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Ugo Petronin

film , Experimenteel , Audiovisueel , Artistiek onderzoek

I am an artist, filmmaker, and experimental cinematographer focusing on the interplay between water, imagination, and cinema. Through a playful practice of filmmaking I explore the complexities of notions like fluidity, confusion, and regeneration. I use an inductive process mostly based on technical experiments, field explorations, and sensory ethnography. My studio is in Time Window, an art organisation of which I am a member.

Maas Confusion
Maas Confusion - Maas Confusion premiered at IFFR 2025 in the RTM Program. An overwhelmed video encoder turns confusion into a cosmological force. Poetry and iridescent cinematography reimagine a walk along the Maas River, where bodies merge and emotions shimmer. “ This film is a technical experiment that transforms cinematography into a philosophical inquiry. By intentionally sending raw camera signals to the wrong encoding format, the overwhelmed video encoder misinterprets the data in real time, creating an iridescent aesthetic. This technical process serves as a metaphor for how our frames of perception and interpretation struggle under excess information. Like the encoder trying to make sense of the input, the film embraces an aesthetic of confusion, where bodies, spaces, and feelings fuse to reveal an unexpected world. Guided by Clara Afonso’s visceral poem Corps D’écumes, the work invites us to linger in confusion and explore what emerges when the clarity of our interpretive frameworks collapse” . This film was developed within the scheme of the Artist Start Grant by Mondriaan Fonds 2023. Status: World Premiere IFFR 2025 Director: Ugo Petronin Cinematography: Ugo Petronin Editor: Ugo Petronin Production: Ubelka Films Cast: Clara Afonso, Margriet Kim Nguyen Poem written & performed by: Clara Afonso Music: Courtesy of Nicolas Jaar (2020)
Ninfa Fluida (upcoming Premiere at IFFR 2024) - A flatworm shapeshifts as the fragmented verses of Dutch river poet Dirk Smits murmur myths of the Rotte River. Departing from a droplet of the river, the cinematic dive slowly connects with the depths of human-water relationships. By blending microscopic cinematography with poetry and molecular biology, the film playfully confuses themes of regeneration, ecological destruction, and gender representation. While serving as an ode to the symbiotic relationship between water and imagination, "Ninfa Fluida" ultimately emerges as an initial stride towards questioning deeply rooted behaviours, ethics, and ecological imaginaries. Ninfa Fluida is a film-research project composed of various materials gathered between 2022 and 2023. Developed through an unscripted, inductive process, it involved collaboration with the European Institute of Biology of Ageing in Groningen and the Stadsarchief Rotterdam. The film features a voiceover performed by theater maker Mathieu Wijdeven and is scheduled to premiere at IFFR 2024 in January.
Confusion at TENT Rotterdam - Confusion is a short film created through cinematographic and choreographic experiments conducted with dancer Noemi Calzavara during our collaborative residency at TENT Rotterdam in February 2023. The aesthetic is a product of manipulating the video signal of the camera, and no post-production effects were applied. We worked live, guided by the notions of non-human embodiment and confusion. The residency culminated in a live performance, blending dance with projected moving images.
Abidings (2021-Unreleased) - Abidings comprises four hybrid experimental films, each crafted from a single 35mm color photograph exposed with a shutterless camera. Rooted in my exploration of fluidity and continuity within cinematographic processes, these films extend the thematic essence of my previous work, 'Abiding' (2019), while showcasing advancements in animation, resolution (4K), and color quality. Although unreleased, a version of those films was put together for the film Prison With Songbirds directed by Ewan Macbeth. These films serve as subtle testimonies to my active role in the exposure process, reflecting a gestural engagement with the world. Abidings, in my perspective, embody an opening gesture—a manifestation of my broader artistic approach, which embraces exposition as a dialogical method: to expose and to be exposed
Abiding (2019) - Abiding (2019) is a 5-minute short experimental film, created from a single 35mm color photograph. Stemming from my two-year artistic research at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam (2018-2020), the film explores the interplay between techniques, gestures, and metaphors. I focused on dismantling the traditional camera mechanism to eliminate the separation between frames, creating a dynamic and relational exposure. This process, inspired by ideas such as the open-machine concept of Gilbert Simondon and the poetics of water of Gaston Bachelard, produced a continuous flow of light and a unique film syntax. The overall project was guided by my long lasting interest in the notion of fluidity and confusion. The film, distributed by the Eye Film Museum and Doc Alliance Film, received a special mention at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival and won Best Experimental Film at the Yale Student Film Festival. It has been showcased in various venues, including the Eye Film Museum, Goethe Institute Rotterdam, IndieLisboa, IFFR, Kasseler Dokfest, Boston University and more. It is also used as educational material by the Media Department of the Yagamata University in Japan. Abiding is available for viewing here.
????? (2020-Ongoing) - HELIOS is an ongoing series of small films, capturing simple everyday moments, often shot with my mobile phone. Each film centers around the sun, occupying the central frame. Through the lens, I delicately track its movements, variations, and effects, creating a visual and sensory diary. The first installment, Under_Exposure, was screened at the Eye Research Lab 2020, Eye Museum, Amsterdam. This is a side project.
Maquette: Art Exhibition Hilton Rotterdam (2019) - Initiators and Curators: Ugo Petronin and Felix Obermaier. In September 2019, Felix Obermaier and I approached the Hilton Rotterdam with a proposal for an Art Space: The Breakfast Room. This unused space, a former restaurant and breakfast room, had been refurbished, boasting stunning ceilings and windows. Following a meeting with the hotel management, they generously granted us the space at no cost. With additional support from Hogeschool Rotterdam, Willem de Kooning Academie, and Piet Zwart Institute, we organized Maquette, a collective art exhibition that opened to the public in November 2019. Maquette showcased photographic and moving image works by five artists—students from Piet Zwart Institute and Willem de Kooning Academy: Julia Gat, Yael Laroes, Sonia Mangiapane, Felix Obermaier, and Ugo Petronin. The exhibition emphasized differences and contrasts in format, processes, perspectives, and narratives. Some of these artworks later received awards at photo and film festivals. Despite a successful opening, our academic and work commitments led us to disengage from our long-term project proposal: Hilton Art Gallery. Shortly after, the Hilton Art Lab emerged as a new endeavor.
Dance Series (2013 -Ongoing) - I began my filmmaking journey by filming dancers and musicians. Collaborating with experienced contemporary dancers has been a key part of my practice, often working on improvised and experimental projects. But some of these projects were also commissioned and showcased at events such as the Venice Biennial of Architecture and The Boulevard Theater Festival. Featured performers in the excerpts include Margriet Kim Nguyen, Laura Devos, Teresa Noronha Feio, and Joan Afonso.
Rivers Embodiments: Thames - Experimental films, Dual HD Projection,color, stereo sound. (Excerpts). A series of 3 dual screening. I have a fascination for waters and rivers, they drive most of my works. While living in South-East London (2012-2017) I started to engage with the river Thames. Often through walks, and sometimes through photographic or filmic observations. The film series Rivers Embodiments is an experimental work produced in 2016. It approaches the notion of embodiment through the body mapping of river footages. The HD slow motion footages, were refilmed on VHS and projected on the skin and the back of a moving body. Performer Margriet Kim Nguyen, used the muscles of her back, her bones and skin to recreate the water oscillations at the surface of the Thames, as to give the superimposition the depth of an embodied process. Installed as a dual projection.
Natures Mortes (2017) - Digital photographs of ephemeral sculptures (170cm x 90cm). Marseille, Porte d'Aix, 2017. Collaboration: Ugo Petronin and Nicolas Nicolini. Series of 7. With the Brexit on its way, I decided to leave the UK and London, where I resided for six beautiful years. I went back to my home town, Marseille and joined my friend and painter Nicolas Nicolini in his studio, Porte-D’Aix. This series of photograph is the documentation of a week of an improvise collaboration. We retrieved materials from the surroundings streets, textile shops, electronic waste, renovation waste (…) and recompose our findings in a limited time. Through a variety of techniques : painting, sculpting, cutting, breaking or covering, we collaborated, mostly without talking. This collaborative and improvised gesture merged the objects together on a textile surface. Photographed like portraits, we hoped that the photographic temporality would prompt a contemplative and poetic interrogation of the city. It is a work on Marseille, on its identities, memories and archeologies. A city I love, and I believe a city which deserves the constant effort to deconstruct and transcend the myriad of pre-defined perceptions that surround it.

IFFR 2024: NINFA FLUIDA World Premiere

Datum:
Locatie: Lantaren Venster
In samenwerking met: Mondriaan Fonds, CBK Rotterdam, Stichting Droom en Daad, Fonds Kwadraat

My last short experimental documentary Ninfa Fluida (2024) will premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

https://iffr.com/nl/iffr/2024/films/ninfa-fluida

Hydromedia: Seeing with Water Symposium (HKU)

Datum:
Locatie: Stadsschouwburg Utrecht
In samenwerking met: HKU + Creative Europe + IVN Natuur Educatie

Presentation of work in progress at Utrecht University of the Arts. The HKU hosted a public symposium highlighting philosophical, ecological, scientific and artistic perspectives on water. Speakers include philosopher René ten Bos, designer/curator Henriette Waal, artist Suzette Bousema, artist/filmmaker Ugo Petronin, geographer Els Otterman, and scientists Sven Teurlincx, Lisette de Senerpont Domis (Netherlands Institute of Ecology) and Annelies Veraart (Radboud University).

https://hydromedia.org/

Kunstnacht: Go Short x Proces-Verbaal

Datum:
Locatie: Paraplufabrieken
In samenwerking met: Go Short + Proces-Verbaal +

During Kunstnacht 2023, short film and poetry join forces. Three poets have written a poem especially for a short film, which will be heard during the film screening. These films will be shown at exciting locations in the Umbrella Factory. Be surprised by this exciting marriage of film and poetry at this unique location! Abiding (Ugo Petronin) with poem by Frank Fabian van Keeren.

https://www.kunstnacht.nl/programma/go-short-x-proces-verbaal-2/

Kasseler Dokfest

Datum:
Locatie: Kassel
In samenwerking met: SEE NL + Eye Experimental Catalogue

Abiding (2019) selected by SEE NL to represent Dutch Experimental Films at the Kasseler Dokfest 2022.

https://www.kasselerdokfest.de/

Yale Student Film Festival 2020 - Winner Best Experimental Film

Datum:
Locatie: Yale University
In samenwerking met: Yale College of Arts, Yale Film Alliance

My film Abiding has been selected and awarded best experimental film at the Yale Student Film Festival 2020. Following the screening, I joined an online public discussion with fellow filmmakers around the world. A great experience.

https://collegearts.yale.edu/organizations/yale-film-alliance/yale-student-film-festival

IndieLisboa 2020 - Official selection International Competition

Datum:
In samenwerking met: Indie Lisboa Festival Internacional de Cinema, Eye Film Museum

Multiple screenings of Abiding (2019) in the International Competition of the IndieLisboa 2020 film festival.

https://indielisboa.com/en/movies/abiding/

Go Short International Film Festival 2020 - Official Selection: Best Dutch Film

Datum:
Locatie: Online
In samenwerking met: Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, Eye Film Museum

Screening and presentation of Abiding (2019) during the Go Short IFF 2020 in competition for Best Dutch Film. An online screening followed by a group discussion with Natalie Bruijns, Rifka Lodeizen, Marit Weerheijm and moderated by Teun van Laake.

https://www.goshort.nl/en/news/we-present-the-dutch-competition/

Rawkost Collectiv + IFFR 2020

Datum:
Locatie: LantarenVenster
In samenwerking met: Rauwkost Collectiv, IFFR 2020, LantarenVenster

A multi-films installation by Rauwkost Collectiv including my work Abiding (2019), in partnership with the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020. In view for the festival duration at LantarenVenster.

Op de grens van landschap en abstractie - KUUB Gallery

Datum:
Locatie: KUUB Gallery
In samenwerking met: KUUB Gallery

Shortly after my screening at the Eye Museum, I with artist Sipke Huismans who was part of the audience. Through him, I was invited by KUUB Gallery to install my film Abiding in a collective painting exhibition with De Hollandse Aquarellistenkring. It was a great moment and comforted the intention of the film to bridge photography, cinematography and painting.

https://kunstruimtekuub.nl/hollandse-aquarellisten-kring/

MAQUETTE: Art Exhibition Hilton Rotterdam.

Datum:
Locatie: Hilton, Weena
In samenwerking met: Hilton Rotterdam, Willem De Kooning Academie, Piet Zwart Institute, Hogeschool Rotterdam

Model is a photographic and moving image exhibition presenting the work of five artists-students from the Piet Zwart Institute and the Willem de Kooning Academy. With artworks varying in their format, processes, perspectives and narratives, differences and contrasts have been given a central position in the curation. With work by Julia Gat, Yael Laroes, Sonia Mangiapane, Felix Obermaier and Ugo Petronin.

http://felixobermaier.de/maquette

23rd Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival - Special Mention - Fascinations Competition

Datum:
Locatie: Jihlava
In samenwerking met: Ji.hlava IDFF 2019, Eye International

Abiding selected and awarded a special mention in the Fascinations program of the Ji.hlava IDFF 2019. The jury composed by Andrea Lissoni (senior curator Tate art film) and Carlos Casas (artist, filmmaker) described Abiding as "a stunning short that unravels and rediscovers the magic and the power of cinema through a personal new technique.

https://www.ji-hlava.com/novinky/23-ji-hlava-udelena-oceneni

Eye Film Institute - New Selected Artist's Moving Image - Eye On Art 2019

Datum:
Locatie: Eye
In samenwerking met: Eye Film Institute, Eye International

Abiding selected by the Eye Film Museum through Eye On Art 2019. The program selects experimental and artist films to be distributed by Eye to international festivals. The event gave me the opportunity to present my film at the Eye publicly. Both the event and the distribution contract had great positive impacts on the visibility of my work. This was a stepping stone in my professional and personal development.

https://international.eyefilm.nl/abiding.html

Expanding Bauhaus. New Reflections on the Bauhaus Movement in Time-Based Media Art

Datum:
Locatie: Westersingel 9
In samenwerking met: Goethe Institute Netherlands, Blinkvideo Mediaart

Public screening of my film Abiding (2019) in the program # 03 Transition of Technology: Moving the Image, followed by a discussion with curator Elke Kania. The event was part of the screening series Expanding Bauhaus - New Reflections on the Bauhaus Movement in Time-Based Media Art at Goethe Institute Netherlands organized by Elke Kania (Cologne), Julia Sökeland (Hamburg) and Ludwig Seyfarth (Berlin).

https://blinkvideo.de/?scope=exhibitions&id=222
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