62nd THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
4-14/11/2021
Claire Atherton Carte Blanche
Screening of The Mirror by Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterpiece The Mirror was screened On Tuesday, November 9, at Makedonikon, as part of the carte blanche offered by the 62nd TIFF to the internationally renowned editor Claire Atherton, guest of the Festival’s tribute "In the Cut: Editing and its secrets". Claire Atherton shared with the audience some thoughts on the film, just before the start of the screening, in the crowded theatre.
"First of all, I want to thank you all for being here; so many people in a theatre. I cannot see your faces in these masks though I can see your eyes and this is very moving." Ms. Atherton then stated that she didn't want to pick a film she worked as an editor: "I wasn't so young when I saw this film. I had already started working in editing and I knew what I liked. This film was a very strong experience for me. I felt the need to try to figure out what was going on so many times during the screening. I didn't know whether it was talking about the arrival of life or death. I was trying to connect the pieces. But every time I did that, I felt I was losing the true meaning of the film. The film was trying to communicate with me in a different way. It was not a conventional narrative. It wasn't just telling me a story. It was carrying me away on so many different levels and about a lot of different things. Sometimes I felt it was talking to me directly, revealing things about my life," she explained.
"I know how hard it is to make films today. The choice of the film was a statement. The screening of this film, as well as your presence here, shows that the desire for art is untamed. Tarkovsky tried to tame all the material he had in his hands. It was a huge job, as he said. And suddenly, something happened and he felt something different. It shows us that you don't always have to know where you want to go; you just have to make the leap without knowing where you're going to end up. The desire for creation is what is going to guide you. Tarkovsky shows us that true art cannot be place under control."
Ms. Atherton ended her speech with a piece of advice to the audience: "My advice is to be present. Do not try to understand the rational links between different things, but simply accept what you see. Gradually all correlations will fall into place. This is the most important thing that art offers to us. This movie makes you feel alive. Someone comments on people's need to think about the future all the time, rather than living in today, in the initial scene. Please always remember this phrase," she said.
