For a long time during my studies at the University of East London I had been under the supervision of avant-garde filmmaker Professor John Smith. He encouraged me to work with a 16mm camera and to experiment with actuality and abstraction, and he has had a big influence on my formation as a filmmaker.
"Natalia Jezova's short films fascinated by the immersive power of narrative scenarios that blur the lines between imagination, reality and memory. She subverts the perceived boundaries between documentary, fiction, representation and abstraction. Often rooted in everyday life, her meticulously crafted films playfully explore the multifaceted language of cinema."
"Natalia Jezova's short films fascinated by the immersive power of narrative scenarios that blur the lines between imagination, reality and memory. She subverts the perceived boundaries between documentary, fiction, representation and abstraction. Often rooted in everyday life, her meticulously crafted films playfully explore the multifaceted language of cinema."
A POSERIORI
The film A POSTERIORI, (2023), HD video, 3min. colour, sound.
A Posteriori (Latin, ‘from the later’) - knowledge derived from experience (Encyclopaedia Britannica/philosophy).
The film delves into some complex themes: the mystery of creation; the line between God and man; the global crisis of values, faith and religion; power and hypocrisy; the church mired in scandals and contradictions.
The above concepts are examined in this three minutes film. Diverse visual styles have been intertwined, separate shots are linked together not by their literal continuity in reality but by symbolic association - as metaphors. This provides an opportunity to not only show different conclusions on the screen, but to also create symbolic meanings and metaphors that go outside the context of the film.
The playful representation of existential topics invites the viewer to draw from their own memory and emotional recognition, stimulating their intellectual reflexivity and perception. It allows for the process of co-creation by inviting the spectator’s imagination to build a unique interpretation.
FILMS FESTIVALS REVIEWS
FilmHaus Festival, 2024
"A 3-minute masterpiece by director Natalia Jezova, delves into profound themes, blending diverse visual styles and metaphors to invite intellectual reflection and co-creation of meaning. Jezova’s multidisciplinary artistry explores the mystery of creation, the blurred line between god and man,
and the crisis of faith and religion".
CLIMAX Film Festival, 2024
"“Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth." - Pablo Picasso.
This quote resonates profoundly with Natalia Jezova's film "A POSTERIORI," a work that encapsulates the essence of art as a medium of profound introspection and revelation. Dr. Natalia Jezova, a multi-disciplinary artist and a Professional Doctorate in Fine Art, utilizes her vast array of skills in photography, film, and installation to delve into complex themes such as the mystery of creation, the blur between divinity and humanity, and the crisis engulfing faith and the institution of the church.
"A POSTERIORI," a Latin phrase meaning 'from the later,' is a fitting title for a film that seeks to derive knowledge from experience, as defined by the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In just three minutes, Jezova crafts a narrative that is not bound by the constraints of linear storytelling but rather thrives on the power of symbolic association. This approach allows the film to explore a myriad of themes, ranging from existential questions to the global crisis of values, faith, and religion, all while maintaining a cohesiveness that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant.
The film's diverse visual styles serve as a canvas for Jezova's exploration of these profound themes. Each shot, linked not by literal continuity but through metaphoric significance, invites the viewer to engage in a process of co-creation. This interactive element of the film empowers the audience to draw upon their own experiences, memories, and emotions, fostering a unique interpretation that resonates on a deeply personal level.
Moreover, Jezova's film is an exploration of the ambiguities and contradictions inherent in the human condition. The playful yet poignant representation of existential topics challenges the viewer to confront their own perceptions of power, hypocrisy, and the sacred-profane dichotomy. By interweaving these themes with a focus on cultural memory, identity, and gender issues, Jezova not only questions the established norms but also encourages a re-evaluation of the viewer’s understanding of these complex concepts.
In conclusion, "A POSTERIORI" is a testament to Natalia Jezova's ingenuity and her ability to harness the medium of film to probe into the depths of human experience. Her work stands as a beacon of intellectual and emotional exploration, inviting audiences to question, reflect, and ultimately, to find their own truth".
"“Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth." - Pablo Picasso.
This quote resonates profoundly with Natalia Jezova's film "A POSTERIORI," a work that encapsulates the essence of art as a medium of profound introspection and revelation. Dr. Natalia Jezova, a multi-disciplinary artist and a Professional Doctorate in Fine Art, utilizes her vast array of skills in photography, film, and installation to delve into complex themes such as the mystery of creation, the blur between divinity and humanity, and the crisis engulfing faith and the institution of the church.
"A POSTERIORI," a Latin phrase meaning 'from the later,' is a fitting title for a film that seeks to derive knowledge from experience, as defined by the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In just three minutes, Jezova crafts a narrative that is not bound by the constraints of linear storytelling but rather thrives on the power of symbolic association. This approach allows the film to explore a myriad of themes, ranging from existential questions to the global crisis of values, faith, and religion, all while maintaining a cohesiveness that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant.
The film's diverse visual styles serve as a canvas for Jezova's exploration of these profound themes. Each shot, linked not by literal continuity but through metaphoric significance, invites the viewer to engage in a process of co-creation. This interactive element of the film empowers the audience to draw upon their own experiences, memories, and emotions, fostering a unique interpretation that resonates on a deeply personal level.
Moreover, Jezova's film is an exploration of the ambiguities and contradictions inherent in the human condition. The playful yet poignant representation of existential topics challenges the viewer to confront their own perceptions of power, hypocrisy, and the sacred-profane dichotomy. By interweaving these themes with a focus on cultural memory, identity, and gender issues, Jezova not only questions the established norms but also encourages a re-evaluation of the viewer’s understanding of these complex concepts.
In conclusion, "A POSTERIORI" is a testament to Natalia Jezova's ingenuity and her ability to harness the medium of film to probe into the depths of human experience. Her work stands as a beacon of intellectual and emotional exploration, inviting audiences to question, reflect, and ultimately, to find their own truth".
UBI SUNT
The film UBI SUNT, (2024), 7min, Black/White, sound.
UBI SUNT (literally “where are they”) is a rhetorical question taken from the Latin “Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt?” - "Where are those who were before us?" (Encyclopaedia Britannica/philosophy).
The film UBI SUNT is a reflection on life and death, present in absence, sense of loss, memories and unconscious processes. It pays homage to my mother, aiming to capture the essence of her remarkable personality.
UBI SUNT comprises a single long take – drawing parallel with an individual person’s life. I used a room devoid of people as a character. In the shot the viewer sees only part of the room. The combination and juxtaposition of black-and-white, where we observe only an open window with the transparent curtain, bright rays coming through the dark space of the room, take on a metaphoric meaning. Bright open window like an open portal, that brings us into the world and is then taking us into nothingness. An open window serving as a metaphorical transit from life to death. The light, reflection and wind have a deep symbolic meaning.
The long take symbolising the continuity of time and memories. It allowing viewers ample time for visual exploration and emotional immersion. Long take invites viewers to immerse themselves in the scene and project their own feelings and interpretations.
The soundtrack of the UBI SUNT filled with the presence of people and it is clearly in contradiction to the empty room. Fragmented sounds in the film mirror the fragmented nature of memory processing, serving as an editing framework, which shapes the mental transitions between the sequences of the story. The soundtrack consists of various sounds related to memories of my mother, including snippets of music, radio speeches, ambient noise, and sounds from everyday life, guiding the audience through a sonic journey of remembrance and reflection. By employing associative montage, symbolic meanings and metaphors are created, transcending the film’s context and prompting emotional recognition and intellectual reflection in viewers.
UBI SUNT (literally “where are they”) is a rhetorical question taken from the Latin “Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt?” - "Where are those who were before us?" (Encyclopaedia Britannica/philosophy).
The film UBI SUNT is a reflection on life and death, present in absence, sense of loss, memories and unconscious processes. It pays homage to my mother, aiming to capture the essence of her remarkable personality.
UBI SUNT comprises a single long take – drawing parallel with an individual person’s life. I used a room devoid of people as a character. In the shot the viewer sees only part of the room. The combination and juxtaposition of black-and-white, where we observe only an open window with the transparent curtain, bright rays coming through the dark space of the room, take on a metaphoric meaning. Bright open window like an open portal, that brings us into the world and is then taking us into nothingness. An open window serving as a metaphorical transit from life to death. The light, reflection and wind have a deep symbolic meaning.
The long take symbolising the continuity of time and memories. It allowing viewers ample time for visual exploration and emotional immersion. Long take invites viewers to immerse themselves in the scene and project their own feelings and interpretations.
The soundtrack of the UBI SUNT filled with the presence of people and it is clearly in contradiction to the empty room. Fragmented sounds in the film mirror the fragmented nature of memory processing, serving as an editing framework, which shapes the mental transitions between the sequences of the story. The soundtrack consists of various sounds related to memories of my mother, including snippets of music, radio speeches, ambient noise, and sounds from everyday life, guiding the audience through a sonic journey of remembrance and reflection. By employing associative montage, symbolic meanings and metaphors are created, transcending the film’s context and prompting emotional recognition and intellectual reflection in viewers.
JUST COFFEE
The film JUST COFFEE, (2022), HD video, 5min. colour, sound.
The short film with so trivial title touches important themes of our life as conflicts, relationships, feelings and communication.
I deployed strategies such as metaphor and symbolism to ruminate on how our mind remains divided between memory and the present, between reality and dreams. Metaphorical language creates a deeper meaning and makes an impression on a subliminal level. It evokes the viewer’s emotional response and awakens their intellectual engagement with the film. Symbolic details allow the spectator to perceive a new dimension of the subject and read the messages that I aimed to embed in the film.
The sound in the film serves as an editing framework, which shapes the mental transitions between the sequences of the story.
MASSIF
The film MASSIF, (2022), 5min, B&W, sound,
The short film MASSIF was created as a reaction to my earlier film 1159, in which I explored traumatic memories of my family experience during WWII and the Holocaust in Lithuania through concepts of “post memory” and “silenced history”. In the film 1159 landscape images, devoid of people, conveyed the violent and traumatic consequences through the use of sound - the sound filled with the presence of people is clearly in contradiction to the peaceful landscape.
For MASSIF, the pianist and composer Louis Durra was inspired to create a new soundtrack to accompany the visual footage from 1159, which brought a new “reading” and a hope for “deep wounds healing”.
The film consists of long takes, where we see only the landscape devoid of the presence of human life. Between the long takes, Louis Durra decided to use a “shuttering effect”, perceiving this as “a resetting of the senses” - like pauses between sentences, a silence between phrases in music or the closing of one’s eyes. The effect awakes expectation, or even impatience – which is a very different effect to what is experienced from continuing to show footage or an image, or cutting to something else. Whether the transitions in and out of blackness are sudden or gradual, the timing seems to matter a lot here, as indeed it does everywhere - in art, in dialogue, in life.
"Natalia’s video evokes chilling events from the Holocaust, mostly through the soundtrack. The visuals show only the stillness of a forest, apparently empty - and have a compelling beauty. I was inspired to create new music to her visuals. After attempts to work from the original narrative I focused on reacting purely to the visuals. What resulted was a piece based only on the stillness of the forest. Filtering crushed the piano sound into something less familiar." Louis Durra
http://louisdurra.com/
THE SWALLOW
The film The Swallow, (2022), 6min, B&W, sound,
During an art residency in the remote village of Psarades in Northern Greece I was part of a group of artists who visited places most affected by the Civil War in Greece. Places where life suddenly stopped...
In the film The Swallow I explored themes of place, trauma and the displacement of the Macedonian diaspora in Northern Greece. I decided to include the story about a revived swallow that we had seen in the abandoned school in Psarades village.
As always, in my art practice I put a big emphasis on the symbolic meaning of things. Swallows are traditionally among the most beloved and honoured birds in culture and a common belief was that swallows were birds “blessed” to carry spirits. Following my research on folklore, I discovered that “dead children return as swallows in spring to console their parents”(Porter & Russell, 1978, p. 188). In one scene in my film the swallows play a central metaphorical role and the significance of the scene symbolises the souls of departed children who are searching in space and time for a way to return home.