Favourite Moments in Film – Kevin Calero.

November 19, 2010
I reckon Fridays are always good for firsts. So, keeping in this vein, this Friday’s FMIF feature sees our first eagerly awaited contribution from an actual filmmaker. Kevin Calero, despite still having two years of college to toil through, hasn’t decided to wait ’til graduation before unleashing his talent on the industry. From a skin-bearing, bubblegum-bubble-filled fashion film of a cover shoot for Nightlife Magazine, to a disturbing, yet deeply alluring film for Montréal-based event collective Fantasme (Polet), Calero has proved himself a veritable Canadian cinéphile and cinematographer. Here’s his favourite moment in film, from Teorema (Pier Paulo Pasolini, 1968)…

8c9a2 teorema

“I first watched Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema (1968) last year while going through a period where I questioned what it meant to be an artist. The one scene that stuck with me was one that addressed this issue. Pietro (Andrés José Cruz Soublette), the son, has a long monologue while painting on glass. He speaks about creating art in the form of manifesto. This moment stands out because such a large part of the film is silent. I couldn’t help but wonder if Pasolini deliberately inserted the most dialogue into this scene to make it stand out. The transparency of the glass on which Pietro paints, as he opens up about the struggles of an artist, is also key. Pietro describes the artist as being worthless and goes on to describe the artist’s infinite need for perfection. The monologue, although not necessarily all accurate, has had a great impact on the way I think when conceptualizing video work.”


Kevin Calero

Calero has also chosen to award the inimitable and admirably irreverent Pedro Almodóvar’s La mala educación (2004) an honourable mention. Too right.

And check out Calero’s own atmospheric filmic moments below and over at his Vimeo

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/13301704 w=400&h=225]

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/6216255 w=400&h=225]