Perfectly a Strangeness
A FILM BY ALISON MCALPINE
Short film – Québec – 2024 – 15 min
Colour | No dialogue | Cinemascope | 5.1
SYNOPSIS
In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be.
CAST
Palomo, Ruperto & Palaye
CREW
DIRECTOR: Alison McAlpine
SCREENPLAY: Alison McAlpine
PRODUCTION : Alison McAlpine (Second Sight Pictures Inc.)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Nicolas Canniccioni
MUSIC: Ben Grossman
SOUND DESIGN: Samuel Gagnon-Thibodeau
EDITING: Carolina Siraqyan
Director's Notes
To tell a tall, uncontrived, surprising tale in picture and sound and re-define what a story can be.
To work with texture, movement, light, shadow, reflections, sound, rhythm- no text- creating cinema that you want to touch like an exquisite painting, or a poem that you want to experience again and again, offering the viewer a space to think and imagine for themselves.
To express not the well-known anthropomorphic view of animals, in particular donkeys, nor the familiar perception of astronomical observatories but rather, to immerse the viewer in a sensorial experience which feels animalic, fresh and unforgettable.
“Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of the soul.” – Ingmar Bergman
BIOGRAPHY
Alison began her career as a published poet, inspired by family tales and the oral traditions of British Columbia where she grew up. Discovering theatre in Ireland, she soon after wrote and directed music-theatre works which toured Canada and Europe. The success of her commission to write a TVOpera, inspired Alison to make her first film, Second Sight (2008), an award-winning mid-length film. BBC commissioned two versions of Second Sight. Ghostman of Skye, 2009, was “Pick of the Day” or “Critics Choice” in every major UK newspaper. Cielo, Alison’s award-winning first feature, has been presented at over 350 international film festivals and cinemas. Named as “One of the best documentaries of 2018” by Esquire and The Guardian. perfectly a strangeness, Alison’s first short film, had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Official Competition, May 24, 2024.
FILMOGRAPHY
PERFECTLY A STRANGENESS | 2024, short film
CIELO | 2018
SECONDSIGHT | 2008
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Cannes Film Festival, 2024
International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, 2024
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), 2024
Kyiv International Short Film Festival, 2024
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC), 2024