NÓRUA - Exploring The Subconscious to Find a Narrative

A woman runs a hostel for travellers in the middle of nowhere, where she is visited every other day by her blind father who alternates his nights between the homes of his daughter and his wife, who have not spoken to each other for years. However, the two women maintain a peculiar long-distance relationship of mutualism, helping each other to survive indirectly, and conducting the father who commutes by tricycle between their homes, from a distance, through an unusual system involving telephone booths. A film about regret, forgiveness, telephones, and communication, where no words are spoken.

"Through this session I’ll go deep into the process and all the steps I go through in order to make my films, from conceptualisation to production, with special focus on my writing process that combines going deep into my subconscious and old distorted memories, as well as music improvisation. I’ll mostly be using “Nórua”, my upcoming film that I’m working on at the moment, and “Ice Merchants”, my previous film, as case studies and examples." João Gonzalez

João Gonzalez is an Oscar-nominated Portuguese director, animator, illustrator, and musician with a classical training in piano. His short film "Ice Merchants," which premiered in Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and was awarded the Critics Week Jury Prize for Best Short Film, was the first ever Portuguese film to receive an Oscar nomination, and is currently the most awarded Portuguese film of all time, having received more than 130 international awards. João has a great interest in combining his musical background with his artistic practice, as composer and occasional instrumentalist in all the films he makes.

The Rendez-Vous de l’Institut Series is generously supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. You will find a full calendar of the Fellows’ Talk.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, Reid Hall, Paris, France