TUNEKO, 4min,. France
Directed by Marie Polo
(English) TUNEKO ("tout n'est qu'eau" = "all is only water" in french) is an interdisciplinary art project bringing together video, performance, costume & set design, interactive & immersive experiences reconnecting humans to the main element they are composed of and coming from : water (in all its shapes).

http://www.marie-polo.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tuneko____/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I always felt very connected to the element of Water and all the different forms it can take.
Considering water access has never been as critical as today, I wanted to create a piece which would reconnect humans to the water they are composed of.
Raising awareness and encouraging them to stop taking water for granted (which we collectively tend to do). Through amazement and beauty instead of doing it through a guilting or scary tone.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
We shot the TUNEKO video in one day in a studio in Berlin end of April. I believe in the moment. The long and short version of the video were edited by end of May.
We had the press preview then in a 4DSOUND space called MONOM and a week later another immersive screening in the raw bunkers of Monopol.
A month later, another immersive screening in Paris at 3537, an art space curated by Comme des Garçons (Dover Street Market)..
Every time also with an interactive installation of reflexology walk - where people were guided one by one barefoot onto a path of different textures (from sand to rocks, moss, wood, ice and finally warm water). This enabled them to reconnect to their senses and liquify their emotions before experiencing the film of TUNEKO (long version of 14:50 presented as an immersive screening with live performance of the dancers from the film).

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
DEEP DIVE

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Working with water, an element which can take so many shapes but cannot be contained.
It was both the biggest obstacle / challenge but also the most inspiring one !

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I felt very moved by their authentic reactions and the magical testimony they shared.
So interesting to have people on the other side of the world giving their intuitive impressions of TUNEKO.
Talking about the performance, the costumes, the light and artistic direction as well as the emotions they felt watching it.
I immediately shared it with the dancers and the whole crew who worked on TUNEKO ! They were all very touched and excited :)

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I am a story teller and a maker. I always wanted to create. Making films is one tool amongst others for me.
Just like water taking so many shapes. That's why I decided to present TUNEKO as an immersive screening.
That way people can both experience the film and the live performance of the dancers within the same breathing space.
It might sound strange but with the immersive screenings, my goal in a way is that people look away from the screen and reconnect to their sensations / emotions.
It is a sort of collective catharsis through both projection and movement. It is to me how we can individually and collectively bypass the brain and reconnect to our intuition.
Opening up a sensorial field which enables a bridge between us and the universal life source that is water.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Tough one.. I usually watch films quite a few times when I connect to them to rediscover new layers and details each time.
Could be The 5th Element maybe. Or Dancer in the Dark with Bjork. Or more recently Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
What they maybe have in common is a female character struggling with identity and a sense of belonging in a world they happen to be a part of without ever really fitting.
Something I can definitely relate to..

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Maybe to have a live panel bringing together the different film makers whose work are being presented - even online / via Zoom to federate your creative community.
And enabling also the audience members to ask questions live to the film makers. Quite a bit of logistic I know.. But I believe this could be a beautiful add on.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Very good ! I had the chance to have someone (dear Ellora) help me with the application process though.
It is always tricky to present your own projects and so helpful to have another perspective on how to diffuse your work.
Someone by your side who can zoom out and think of your film with more distance to send it to the most relevant festivals or venues.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Sounds pretty cliché for a French person but wine & cheese with crusty baguette, maybe a little salad on the side and a lovely glass of natural wine.
A proper gluten & dairy party :)

11. What is next for you? A new film?
This first chapter of TUNEKO enabled me to reach one of my dreams of reinterpreting the Ravel Bolero with sounds of Water. A magical piece composed by Paul Behnam aka The Rainbow Machine.
And to work together with the dancers I admire the most today (Natisa KA, Ylva Falk, Hava Hudry, Sebastian Abarbanell and Danilo Andres).
Giving them freedom of embodying however they wanted how they go from a tiny drop of water to a tsunami and everything in between..
Captured by the eyes of my dear DOP Mario Cordero (with who I had previously worked on my first feature film HUBRIS).
And exploring water through all textures thanks to the set design of Edouard Burgeat (Studio NoD).
Honoured to do all this with the incredible garments of Elodie Carstensen (Alluvial collection). And the whole magic of TUNEKO taking shape with the beautiful editing of Andrea Ariel.
But for me this is just the beginning of TUNEKO as a project of sensorial exploration of Water !
It will take many other shapes and also other film variations, exploring ice melting in Greenland or also the absence of water in the Moroccan desert..
And go even further in the immersive screenings we offer. Maybe have one on an ice skating rink with a projection all over the ceiling and work with a professional figure skater, who would give their own interpretation of water forms, moving amongst the audience..