'Ladies' via John Cameron Mitchell, London & Moscow
Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 11:31AM Somewhere after the second 'Lady Dior' commercial starring Marion Cotillard (a project that's obviously a descendant of those hot "The Hire" commercials wherein A list directors used to create short films around Clive Owen's "Driver" and a BMW) I lost track of the commercials. John Cameron Mitchell even directed her but it premiered during Oscar season when my mind was most definitely elsewhere.
Dior must have liked what John Cameron Mitchell did for them because there's a brand new film (I saw it at IndieWire) wherein Ukranian "sand artist" Kseniya Simonova tells a story conceived by JCM in a live performance. The artist is only using what looks like a light box, a pile of sand and her fingers. That's it. AMAZING. You must also watch it with jaw agape (don't worry, no sand will enter your mouth) because I can't believe it and must share.
And then there's Mitchell's entry in the Marion Cotillard series "Lady Grey London" if you haven't yet seen that one. That hourglass opening is such cheeky fun.
This sand motif, hmmmm. Does JCM think his time is running out? Nonsense. With three great movies on his resume already (Hedwig, Shortbus, Rabbit Hole) he's batting 1000.
John Cameron Mitchell, London, Marion Cotillard, Russia, short films
Reader Comments (6)
i believe that sand/light artist performed onstage with the ukrainian entry in eurovision this year
Yes, par3182, she did. I believe that's partly why they scored so well.
And I have to say... I'm falling in love pretty fast with Marion Cotillard. Oh what an amazing woman!
Kseniya Simonova is amazing. She won Ukraine's Got Talent doing a live sand performance about the invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII. You're right, Nathaniel, because she is working with a special kind of sand on a light box. There's normally a camera over her shoulder that projects the transformation onto a wall or screen behind her while she works so you can watch her emotive performance while she produces the art. Her performances are being recorded and shown in galleries all over the world and she's using her art to raise money for various children's charities in the Ukraine.
Wow, that sand art...amazing!!!
I love taht Dior video, its my fave one of the 4, Cotillard looks stunning....
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