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Filmmaker, experimental ethnographer, video director
Vincent Moon (real name Mathieu Vincent Saura, born 25 August 1979)[1] is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and sound artist from Paris.[2] He was the main director of the Blogotheque's Take Away Shows, a web-based project recording field workmusic videos of indie rock related musicians as well as some notable mainstream artists like Tom Jones, R.E.M., or Arcade Fire.
Vincent Moon is known for traveling around the globe with a camera in his backpack, documenting local folklores, sacred music and religious rituals, for his label Collection Petites Planètes. He works alone or with people he finds on the road, and most of the time without money involved in the projects. He shares much of his work, films and music recordings, for free on internet, under Creative Commons license. He usually doesn’t show his work in film festivals, refusing to participate in competitions and awards systems.
Music career
Early period (2000–2005)
Growing up in Paris, Vincent Moon studied photography for 3 years at the Atelier Reflexe in Montreuil, where he met the photographers Michael Ackerman and Antoine d'Agata, who informed Vincent Moon's experiments of style//approach and visual experiments. In an interview about their influence, he mentioned "They just blew my mind. It was something new, something I had never seen before, it was photojournalism but with a very intimate and subjective approach."[3] Working as a photographer at the time, he used to put his photos in motion, using simple slideshow techniques and music to tell stories.[4] In 2003, he started the photography blog Les Nuits de Fiume, documenting Parisian nightlife.[5]
He was very influenced by work of experimental filmmakers Peter Tscherkassky and Stephen Dwoskin. He made short films, mixing intimate storytelling experiment with various techniques, from super 8 to cellphone cameras. He began exploring the possibilities the internet offered for releasing and sharing his work online and freely. Getting closer and closer to the music world, he encountered the band The National on one of their first tours in Europe. Their friendship gave birth to various projects, his photos were used on the cover of The National's third album, 'Alligator', and he made music videos and films for the band as well, such as A Skin, A Night.[6] At this time, he also initiated other projects related to music, directing lo-fi videos for Clogs, Sylvain Chauveau and Barzin.
The Take Away Shows (2006–2009)
Vincent Moon (right) recording Ukrainian band Dakha Brakha in Kyiv, August 2012
In 2006, inspired by the film Step Across the Border on the English guitarist Fred Frith and pushed by its desire to record music in a more creative way, Vincent Moon created with Christophe 'Chryde' Abric the 'Concert à Emporter / Take Away Shows' project, La Blogotheque's popular video podcast. The Take Away Shows is a series of improvised outdoor video sessions with musicians, set in unexpected locations and broadcast freely on the web.[7] The sessions are usually two or three tracks filmed improvised in an unusual environment and as such they often had a rough and ready, demo-like feel, somewhere between a live performance and a finished music video. These live, unusually staged performances differ from the artifice of traditional music videos in favor of single-take, organic and primarily acoustic sessions. [8]
The New York Times describes the short music films as "raw, enigmatic clips that strip away everything but the performer and the song..." claiming that "Vincent Moon reinvented the music video."[9] In four years, they managed to shoot over 120 videos with bands like R.E.M., Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Tom Jones, Beirut, Grizzly Bear, Sigur Rós and many more, primarily in the field of rock and pop music, and mostly focused on north-American music.[7]
The large amount of clips is the result of a very fast filming process with mostly one take recordings in a way comparable to the Dogme 95 concept. Comparable with the field recordings of Alan Lomax or the Peel Sessions of John Peel, Moon has created a large collection of unique single take recordings enhanced with artistic filmed video footage. The fast filming process he uses is a form of guerrilla film making.[10]
Other musical collaborations (2007–2010)
Following the success of the Blogotheque project, many more established artists asked Moon to work on longer films. Most of those projects became new explorations in relationship between music and sound, and a defiance towards pre-established formats of music films.[11]Michael Stipe became aware of the works of Moon and as a fan he asked him to make a film project for his band. In 2007 and 2008, Moon collaborated with Michael Stipe and R.E.M. on several video and web projects related to their album 'Accelerate.'[11] The various experimental projects that came out of this collaboration include the 48min essay 6 DAYS, the experimental ninety-days-long web project called 90 NIGHTS,[12] the music video and the website for the single SUPERNATURAL SUPERSERIOUS,[13] and the acclaimed THIS IS NOT A SHOW (co-directed by Jeremiah), a live movie on their Dublin performances in the summer of 2007. The project ninetynights.com was a website dedicated to the new R.E.M. album - over a period of 90 days, one shot would appear everyday on the website - each video was downloadable in high resolution, to let anybody make its own edit. Moon and Jeremiah's edit resulted in SIX DAYS, a semi-experimental approach of the music of REM. For the "Supernatural Superserious" project, Moon and Jeremiah shot a series of 12 clips in New York City, then published on a special website[14] containing ten takes of the video available for download, as well as a YouTube page[15] for users to upload their own versions of the video.[16] Afterwards Moon also directed the music video of the single "Until the Day Is Done".[17]
Other projects at the time included a one-hour film with Beirut in collaboration with La Blogotheque, CHEAP MAGIC INSIDE, a film about Beirut. All the 12 songs from the new album 'The Flying Club Cup' were filmed in the streets of Brooklyn, in a one-take experiment.[18]
From 2005 to 2009, Vincent Moon recorded the ATP Music Festival, an independent rock festival from the UK. His images ended up in the film ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES (2009, 90min), co-directed by Jonathan Caouette, and was released to critical acclaims. Vincent Moon's series of 7 experimental gonzo films from the same festival were released later under the name FROM ATP.[6]
In November 2008, Vincent Moon traveled to Prague with longtime collaborators Antoine Viviani and Gaspar Claus to document the mythical Havlovi, a couple of musicians who dedicated their life to their instruments, the ancient viola da gamba. The result, LITTLE BLUE NOTHING (2009, 50min) has been screened in several cities around the world, and was released in 2014 on limited-series DVD.[10] In March 2009, cellist Gaspar Claus and Vincent Moon embarked on a journey to Japan to portray the cult poet, musician and painter Kazuki Tomokawa. The film LA FAUTE DES FLEURS won the Sound & Vision Award at the documentary film festival CPH DOX 2009 in Denmark - one of the only times Moon participated in a film festival competition.[19]
In April 2009, he organized and recorded a concert of singer Lhasa de Sela in Montreal, to promote her new album. This concert was Lhasa's last one in Canada, as she died later that year.[20] The films were later released online. Later that month, Moon was working with the cult post rockers from Glasgow, Mogwai, around their live show in New York City. BURNING, is a 50' live film from that performance, co-directed by Nathanael Le Scouarnec.[21]
During the year 2009, Moon started to explore other approaches to music, letting other filmmakers continue on the Take Away Shows project, and created his own blog Fiume Nights, where he started to write ideas about media, culture and creation in the 21st century, and continued to make short films.[22]
In August 2010 he recorded a film with Danish band Efterklang on their native island of Als. Vincent Moon and Efterklang released the film exclusively online in January 2011, developing of a new method of film distribution called 'private-public screenings' – people who want to see the film have to organize their own screenings. The success of the operation (over 1100 home screenings to date) was an important experiment in emerging models of online cinema.[23]
In March 2011, Vincent Moon teamed up with the electronic folk duo Lulacruza to explore the musical cultures of urban and provincial Colombia. The resulting work, Esperando El Tsunami,[24] has been released in November 2011, using the distribution system of 'private-public screenings', first used in An Island.[23]
Collection Petites Planètes: exploring the world of sound (2009–2014)
In December 2008, Vincent Moon left Paris and most of his previous work behind to explore new horizons. He quit La Blogothèque soon after, even though he continued from time to time to contribute with some films, and decided to set up his new personal 'nomadic' label – Collection Petites Planètes. Under this new project, he explored and recorded traditional music, religious rituals, relationships between music and trance over the five continents. These 'experimental ethnography' films mark a clear departure from his earlier line of work on alternative and indie music scenes – the films are more subtle, the camera more quiet, the form evolves towards some unique bridge between the work of Robert Gardner and the recordings of Alan Lomax. Everywhere he went, he relied on local connections and never collaborated with standard production companies, instead working as much as possible with local people. Moon has been traveling in Chile, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, Poland, Iceland, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, Sardinia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the Philippines, Croatia, Ethiopia, Russia, Uruguay, Peru, the Caucasus, Vietnam, Laos, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Taiwan, Spain, México, India and many other countries for the Collection Petites Planètes since 2010. The films are made with the local people and they are shared under a Creative Commons licence on the internet. Collection Petites Planètes is funded almost exclusively through donations on his website, and through the screenings and workshops given during his travels.[11]
Into the Sacred - HIBRIDOS and Beyond (2014 – 2017)
At the turn of the year 2014, Moon began a deep exploration of the renewal of sacred in our generation, deepening a "relationship to the invisible".[25]
This focus on the sacred continued in collaboration with his then partner, the explorer and filmmaker Priscilla Telmon on films and sound recordings. Their major collaboration was the expansive 'poetic research' project HÍBRIDOS, The Spirits of Brazil [26] which 'melds text, music, and ritual through a breathtaking series of (nearly 100) films' exploring the many manifestations of the sacred across Brazil, from afro-Brazilian beliefs to more recent syncretic practices. Hibridos is a 'multilayered piece that includes video, music, performance, text, "trans-cinema," and exhibition' and explores the complexity of the sacred and the spiritual in the context of modern Brazil.[25]
Moon and Telmon continued their travels and explorations of the sacred beyond Brazil, developing film projects and sound explorations around the world, navigating sacred rites and rituals, trance and altered states of consciousness.[27] They also developed an emerging live-cinema performance format,[28] as its own space of ritual and trance.
Ritual: Ancient, Modern, Live & Remixed
The role of sacred rituals, rites and trance have continued to play an increasingly central role in Moon's cinematic explorations - ranging from diverse expressions of Sufism across the world (Turkey,[29] Iran,[30] Morocco,[31] India,[32] Chechnya[33] and many other places beyond), to folk music and rites in Georgia[34] to films highlighting sacred spaces and communities, such as Alice Coltrane Ashram in Los Angeles.[35] As Moon continued exploring the sacred through filming rituals and rites, he developed a «Live Cinéma» format - where he remixes film and audio material during live performances, as an ever-evolving series of sonic cinematic rituals. Moon's live cinema performances have "a ritualistic and ecstatic aspect that recalls the esoteric history of haunted media. Moon's enthralling film performances induce altered states of mind, tap into spiritual realities and immerse the audience in magic."[36] As described by one researcher, "Moon's live cinema is situated on the seamlines between art and ritual, technology and magic..." ultimately working in a space of film and performance "that can open the doors of perception to invisible realms..."[36]
He has performed hundreds of live cinéma rituals around the world - ranging from music and arts festivals to site-specific performances integrating film/audio recordings and live performances.[37]
Continued Sound Explorations:: Sound Sequence & Beyond
In addition to on-going cinematic projects highlighting the sacred, Moon continues to explore many forms of musics and sounds across the world. For example - his on-going Sound Sequence series showcases experimental music from across genres and geographies.[38]
In 2023, he launched Territoires: A Cinematographic Collection of Music from France [39] - a collaboration with Priscilla Telmon, exploring forms of traditional music in France. The series comprises many films from across the country - with music ranging from to polyphonic choral compositions to traditional Basque instruments, such as the txalaparta.[40]
He has also filmed a wide range of performances as part of major festivals, such as WOMEX[41] and afropollination / Nyege Nyege in Uganda.[42]
PEOPLE Festival & La Symphonie de Ségriès:: Gatherings & Experiments in Improvised Creation
Building upon the improvisational nature of his approach to filmmaking, as well as live cinema, Moon has also been a part of organizing experimental festivals and residencies focused on collective improvisation and emergent artistic collaborations.
An image from the La Symphonie de Ségriès 2023
PEOPLE Festival in Berlin (held in 2016 and 2018) was co-organized with Aaron and Bryce Dessner (of the National), and a collective of artists - inviting musicians such as Bon Iver, Feist, Damien Rice and many more to gather for a few days at the Funkhaus in Berlin to create new music and emergent artistic constellations. These collaborations culminated in a public festival where the artists debuted the new music.[43] Moon captured many of the performances and the process as part of a 90 minute film.[44]
Building upon this ethos and approach, Moon and collaborator Priscilla Telmon initiated in 2021 La Symphonie de Ségriès - an intimate artistic gathering held at a monastery in the south of France.[45] A group of 20 musicians convene for a few days, improvise and devise music and performance works, and on the final day, the space is open to the public and a small festival is held to share the work with the world. A short film featuring the process of the 2023 edition was released in the spring of 2024.[46]
Place is the Space: Site Specific Collaborations & Multi-Screen Installations
In recent years Moon has increasingly been experimenting with site-specific projects - working with musicians/artists in a specific place for some days and making film and audio recordings. These collaborations often culminate with live cinéma rituals - blending the film/audio recordings with live musical performances from the musicians/artists.[47] Many of these site-specific projects have had a specific focus on Sufi music and rituals in different parts of the world. Other recent site-specific projects have been held in Barcelona (2024) and Calabria. [48]
Expanding beyond a single screen, Moon has also held a broad range of multi-channel, site-specific installations which explore different thematics and spatial arrangements of films and audio recordings. Notable exhibitions of this format include venues such as the Barbican in London, Merriweather Post-Pavillion in the US, and a 72-hour multi-channel installation, Spiegel im Spiegel in Berlin.[49]
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