Jan Ijäs’s On the Art of Set Design (2019) will have its world premiere in the international competition of short and mid-length films at Visions du Réel IFF, an internationally renowned documentary film festival, held from April 4–13 in Nyon, Switzerland. The screenings of the film take place on Wednesday, April 10, at 18:00 in Colombière, and on Thursday, April 11, at 12:00 in Capitole Fellini.

“Can the set take it?” is a question that often gets asked on film shoots. When you adjust a camera position, change a lens or introduce a new panning shot, the orientation and scope of the images you capture change. As a result, you then risk showing a stretch of soundstage wall or even an unwanted glimpse of location. On the Art of Set Design is based on North Korea’s former leader Kim Jong Il’s (1942–2011) film-making treatise On the Art of Cinema, with a particular focus on the chapter titled The Sets Should Reflect the Times, passages of which are read out by the narrator. All images were shot on location in North Korea during a guided tour. These guided visits are highly managed, with all filming and recording activity carefully controlled by the hosts. Everything you see is reminiscent of a theatre or film set.

Media artist and film director Jan Ijäs (b. 1975) studied documentary film making at the Department of Film, Television and Scenography at the Aalto University in Helsinki. His work can be described as a blend of avant garde, experimental media art and documentary film making. His films have been screened at more than 200 Finnish and international film festivals and as installations in museums and art galleries. He has won numerous awards, including the Finnish Risto Jarva Prize in 2011 for SWEET MOV(I)E, Raft of the Médusa, film about immigration won Amnesty International Award 2018 at the IndieLisboa film festival in Portugal.

Visions du Réel, April 4–13 2019, Nyon, Switzerland

More information: Visions du Réel 

AV-ARKKI HAS PROMOTED AND DISTRIBUTED FINNISH MEDIA ART SINCE 1989. AV-ARKKI’S PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS HAVE MADE THE ARTISTS’ PARTICIPATION IN THIS EVENT POSSIBLE.