Le cercle vide (The Empty sphere)

2022
Film
19’





 

Nothing ever truly survives here.
The seabed is so deep that no light ever reaches it.
Very few boats pass through,
There’s no telling when things will fall.


This experimental documentary profiles a space object and its nosedive into the darkness of a space graveyard. A woman scientist explains her affection for this object and the absence of images recording this mysterious site. This inverted science-fiction journey combines real and fictional archives to steer us to the edges of an invisible place.










CREDITS

With the exceptional participation of Carole Huot-Duclos
Director of photography: Jorge Piquer Rodriguez
Camera A: Paul Hermann
Camera B: Fabien Croguennec
Sound engineer: Raphaël Zucconi
Gaffer: Cyril Dupont
Grip: Geraldo Haag
Film set photographer: Audrey Bazin
Make-up artist: Lou Caron
Unit production manager: Audrey Bazin
Assistant: Audrey Duclos
VFX Director: Paul Guilbert
VFX Assistance: Toast Agency
Video editor: Margaux Serre, Ana Elena Tejera, Stéphanie Roland
Colorist: Jorge Piquer Rodriguez
Sound design: Ludivine Pelé
Foley: Luc Aureille
Sound editor: Ludivine Pelé
Sound mixer: Yannick Delmaire
Graphic Design: Studio Otamendi
Production coordinator: Barbara Merlier

Production: Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains

With the support of Neuflize OBC, Thalès Alenia Space, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, 
European Space Agency, Actes Académie, Toast Agency and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles



FESTIVALS

- Visions du Réel, Nyon (07 - 17 April 2022) Opening scenes Competition (World premiere) TËNK Award
- Lichter FilmFest Frankfurt International, Basis Frankfurt (10 - 15 May 2022) Lichter Film Award shortlist
- Flatpack Festival, Birmingham, (17 - 22 May 2022) Short Competition
- FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival, Espinho (20 - 27 June 2022) Silver lynx for experimental film, honorable mention
- Around Vidéo / Art Fair, Lille (30 September - 02 October 2022)
- Corsica.doc, Ajaccio (11 - 16 October 2022) New Talents competitions Best Short Award
- Imagine Science Film festival, New York (14 - 21 October 2022)
- Tehran International Short Film festival (19 - 24 October 2022) competition
- FestiFreak La plata International Film Festival (19 – 30 October 2022) International short films exhibition program
- SIC Symposium – Fictional strategies in reality-based films, Brussels (20 - 21 October 2022)
- Festival Dei Popoli (5 - 13 November 2022) Official selection
- Biennales Chroniques, Fondation Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence (11 November 2022 - 22 January 2023)
- ZINEBI International festival of documentary and short film of Bilbao (11 - 18 November 2022) Documentary competition
- FIFAM Festival International du film d’Amiens (11 - 19 November 2022) Programmation Hauts-de-France
- FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH (13 - 19 November 2022) Official selection ARRI Award for best documentary
- Izmir Kisa Film Festival (14 - 20 November 2022) Panorama Section
- Kasseler Dokfest (15 - 20 November 2022)
- PÖFF Shorts / Black nights Film Festival (15 - 23 November 2022) Competition: New Talents Live-Action
- Blue Marble, ISELP, Belgium (19 November 2022)
- Curta Cinema, Rio de Janeiro International short fim festival (1-7 December 2022) International competition
- Cinéma Prospectif, Centre Pompidou, France (26 January, 2023)
- Festival True / False, Columbia, United States (2 - 5 March 2023)
- Festival REGARD, Saguenay, Canada (22 - 26 March 2023)
- Glasgow Shorts Film festival, United kingdom (22 - 26 March, 2023) 
Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film
- FID Marseille, La fête du métrage, France (17 March 2023) 
Programme: Une soirée au Fresnoy
- Paysage. Fenêtre sur la nature, Louvre-Lens, France (29 March - 24 July 2023) 
Group exhibition
- Visions du Réel Sélection, Plateforme TËNK (21 April 2023) Online screening
- International Festival of Science Documentary Academia Olomouc, 
Czech Republic (25 - 30 April 2023) short film competition
- Growing plants in the dark, Bòlit, Spain (9 June - 8 October, 2023) 
Group exhibition
- The infinity of grapes, CNEAI, France (29 June - 21 October, 2023) 
Group exhibition
- Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Colombia (13 - 31 August, 2023) 
Panorama otras altitudes
- MakeDox, Macedonia (17 - 24 August, 2023) Student competition
- Rockaway Film Festival, New York (19 - 27 August 2023) 
Coastal knowledge: mosaic of mystery
- TISFF THESS INTERNATIONAL SHORTS, Greece (1 - 21 October, 2023) Official selection
- EUREKA University Film Festival, Colombia (19 - 26 October, 2023) International competition
- Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Paris (30 October - 5 November 2023) International competition
- Galerie Elektra, Canada (8 - 12 November, 2023) Duo show
- Aesthetica Short Film Festival, United Kingdom (8 - 12 November, 2023) Experimental programme
- Braga Science Film Fest, Portugal (18 - 26 November, 2023) Official selection
- Territoires en Images, France (23 - 25 November, 2023) Special mention, Best documentary
- London Short Film Festival, United Kingdom (19 - 28 January, 2024) 
Documentary:Journey to the earth
- Poelp, Belgium (8 February, 2024) Carte Blanche Stéphanie Roland
- Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg, Germany (7 - 17 March, 2024) International competition
- Les docs de Noirmoutier, France (28 - 31 March 2024) Programme thématique: La mer
- Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Berlin (9 - 14 April 2024)
- Archipels fantômes, programme Mondes Nouveaux, île Nouvelle, France (28 April 2024) Trilogie Stéphanie Roland
- Stellar Scape, Pavillon, Belgium (21 June 2024 - 26 January 2025) Exposition collective


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Stéphanie Roland Studio