(The Ears of the Sea)
a film by Mathilde Capone
13 minutes, French, Maltese and English subtitles
Distribution by Vidéographe (distribution@videographe.org)
https://www.videographe.org/distribution/widnet-il-bahar
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1163766279
Widnet il-Baħar refers to the ears of the sea, a shell native to the island of Malta, one that shapes an aspect of the artist Mathilde Capone’s identity. In the form of a travel diary, Mathilde sets out to encounter it and questions it about its history, its landscapes, its language, and its people. Using a Super 8 camera, a sensitive dialogue emerges in the interstice between impressions, encounters, and reflections. The camera, unsteady, bears witness to a timid apprehension in the face of this quest. Malta, a true character, reveals itself through her curious gaze, while Mathilde’s voice guides us along her trajectory, echoing the ghosts and mirages of her own origins.
Subtitles translated into Maltese by Elizabeth Grech in close collaboration with Clare Azzoppardi.
Whispered voice – Elizabeth Grech, with whisper recordings by Luigi Polimeni as part of a collaboration with Mana Chuma Teatro.
Synopsis
Malta, a minuscule archipelago at the heart of the Mediterranean, bears the traces of all those who have passed through it, conquered it, inhabited it… or left it. In its cemeteries, its churches, and its old towns with their slippery pavements, migrant memories surface, carried by a language of Arabic origin that still resonates. The Ears of the Sea – Widnet il-Baħar is a travel diary in search of my origins. A sensory and fragmentary wandering in pursuit of the traces of my Maltese ancestors, where the intimate and the collective coexist.
Quotes:
Je me demande où iront mes morts, si je les oublie
Nistaqsi lili nnifsi fejn imorru l-mejtin tiegħi, jekk ninsihom.
J’aimerais rencontrer des morts que je ne connais pas, et que je cherche, sans pouvoir les retrouver
Nixtieq niltaqa’ mal-mejtin li qatt ma ltqajt magħhom, dawk li qed infittex mingħajr ma nista’ nsibhom.
