ideas and atmospheres

 

translated for

 

the cinematographic medium

Maximax & Iuj Godog?


2008

These two films were made in a very close collaborative dialogue between Swiss choreographer Foofwa d’Imobilité and Swiss director Nicolas Wagnières.

The idea was to rework for the camera two solos created for the stage in 1998, so that the same original ideas and atmospheres could be specifically translated for the cinematographic medium. One can consider these films as something between a captation and a creation for the video, something we can call “recreations for the camera”.

Maximax : Avatar de la compétitivité

In the avatar “Maximax” Foofwa personifies the constraints of economical competitivity in the world of dance. The choreographic movements, between modernity and ballet nostalgia, are always pushed to the extreme. The sound of physical labor are displayed (breathing, noises of the body). The numeric voices ordering the dancer to sell himself, orders that he repeats with his own voice, are the only music to his ears.

The film is cut into nine sections punctuated by 4 interludes. Each section has a logic of its own, in connection with the others. The camera moves are minimal to leave all the space to the body. The repeated frontality of the camera point of view implies the gaze of an classical theater setting.

Iuj Godog?  Confesses d’un choré

This solo is foremost an expression of the extreme emotions a creator can feel. Sometimes flying towards the almightyness of creation, some other times self-criticizing as a no good for nothing, he never gets out of this contradiction. The costume embodies also this dialectic – upward fertile phallus on one end and scatological intestine outpour on the other.

The stage was transformed into a theatrical cage in which the dancer moves between dark and light backgrounds. The camera travels around the protagonist, witness of this choreographic confession.

Videos

Credits

Maximax & Iuj Godog?
Créé pour la scène en 1998, recréé pour la caméra en 2008
Chorégraphie et interprétation Foofwa d’Imobilité
Réalisation Nicolas Wagnières et Foofwa d’Imobilité
Caméra Nicolas Wagnières
Assisté par Ruth Childs, Aurélie Doutre, Valeria Stucki
Prise son Antoine Lengo
Montage Nicolas Wagnières
Texte, son et vidéo Foofwa d’Imobilité
Costumes Suzanne Gallo
secondée par Beatriz Consuelo
Technique salle des Eaux-Vives Marc Gaillard
Mixage Adrien Kessler
Etalonnage Grégory Bindschedler
Production Neopost Foofwa
Neopost Foofwa bénéficie d’un soutien conjoint de la Ville de Genève, de l’Etat de Genève et de Pro Helvetia.

See Past Dates

16 Jan 2008
Maximax & Iuj Godog?

Video Presentation – Mediatek
Zurich, Switzerland

01 May 2001
Maximax

Budapest, Hungary

01 May 2001
Iuj Godog ?

Budapest, Hungary

10 Feb 2001
Iuj Godog?

The Kitchen
New York, NY, USA

09 Feb 2001
Iuj Godog?

The Kitchen
New York, NY, USA

08 Feb 2001
Iuj Godog?

The Kitchen
New York, NY, USA

07 Feb 2001
Iuj Godog?

The Kitchen
New York, NY, USA

01 Feb 2001
Maximax

The Kitchen
New York, NY, USA

01 May 2000
Maximax

Mainz, Germany

01 May 2000
Iuj Godog ?

Mainz, Germany

01 Feb 1999
Maximax

La Ménagerie de Verre
Paris, France

01 Feb 1999
Iuj Godog ?

La Ménagerie de Verre
Paris, France

18 Oct 1998
Maximax, Ssuissdanss, Iuj Godog?, Un pour tous pour un

ADC-Th. du Loup
Geneva, Switzerland

17 Oct 1998
Maximax, Ssuissdanss, Iuj Godog?, Un pour tous pour un

ADC-Th. du Loup
Geneva, Switzerland

16 Oct 1998
Maximax, Ssuissdanss, Iuj Godog?, Un pour tous pour un

ADC-Th. du Loup
Geneva, Switzerland

15 Oct 1998
Maximax, Ssuissdanss, Iuj Godog?, Un pour tous pour un

ADC-Th. du Loup
Geneva, Switzerland

01 Oct 1998
Maximax

Carte blanche de l’ADC
Geneva, Switzerland

01 Oct 1998
Iuj Godog ?

Carte blanche de l’ADC
Geneva, Switzerland

01 Aug 1998
Iuj Godog ?

Festival PACT
Brussels, Belgium

01 Aug 1998
Maximax

Festival PACT
Brussels, Belgium

01 Jul 1998
Maximax

Festival de Verbier
Verbier, Switzerland

01 Jul 1998
Iuj Godog ?

Festival de Verbier
Verbier, Switzerland

01 Apr 1998
Maximax

Martha@Mother
New York City, NY, USA

01 Apr 1998
Iuj Godog ?

Martha@Mother
New York City, NY, USA

02 Feb 1998
Iuj Godog ?

Holland Dance Festival
La Haye, Netherlands

02 Feb 1998
Maximax

Holland Dance Festival
La Haye, Netherlands

01 Feb 1998
Maximax

Gala du Prix de Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland

01 Feb 1998
Iuj Godog ?

Gala du Prix de Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland