Dead Slow Ahead

synopsis

A freighter sails through a barren seascape. Apparently drifting aimlessly. Apparently? A highly enigmatic allegory of the isolation of man and machine in a post-industrial capitalist society, which is as close to techno-pessimistic sci-fi as it is to romantic painting. This story, consisting almost exclusively of the landscape, the movements of workers and machinery, and the ship itself, uses a highly aesthetic style to put across the impression of absolute desolation and disconcertion. The sedative rhythm pulls the viewer into a completely new, unknown world. Bit by bit we come to a realisation and start to ask: is this the last ship of humanity, burdened with the difficult task of keeping in motion that which has long stopped making sense?

DETAIL:
“Is anybody listening? An entire river is entering through the keel. There’s a lot. The water is reaching the storage tanks. Roger! Roger! Attention! The wheat is getting wet. The wheat. Sir, this is a disaster!”

biography

Mauro Herce graduated in mechanical engineering and creative arts in his native Spain but went on to study film in Cuba and in Paris. He has received recognition as a scriptwriter and as the cinematographer of, for example, the award-winning films The Path (2007) and Ocaso (2010). Dead Slow Ahead , his feature-length directorial debut, was introduced at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, where Herce received the Special Cine+ Jury Prize in the Filmmakers of the Present section.

film details

director:	Mauro Herce
producer:	Sijercic Jasmina, Jose Alayon, Ventura Durall
photography:	Mauro Herce
editing:	Manuel Munoz
music:	Jose Manuel Berenguer
sound:	Alejandro Castillo, Carlos García, Daniel Fernandez

contact

Nanouk Films / Ventura Durall / c/Pau Claris 97 1o 1a / Barcelona / Spain / 08009 / +3493 419 6022 / nanouk@nanouk.tv / http://www.nanouk.tv