Lago

The multi-channel sound installation Lago was produced in dialogue with the photobook of the same title by the American photographer Ron Jude. It is comprised of two musique concrète compositions constructed from site-specific field recordings from the sites of Jude’s initial photographs in and around the Salton Sea in the Southern California Sonoran Desert. Contact microphones and hydrophones were used to gather sounds from flora, desert refuse, architectural ruins, and the Salton Sea itself to create an expanded study of the acoustic ecology of the Sonoran Desert. The materials were later processed and reworked with analogue tape to reveal hidden sounds and patterns within initial materials.
The compositions weave together site-specific recordings with interviews to construct an acoustic portrait of the desert that is steeped in intimations of narrative. Lago is an attempt to document the perceptual encounter of the desert while engaging a past that shapes the encounter.
by Joshua Bonnetta Canada 2017 English 44’

Crew

Director Joshua Bonnetta
Dialogue Josh Berger dialogue editor
Assistant Editor Jacob Schaffel-Scherrer

Additional information

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Joshua Bonnetta

Born in 1979 in Canada. He is an artist and filmmaker working in sound and moving image across installation, performance, and theatrical exhibition.

Filmography (selection)

2002 Cathode Aurora; Video installation, 6 min. 2004 Patchwork; Film installation · First Snow; 2 min. · November Light; 2 min. 2007 By Grace; 3 min. 2009 Parting; Film and video installation 2010 Long Shadows; 12 min. 2012 American Colour; 25 min., Video installation, Forum Expanded 2012 2011 American Colour; 25 min., Video installation, Forum Expanded 2012 2012 Remanence I – (Lost, Lost, Lost, Lost); 2 min., Forum Expanded 2013 · Remanence I – (Lost, Lost, Lost, Lost); 2 min., Forum Expanded 2013 2013 Strange Lines and Distances; Video installation, Forum Expanded 2013 · Strange Lines and Distances; Video installation, Forum Expanded 2013 2016 Lanterna; Installation 2017 Land of Thin Air; Video installation · Low Islands; Film installation, 65 min. · Lago; Sound installation, 44 min., Forum Expanded 2017 · Lago; Sound installation, 44 min., Forum Expanded 2017 · El mar la mar; 94 min., co-directed with J.P. Sniadecki, Forum 2017 · El mar la mar

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020