Our Purgatory

Martin Ježek / Czech Republic / 2021 / World Premiere / 70 min.

synopsis

This collective film, a cinematographic performance, in a way a tribute to the poet and priest Jakub Deml, presents the experiences of individual creators upon encountering his texts from the ensemble "My Purgatory". It wavers between spontaneous, even raw film, and conceptual performance. A "heretical mass" of four interpenetrating parts in color (Closure, Pilgrimage, Home, Cemetery), which define typically Deml motifs. The fifth part, in high contrast black and white, is a reaction to the illusion of a colorful world, a voice from the graveyard that frames the eternally absurd human quest for immortality.

"We fear Death!"

"Don't be afraid - you will be cleansed in Purgatory," said Revelation, shining in the strongest light.

And we, assured that there is no hell for us, have plunged into this Light like an abyss.“

This film is screened out of competition.

biography

Martin Ježek (1976) is a leading Czech experimental structural filmmaker. He studied production and editing at FAMU. Since 1999, when FOMA once again started producing 8mm film stock, he has been shooting short documentary essays. The Ji.hlava IDFF regularly presents his films, whether original films, adaptations (Faraway House, 2007) or “collective” films (Second League, 2007).