A Distant Echo

director: George Clark

original title: A Distant Echo

year: 2016

running time: 82 min.

synopsis

What can the landscape tell us about ancient history and how it is shaped? George Clark’s film essay explores this question through seemingly motionless images of the California desert accompanied by a minimalist chorale. This chosen form emphasizes the at first glance subtle shifts in the nature of the landscape, which becomes a stage for negotiations between an Egyptian archeologist and the members of a native tribe regarding the ancient graves hidden beneath the sand. The result is a multilayered tale that uncovers traces of the past, the ecology of the landscape, and cinematic history in locations that were once used to film Hollywood epics.

“Existing in the resonance between ecological, cinematic and sonic domains, A Distant Echo explores the mythical continuity of sand as site for history, transformation and preservation. The things we cherish must sometimes be buried.”

biography

George Clark (1982) is a British artist and curator. In his film projects, he tries to combine these two areas of activity in order to explore the history of images and how they are rooted in cultural, technological, or social circumstances. His more recent efforts include the short film Sea of Clouds (2016) and the audiovisual lecture On the Planter’s Art (2016), in which he explores the relationship between film, maps, and gardening.

more about film

director:	George Clark
cast:	Stuart Baxter, John Clark, Michael Parkinson, John Smith, Ivan Smith, Jasmine Ellis
producer:	George Clark
photography:	George Clark
music:	Tom Challenger

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