Synopsis
As night falls, Marc hides his microphones in the undergrowth and wanders away into the woods. All night, ambient sounds (breathing, howling, crackling, chirping, …) are recorded. Later in his studio, Marc reworks them into soundscapes.
Like his father who used to tape-record him when he was a child, Marc captures his daughters’ voice, and he wishes to stir the same ‘sound-hunting’ passion in Lucie, his elder daughter. Curious of her dad’s night forays, she often accompanies him in the forest where, at a close distance in the dark, bellowing deer can be heard.
Marc shares his sound library with other artists. He is currently working with composer Christian Zanési on a piece of electro-acoustic music.
A word from Tënk
Trust me, you can choose this film with your eyes closed! Personally, I put on my headphones so that I could hear even better, and settled down to listen and watch this incredible film about recording and capturing the sounds of nature. The peace and tranquillity can be seen on the face of the person recording and those listening. Evolution has led each animal to find its own sound niche that doesn’t disturb others and allows it to address only its fellow creatures, as if wavelengths had been distributed by a democratic organisation run by Darwin. But in fact, the documentary shows us quite the opposite, that 19th century thinking and classification of the universe was far too inflexible and obstinate. Everything needs to be rethought, and not just from a scientific point of view. The film encourages harmonious, fertile cooperation between a whole range of artistic, technical and scientific disciplines. And it encourages us to think about our representations of nature. Will it inspire vocations? How can we comprehend that a frozen lake at night shrieks like a taut steel wire?
Pierre Oscar Lévy
Filmmaker
