Hypnosis

Shot on Super8 and shown as a loop, this is a recording of a Ferris wheel by night that disintegrates into red and yellow flashes of light. With this film, director Cao Guimarães deciphers a pulsating series of geometrical forms, summoning up a hypnotizing effect in the process. The "events" in this geometric mini-drama consist of moving colors and the repetitive lethargy of pounding piano music. Because of the almost abstract play with overlapping flashes of light, the film also falls under the visual art tradition, just like most of the director's work. Guimarães was a photographer before he began making experimental films and documentaries in the 1990s. His films have won awards at the Locarno International Film Festival (Rua de mão dupla, 2002) and at IDFA (The Soul of the Bone, 2004), the latter of which is about a hermit who turns out to be a tourist attraction. Other short films by Guimarães are often contemplative observations of places in the city that would otherwise remain unseen. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)