contribution # 3
LOOKING FOR APOEKOE
karel doing, 16 mm film, colour, 13 minutes
fragment looking for apoekoe | 1 min. 54 sec. (source: youtube)
a mysterious and enchanting trip to the pristine rainforest of suriname. _images of the suriname river, and a monumental kankantrie tree. _men play the drums, while women sing and dance. _the jungle. _a man with a gun walking ahead. _around him a wealth of shapes, colors and leaves. _an abandoned maroon camp, the different colors of the earth, fruits are scattered. _inside the dense forest. _a man looks up with rolling eyes, he runs and jumps. _he is sharpening his cleaver, and cuts open a coconut. _chickens and roosters eat their own brood. _a woman drinking water from a creek in the woods. _eyes, lips, hands and hair. _smoke, a canopy with various objects. _a man walks in the dusk with a small oil lamp. _the film is inspired by the bush-spirit apoekoe; a lively, smart figure taking various shapes and with many special features. _he can make you loose your way in the jungle, or take possession of your wife. _but he can also help you hunting, and make you invisible to your enemies. _he is like a bewildering cascade of words
incuded poem by the surinam poet dorus vrede:
a gust of wind
came from the branches of a tree
and took my loved one
singing:gomanzila has arrived
rejoice ayayanu, rejoice
rejoice for gomanzilahe dances forward
he dances on one foot
he dances backward
he dances on one foot
stretching his arms
stretching his legs
he bades farewella boat sails along
along it sails
a boat sails along
along it sailsgoodbye grand mothers of the village
goodbye grand fathers of the forest
humwe..dumbgé…mataibo ooh…
the films, performances and installations of karel doing (1965, canberra, australia) deal with elusive subjects such as music, rhythm, poetry, death, history and memory. _he works together with composers, musicians, performers and dancers. _his films relate to the experimental film tradition and beyond. _he combines documentary techniques, found footage and visual story telling resulting in a style of his own