private collections internationally.
Recent exhibitions include a retrospective at the Guggenheim Bilbao and Monumenta (2007) at the Grand Palais in Paris. In 2008 the Louvre commissioned a painting for their permanent collection and Kiefer was awarded the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels in Germany. His creation at La Ribotte represents his most ambitious work to date in the second half of his career.
PRODUCTION
A coproduction AMOEBA FILM - KASANDER - SCIAPODE with the support of ARTE FRANCE
The Rotterdam Media Fund
COBO Fund
CNC
PROCIREP/ANGOA
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Official Selection, out of competition, Cannes Festival 2010 - World Premiere
Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival 2010
In 1993 Kiefer left Buchan, Germany for La Ribotte, a derelict silk factory near Barjac. From 2000 he began constructing a series of elaborate installations there, comprising 48 buildings, and a labyrinth of tunnels, bridges, lakes and towers. Traversing this landscape, the film immerses the audience in the total world and creative process of one of today’s most significant artists.
Shot in cinemascope, Fiennes’ film constructs visual set pieces alongside observational footage to capture both the dramatic resonance of Kiefer’s art and the intimate process of creation. This polarity – in terms of scale, sensibility and time – animates the film, creating a multi-layered narrative through which to navigate the complex spaces of La Ribotte.
Here creation and destruction are interdependent; the film enters into direct contact with the raw materials Kiefer employs to build his paintings and sculptures - lead, concrete, ash, acid, earth, glass and gold. OVER YOUR CITIES GRASS WILL GROW gives privileged access to Kiefer’s last days at La Ribotte prior to his move to Paris, where he now lives and works.
Anselm Kiefer’s monumental body of work occupies a fascinating place in the canon of late 20th Century art. Born in 1945, a son of post-fascist Germany, he initially embarrassed his country through his excavations of the nation’s recent past when he photographed himself performing Nazi salutes in the landscape. Kiefer came to prominence in 1980 when he represented his country in the Venice Biennale. His work is now held in museums and private collections internationally.
Recent exhibitions include a retrospective at the Guggenheim Bilbao and Monumenta (2007) at the Grand Palais in Paris. In 2008 the Louvre commissioned a painting for their permanent collection and Kiefer was awarded the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels in Germany. His creation at La Ribotte represents his most ambitious work to date in the second half of his career.
PRODUCTION
A coproduction AMOEBA FILM - KASANDER - SCIAPODE with the support of ARTE FRANCE
The Rotterdam Media Fund
COBO Fund
CNC
PROCIREP/ANGOA
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Official Selection, out of competition, Cannes Festival 2010 - World Premiere
Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival 2010
