Provost’s 2007 piece Plot point used a subtle combination of music, editing and photography to lead the viewer into a subconscious process of establishing and discovering a story. Stardust takes this a stage further, manipulating recorded conversations taken from films as well as background music. Provost moves from New York to Las Vegas, filming the public going about their daily business. He then uses these clips of people engaging in conversations, making phone calls, watching a screen or gazing into space, and adds film music and dialogue over the top. Provost is the master of exploiting the associations and reactions learned by the public through years of watching crime and action films and television programmes, using film music to build tension, to induce emotional responses, to alter the nature of what is seen or heard. He also uses parataxis to great effect, presenting two separate and unrelated things together, so that the audience generates links. For example, hearing gunshots while the camera shows only a closed door, we think that the shots have been fired in the room behind the door. Through his understanding of cinematographic language, Provost manipulates the audience into generating narratives and developing characters. As the piece progresses, the plots that must be built become more complex and less believable, exposing the tricks Provost is playing.

Stardust will be touring through:
06.04.2011 - 10.04.2011
NexT International Film Festival
Bucharest (Romania)
www.nextfilmfestival.ro

08.04.2011 - 17.04.2011
13th Mecal International Short Film Festival
Barcelona (Spain)
www.mecalbcn.org

28.04.2011 - 06.05.2011
Jeonju International Film Festival
Jeonju (South Korea)
eng.jiff.or.kr

28.04.2011 - 08.05.2011
Brussels Short Film Festival
Brussels (Belgium)
www.courtmetrage.be

06.05.2011 - 15.05.2011
Curtocircuito International Short Film Festival
Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
www.curtocircuito.org

15.06.2011 - 20.06.2011
Norwegian Short Film Festival
Oslo (Norway)
www.kortfilmfestivalen.no

17.06.2011 - 24.06.2011
Cinema Jove International Film Festival
Valencia (Spain)
www.cinemajove.com

26.05.2011 - 01.06.2011
VIS Vienna Independant Shorts
Wien (Austria)
www.viennashorts.com

Image Forum Festival 2011
schedule:
29.04.2011 - 08.05.2011
Tokyo - Park Tower Hall (Japan)
01.06.2011 - 05.06.2011
Fukuoka - Fukuoka City Public Library (Japan)
04.06.2011 - 10.06.2011
Kyoto - Kyoto Cinema (Japan)
15.06.2011 - 19.06.2011
Nagoya - Aichi Arts Center (Japan)
16.06.2011 - 20.06.2011
Yokohama - Yokohama Museum of Art (Japan)
c-a-r-t-e-blanche.com

www.nicolasprovost.com