Un court-métrage de fiction de Ulrich Fischer, réalisé en 2000.
Dans un tour en car qui déroule la ville sous les yeux des touristes, un geste dans un chantier devant lequel passent les voyageurs va faire dérailler le cours des choses.

EN DÉTAIL:

Ce film est le portrait de deux regards posés sur une ville: une guide touristique parcours la ville à l’affût de mille détails, elle tente de projeter des histoires sur les bâtiments que les touristes voient passer – et un géomètre dans sa fosse indique aux ouvriers l’emplacement d’une future construction dans la ville de S. à l’aide de son optique de visée.

Les regards sont a priori divergents, mais le géomètre place les formes urbaines dans lesquelles la guide va puiser ses récits… et leur rencontre va permettre aux touristes qui accompagnent la guide de prendre possession de cette ville qui s’est longtemps dérobée à leurs regards.

 

NOTE DU RÉALISATEUR:

Ce film s’inscrit dans une continuité par rapport à mes derniers films, qui tournent tous autour d’une thématique urbaine. Cette obsession vient peut-être du fait que j’habite dans un bout de ville, l’îlot 13 à Genève, qui a généré beaucoup de passions (squatté en 1986, en fin de rénovations actuellement), dans lequel souci de qualité de vie rime avec espaces multiformes (individuels, collectifs, espaces de fête, de travail, etc), un sens de l’engagement et de la prise de responsabilité. Ce que je considère comme une chance sociale et culturelle incroyable, je veux le transposer à l’échelle d’une ville et ainsi (re)poser les questions qui me travaillent, à savoir:
– comment décrypter ce qui nous entoure (les formes urbaines, brutes ou travaillées)?
– quelles sont les possibilités d’implication ou d’interaction avec ces espaces?
– et finalement, comment évoluent nos rapports aux autres selon le contexte dans lequel on se trouve?


Ce film est mon film de diplôme, réalisé dans l’atelier d’Alice Arnold à l’Ecole Supérieure d’Arts Visuels de Genève.



GÉNÉRIQUE:
Acteurs: La guide Cristina Calvo, Le géomètre Pierre Mifsud.
Rôles secondaires: Antonio Buil, Sergio Marchetti, Luis et Léo Marin, Naïma Arlaud, Hansjörg et Lorenza Eder, Mica Hamano, Daniel Hernandez, Jean Marc Fröhle, Laurianne Bernard, Willy Kissling, Guolu Zhang et famille, Patrick Mayer, Yann Marussich, Heike Fiedler.
Assistants réalisation: Olivier Moeckli et Pierre Lacourt.
Image (caméramens): Alexandre Monnier, Pascal Baumgartner, François Bovy, Ulrich Fischer.
Steadycamer: Didier Petitpierre.
Assistant caméra: Laurent Nègre.
Son: Philippe Ciompi, Martin Stricker
Perchman: Zoya Anastassova

Montage: Ulrich Fischer, avec l’aide de Elisabeth Waelchli et Alice Arnold
Musique, traitements sonore: Adrien Kessler
Mixage: Denis Séchaud
Supervision de production: Christophe Cupelin
Régie: Dorothéa Fischer, Andréa Muller
Script: Nathalie Flückiger, Marianne Thivillier, Antoinette Corthay et Isabelle Otz
Photographe: Stéphane Pecorini
Conformation vidéo: T.S.P.
Encodage Dolby: S.D.S.
Laboratoire: Egli Film
Etalonnage: Ruth Kägi
Kinescopage: Romed Wyder/Laika Films

AVEC LE SOUTIEN DE:
L’Office Fédéral de la Culture
Migros Kulturprozent
Le Département des Affaires Culturelles de la Ville de Genève
Le Département de l’Instruction Publique
L’E.S.A.V.

FESTIVALS:
Locarno (Pardi di domani), Viper, Lòdz, Genève fait son Cinéma, les journées cinématographiques de Soleure, premiers plans d’Angers, festival du film de Paris, Media art Osnabrück, Kurzfilmfestival Oberhausen, Backup Weimar, Cine Iubit Bucarest, Clapstick Calcutta.

DIFFUSIONS:
Passages dans quelques salles en Suisse Romande.
Achat et diffusion par ARTE (plus d’une dizaine de passages).

♪♪ ♪♪ We're going to take the paper, we're going to take the paper, and then we're going to add stuff in it, and we're going to put it all together, and then we're going

I hope they don't sell these buildings, because it's a big deal.

In a neighborhood where there are a lot of hotels, it's a place where a lot of celebrities come down.

there is this building there, the big white building, it's a pretty famous hotel, where the actress Lily Varmozev always goes down.

So if you look, sometimes I've seen the window, she's still living on the second floor.

And in front of us, there's a very small hotel, third-class, where all the paparazzi come down.

They often settle there, rent rooms during the week, and shoot for a long time.

So it's pretty funny to walk around, to take a look around.

Maybe you could have had an exclusive photo.

First you have to dig, clear the ground, then find the places where we will anchor the building.

Consolidate everything and then we can start to implant the structure carrier and to braided internal networks according to the landmarks we have established.

must be visible afterwards, must be put at the beginning.

It's a very cosmopolitan street with a lot to see.

On the other side, it's exactly the same.

People go up the street and, without even noticing, they go down the other side.

It's a kind of permanent wave coming and going, which is quite beautiful to see.

The execution must match what was planned.

To be caused by serious disturbances, by poor context, everything around.

You know, everything is at stake when you make plans.

The man there, who arrives with his black box.

On your right, you saw that big wheel box.

So This man is quite picturesque in our city because he moves from district to district, and When a place inspires him, when a sidewalk pleases him, he settles down, he opens his workshop, and he repairs all kinds of optical devices on site.

So broken glasses, cameras, long views, why not?

Madam, do you think he could repair his binoculars?

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ What's going on?

Pick up the trash Pick up the trash Pick up the trash Pick up the trash

Behind the windows What's happening Overflows You will see that there is a very large trench that goes all along the street.

Look at this long alignment, this opening of the asphalt.

And then the workers came across a stone alignment that seemed strangely straight.

So we called the archaeologists and then the army of archaeologists arrived.

Everything had to stop, the wiring was over.

And it turns out that what you see now is actually an open-air museum.

Because these stones, which looked like anodine, are old city ramparts.

And when you look at it, it's hard to imagine that, because there's a lot of waste falling.

So buildings, pieces of tiles, gravel fall.

And also for the people who pass raise their heads.

In fact, the shapes, the colors, the structure of the building, all that, it will speak if you want.

Speak, if you want, so that you can bring the...

we are in a street that is interesting because it was built in a fairly short period of time, in the 1920s.

So the buildings are all of a very similar style.

And a young Russian architect, Karla Sinovich, had the idea of proceeding to a kind of mirror effect.

That is to say, she built a first building on this side.

If you turn around, because we've already been through this, but it's the 1 with the red tiles, and then the balconies and the friezes.

Well, if you keep going, you'll find the exact same building on the other side.

Which gives the impression of déjà vu, in fact.

Put your eye here and here you have the sensitivity.

Here we have 5 levels of metal slabs, as many floors as there are above our heads.

Inside the building, they left the radiators.

If you want, it's a measuring instrument.

I start from the plan and I anchor the building in space.

It's a precision instrument, it's not made to look at radiators.

You see, right there, towards the worker.

Arcades of a new type, entirely transparent, luminous, without any wall that will block the view.

Right, we can see, just let me, you can see along the wall, we're right in the middle of it, you can see the orange lines along the wall?

These orange lines will disappear, but they're the starting point of the door structure.

Above there will be desks, desks with entirely glassed-out windows.

We're going to set up a network of cables, of fibers, a whole network.

And this network will connect all the offices between them and the outside world.

Speaking of the outside world, everyone is coming down.

desert, and we are here, do we have to wait?

You see, they're going up and down the windows.

But you see inside, it really looks like the back.

You have to fix 1 thing and then you turn until you have the necktie.

You can still see the touch of the architect.

There's a whole network to make the offices...

Because yes, normally it's not logical to film people.


Speaker 0: ♪♪ ♪♪ We're going to take the paper, we're going to take the paper, and then we're going to add stuff in it, and we're going to put it all together, and then we're going

Speaker 1: to put it in the house. I hope they don't sell these buildings, because it's a big deal.

Speaker 2: Telling stories? Stories to make people look? To make

Speaker 1: people look for?

Speaker 2: In a neighborhood where there are a lot of hotels, it's a place where a lot of celebrities come down.

Speaker 0: So

Speaker 2: there is this building there, the big white building, it's a pretty famous hotel, where the actress Lily Varmozev always goes down. So if you look, sometimes I've seen the window, she's still living on the second floor. We don't see anything today. And in front of us, there's a very small hotel, third-class, where all the paparazzi come down. They often settle there, rent rooms during the week, and shoot for a long time.

So it's pretty funny to walk around, to take a look around. Maybe you could have had an exclusive photo. I don't know, has anyone seen anything?

Speaker 1: First you have to dig, clear the ground, then find the places where we will anchor the building. Consolidate everything and then we can start to implant the structure carrier and to braided internal networks according to the landmarks we have established.

Speaker 2: Everything that

Speaker 1: must be visible afterwards, must be put at the beginning.

Speaker 2: Behind? On the other side? We're now in a very popular street. It's quite magical. It's made of a series of arcades.

There are lots of shops. It's a very cosmopolitan street with a lot to see. You see people gluing to the windows. On the other side, it's exactly the same. And something quite surprising happens.

People go up the street and, without even noticing, they go down the other side. It's a kind of permanent wave coming and going, which is quite beautiful to see.

Speaker 1: Grappone.

Speaker 0: Blumberger. It's not working, Madame.

Speaker 1: The execution must match what was planned. To be caused by serious disturbances, by poor context, everything around. You know, everything is at stake when you make plans. It's at that moment... Malpene...

Speaker 2: ...Tapet. The man there, who arrives with his black box. On your right, you saw that big wheel box. He's a walking optician. So This man is quite picturesque in our city because he moves from district to district, and When a place inspires him, when a sidewalk pleases him, he settles down, he opens his workshop, and he repairs all kinds of optical devices on site.

So broken glasses, cameras, long views, why not?

Speaker 1: Madam, do you think he could repair his binoculars?

Speaker 2: Do they have a problem?

Speaker 1: Well, I mean, we can't see through them.

Speaker 2: Can you look?

Speaker 1: Of course.

Speaker 2: Oh, yes, indeed. We can only see in the center. But with the movement, it's beautiful. By the way, nothing is fixed. 1 form can become another.

Speaker 0: ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ What's going on? What's going on? What's going on? What's going on?

Speaker 1: Are you looking for something?

Speaker 0: Pick up the trash Pick up the trash Pick up the trash Pick up the trash

Speaker 2: Behind the windows What's happening Overflows You will see that there is a very large trench that goes all along the street. And it starts there. Look at this long alignment, this opening of the asphalt. It was simply wiring work. And then the workers came across a stone alignment that seemed strangely straight.

So we called the archaeologists and then the army of archaeologists arrived. Everything had to stop, the wiring was over. And it turns out that what you see now is actually an open-air museum. Because these stones, which looked like anodine, are old city ramparts. It has an inestimable historical value.

And when you look at it, it's hard to imagine that, because there's a lot of waste falling. It's not protected. So buildings, pieces of tiles, gravel fall. It's slippery. They go down.

They go down

Speaker 1: And also for the people who pass raise their heads. In fact, the shapes, the colors, the structure of the building, all that, it will speak if you want. Speak, if you want, so that you can bring the... Here

Speaker 2: we are in a street that is interesting because it was built in a fairly short period of time, in the 1920s. So the buildings are all of a very similar style. And a young Russian architect, Karla Sinovich, had the idea of proceeding to a kind of mirror effect. That is to say, she built a first building on this side. If you turn around, because we've already been through this, but it's the 1 with the red tiles, and then the balconies and the friezes.

Well, if you keep going, you'll find the exact same building on the other side. Which gives the impression of déjà vu, in fact.

Speaker 0: You're welcome.

Speaker 1: Are you looking for something?

Speaker 2: Can I look at your device for a moment? Just for a moment.

Speaker 1: Did they ask you a question?

Speaker 2: No. How does it work?

Speaker 1: Put your eye here and here you have the sensitivity. Here, slowly. You see, it's a construction site. Here we have 5 levels of metal slabs, as many floors as there are above our heads.

Speaker 2: Look, film the sun.

Speaker 1: Wait, what are you looking at?

Speaker 2: Inside the building, they left the radiators.

Speaker 1: And we can see absolutely everything. Wait, it's not that way. If you want, it's a measuring instrument.

Speaker 2: Even the splinters in the corn.

Speaker 1: It's a theodolite. It allows me to take the edges. I start from the plan and I anchor the building in space. That's my job. It's a precision instrument, it's not made to look at radiators.

There's something interesting here. Wait, let me... Wait, I'll show you. Look at this. You see, right there, towards the worker.

We're going to build arcades. Arcades of a new type, entirely transparent, luminous, without any wall that will block the view. Can you show me your twins?

Speaker 2: If you want. Do you know them? We haven't seen them for a long time.

Speaker 1: Right, we can see, just let me, you can see along the wall, we're right in the middle of it, you can see the orange lines along the wall? These orange lines will disappear, but they're the starting point of the door structure. Above there will be desks, desks with entirely glassed-out windows. We're going to set up a network of cables, of fibers, a whole network. And this network will connect all the offices between them and the outside world.

You see?

Speaker 2: Speaking of the outside world, everyone is coming down. Everyone has come down. Can we look?

Speaker 1: Yes, but We have to be careful.

Speaker 2: Is he the little walker?

Speaker 1: Yes, he's a boy. Do

Speaker 2: you want to look too? So, madam, the others are in the

Speaker 1: desert, and we are here, do we have to wait? What's going on? Is the time still here? It's part of the project. This is the construction site.

Speaker 2: What's the building made of?

Speaker 1: It's a wooden structure.

Speaker 2: You see, they're going up and down the windows. It's not working.

Speaker 1: Can you explain? You don't speak Italian?

Speaker 2: It's a bit dangerous there. There are some of the

Speaker 1: walls of the palace

Speaker 2: that go over the walls. But yes, it's dangerous.

Speaker 1: You see, through the wall, you

Speaker 2: can slide.

Speaker 1: Yeah, the little rooms are there.

Speaker 2: But you see inside, it really looks like the back. We will find their room in there.

Speaker 0: Because you know what you want to do?

Speaker 2: You have to fix 1 thing and then you turn until you have the necktie. You can do it? Look a little less far. If you look on this side, look. And you turn this ring.

Speaker 1: You can still see the touch of the architect. It's very cool.

Speaker 2: What? It's not over

Speaker 1: yet. Look. It looks like there are men. I hope they will paint.

Speaker 2: It's really...

Speaker 1: It's all prefabricated. They put pieces next to each other. There's a whole network to make the offices...

Speaker 2: It's too complicated for an office. What do you find complicated, madam? I don't know. The doors, you can barely see them. You can walk, bump into a wall.

And then there are the bathroom. You see, it looks like there are

Speaker 1: 3 bathrooms

Speaker 2: next to the office.

Speaker 1: And then there's

Speaker 2: the question, what's going

Speaker 1: to happen? Because yes, normally it's not logical to film people.

Speaker 2: Turn around again. We can see all the details. What are you doing? You can't see anything. Turn

Speaker 0: around. I'm going

Speaker 2: to put it on you. It's impossible.

See all Ulrich Fischer transcripts on Youtube

La ville de S.