ON THE SURFACE
DIRECTED BY FAN SISSOKO
ICELAND // 2021
5 MINS
Ada goes swimming in the Icelandic sea and reflects on raising a child in a country that feels nothing like home. As she enters the freezing water, she relives her traumatic pregnancy. Soon her swimming eases. Facing her fears is helping her heal.
Reflective Encounters
“When you’re in the Icelandic mountains it can feel as if you’re on another planet, yet somehow it remains familiar. The healing properties of the volcanics springs, and even the benefits of the country’s air are a comfort compared to the clinical coldness we normally associate with modern healthcare.
The textured brush strokes of On the Surface give a feeling to the landscapes and waters they seek to portray. The foam of a wave is evoked powerfully through a single splash of white paint, momentarily glimpsed, yet quickly disappearing before another appears. There’s an excellent shot of the water washing over toes on the shore. Such tactility reinforces the theme of the body’s relationship to the land it inhabits. A Black woman swimming in the lake is a part of this land, even though she may simultaneously see herself as apart from it, reflecting one of the potential peculiarities of the immigrant experience. This ambivalence is given voice by a narrator that shares with the viewer experiences of casual microaggressions and racism within healthcare. As a result, the relaxing ambience rendered by the beautiful aesthetics is given a palpable political weight.”
— Cathy Brennan
Filmmaker Q&A
A Q&A with filmmakers from the The Body Politic at Encounters Film Festival 2021.
Filmmakers - Gabriel Böhmer (Push This Button If You Start to Panic),Tim Grabham & Filipe Cardoso (Nanodoctor - Iterations 1 to 3), Fan Sissoko (On the Surface), Laura-Beth Cowley - (Crafty Witch), Marnik Loysen - (Brunch) and Kim Noce - (Cities of Ladies).
Hosted by Ben Mitchell, Encounters Animation Selector
Filmmaker Bio
Fan is a French-Malian artist and filmmaker based in Reykjavik, with a background in social design and visual ethnography. She uses film and audio storytelling as a means to record intimate stories that can inspire social change.
She has been commissioned by the Migration Museum, the Museum of London, the Science Gallery Dublin and the National Trust. Her last project 'On the Surface' was awarded a grant from Art With Impact, an organisation using short films to start meaningful dialogue among young people about mental health.