Esther Urlus

film - audiovisual - performance - science & technology

"In my film work I create a link between specific historical events and stories and the (re) use of analog film techniques and inventions from the early days of photography and cinematography. I force a sometimes alienating parallel between the events or the story and the cinematic technique, to enhance the impact of the image. In addition, I create my own film material, literally, by mixing silver nitrate and bromide salt with gelatin and water to form a light-sensitive emulsion. I'm not looking for a naturalist , commercial like film material, outcome. I intend to create unique components that, by its singularity, generates a special and cinematic experience. "


Vertical Cinema: Chrome – 35mm vertical cinemascope, Dolby Stereo sound, 8 min. - It is a strange illusion: the images are filmed on black-and-white emulsion but we see colour. This is Autochrome, an early experiment with film colouring by the Lumières that combines particles of coloured potato starch, glass plates and black-and-white emulsion. The result? Colours that go beyond nature. Commissioned by Sonic Acts Amsterdam
Konrad & Kurfurst – 16mm, toned hand made B&W silver emulsion, optical sound, 7 min - The home-brewed emulsion is a fragile metaphor for the heroism of Konrad and his horse Kurfurst during the Olympic Games in Berlin, 1936. Falling from his horse, he became a national hero, only to become an anti-hero when overtaken by history. Made by consulting technical publications from early cinema and photographic experiments. Awarded with a Special Mention International Jury Kurtzfilmtage Oberhausen (D) 2014
studie voor een veldslag – 16mm colour, optical sound, 6’30 min - study for a battle is inspired by the late medieval sketches of falling horses, especially from Pisanello. In thin lines on yellowed paper you can see the soft contours of falling and fallen horses. They look pretty funny, and also peaceful, in their awkward poses. But it is clear from the caption that these are studies of horses' falling on the battlefield, sketches intended to be elaborated into war spectacle pieces. The film investigates a printing technique that produces a kind of 3D relief in film - a special effect from surreal analogue photography, early 20th century - in which the photographic image in bas-relief seems to be sculpted. An image that is very similar to the lines of a pencil or pen drawing. The colors in the film are based on the 20 pastel (piss) shades of the medieval Epiphanie Medicorum, a color wheel used for medical diagnosis. study for a battle premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2019
Deletion – 16/35mm colour film, 12 min. - Suggestion allows negative space to be discerned – a hint of absent image – in an immersive cloud of coloured granules. Its substantiation lies in the viewer’s imagination, coloured by the dark ambient soundtrack of composer Ji Youn Kang. Deletion was shot on 16mm using home-made emulsion inspired by the more than a century-old autochrome colour process. Deletion was nominated for the Tiger Shorts International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017 and nominated for The Award for Best Short Film Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017