synopsis
Several times a year, the sky above France turns red. These are grains of sand from the Sahara, and they can resemble a starry sky, or the graininess of a television screen. However, they contain radioactive cesium-137, which was created when the French tested nuclear weapons in Algeria. This testimony, which was never supposed to leave the military base, shows the impact of war on human society and the landscape.
“With my films I want to make complex (invisible) social, political, and economical issues visible.” — Katja Verheul
biography
Katja Verheul (born 1988) is a Dutch researcher, visual artist, and filmmaker. She studied audiovisual arts in Amsterdam, and fine arts in London. She explores the impact of human society on the landscape. Her short films include
Unknown Grounds (2024),
Improvised Objects (2021),
Dynamo (2020), and
Hostile Sites (2017).
film details
| director: | Katja Verheul |
| cast: | François Hamant, Thomas Chaput, Juliette Pautrat, Judith Gatt |
| producer: | Katja Verheul |
| photography: | Christian Paulussen, Loïc Larrouze |
| sound: | Chloé Mazoyer, Christian Paulussen |
| sound design: | Cesi Denise Nolten |
| associate producer: | Mezli Vega Osorno |
Film at festival
| premiere type: | International Premiere |
| festival edition: | 2025 |
| section: | Short Joy |
| language: | French, English |
| subtitles: | English, Czech |
| colour: | Colour |
Info
| director: | Katja Verheul |
| original title: | Red Dust |
| country: | Netherlands |
| year: | 2024 |
| running time: | 17 min. |
