The 16th edition of Perspectives Film Festival:

Breakthroughs in Cinema presents — Sound WAVE.

Sound, often neglected, serves as the backbone of a film’s sensory skeleton. Whether it’s a spellbinding silence drawn out longer than expected or a poignant lament resonating with deep sorrow, sound guides our sensibilities and transcends the boundaries of the visual screen to breathe life into an intricately crafted film-world.

Listen attentively to the rich tapestries of culture, the evocative markers of status and performance, and the powerful voices of hope and frustration in PFF2023’s lineup. These are films that make full use of their distinct soundscapes, be it for defining their own genres or for exploring their characters’ inner psyche. Sound will be both map and treasure, unlocking new dimensions of storytelling in this year’s Perspectives Film Festival: Breakthroughs in Cinema.

Films

Perfect Days (2023)

26 October 2023, 8:00 PM

When his perfect days are threatened, Hirayama must put on some sick beats, and never forget to stop and smell the toilets.

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (2023)

27 October 2023, 8:00 PM

Nestled in the warmth of an Estonian sauna, women forge sacred bonds over a shared sense of trauma, pain and unity.

The Shout (1978)

27 October 2023, 10:30 PM

Amid a tranquil village, an unsettling visit from a mysterious aboriginal traveller shatters a couple’s quietude. 

Blue (1993)

28 October 2023, 3:00 PM

As he watches his friends slowly die, an AIDS patient’s vision fades into blue-tinted shades of grief and existential dread.

Trances (1981)

28 October 2023, 5:00 PM

Music becomes a transformative force as electrifying acoustics and spunky lyrics weave the story of a Moroccan band’s rise to fame.

Black God, White Devil (1964)

28 October 2023, 8:00 PM

In the arid heart of Brazil, a desperate escape crescendos into a musical uprising of chaos, faith and rebellion.  

Paco (2023)

29 October 2023, 1:30 PM

To retrieve a missing radio microphone, sound recordist Manny must prove himself by braving time-travellers, British permit-checkers, and an all-important King Arthurian reference.  

The Klezmer Project (2023)

29 October 2023, 4:00 PM

For love, an Argentine feigns interest in Klezmer, setting off an accidental Eastern European odyssey through forgotten folk melodies.

The Music Room (1958)

29 October 2023, 7:30 PM

A fallen aristocrat marks the end of his glory days with one final recital, brimming with classical Indian song-and-dance, in his beloved music room.

Cinema Voyeurs

To See Without Sight

To See Without Sight

Close your eyes and face the bright of the sun. Let it burn into your eyelids a hot, vivid, red; let it sear its temporary mark onto your retinas...

An Ode to Sound Recordists

An Ode to Sound Recordists

What do sound recordists do? True to their title, they record sounds, but that is just one of the many things they must juggle on set, both in terms...