Si c’était de l’amour

If It Were Love

Panorama Dokumente 2020

The film about Gisèle Vienne’s dance piece “Crowd” is a techno party gone rave, awash with repetitive movements, physical and emotional encounters between fifteen bodies charged with sexual energy. The camera keeps us plunged into the heart of the choreography, repeatedly zooming out to allow for an insight into the rehearsal process. Through staged one-on-one conversations between the performers, we learn about the background story of their characters. In this way, the characters in the choreography become the characters of the film: there is a trans* boy, a “Nazi” boy that desires a gay boy, a girl attracted to troubled people, and a woman who exudes raw sexuality. Reality and fiction begin to blend. Loud electronic music accompanies the ecstatic bodies moving in slow motion. The cinema becomes a rave and an extension of the stage, and a dance documentary turns into an exhilarating neon-lit fresco of a young, international troupe.
Continuing his exploration of alienation, hyper-sensuality, emotional violence, human tenderness, and performance of (queer) sexuality, Patric Chiha has created a transformative film with a distinctive style, dripping with visual and emotional intensity.

by Patric Chiha (Written and Directed by)
with Gisèle Vienne France 2020 English, French, Swedish 82' Colour World premiere | Documentary form

With

Gisèle Vienne

Crew

Written and Directed by	Patric Chiha
Cinematography	Jordane Chouzenoux
Editing	Anna Riche
Sound Design	Mikael Barre
Sound	Pierre Bompy
Producer	Charlotte Vincent
Executive Producer	Katia Khazak

World Sales

Best Friend Forever

Produced by

Aurora Films

Photos

Patric Chiha

Born in Vienna, Austria in 1975, he studied fashion design in Paris and then film editing at the INSAS film school in Brussels. His short and documentary films have screened at several festivals. His feature film debut Domaine, starring Béatrice Dalle, premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. His documentary Brothers of the Night screened in the 2016 Panorama.

Filmography (selection)

2004 Casa Ugalde; short film · Casa ugalde; short film 2005 Les messieurs (The Gentlemen); documentary · Les Messieurs (The Gentlemen); documentary 2006 Home; short film · Home 2007 0ù se trouve le chef de la prison?; short film · Où se trouve le chef de la prison? (Where is the Head of the Prison?); short film 2009 Domaine (Domain) · Domaine 2014 Boys Like Us 2016 Brüder der Nacht (Brothers of the Night); documentary, Panorama · Brüder der Nacht (Brothers of the Night); documentary 2019 Si c’était de l’amour (If It Were Love); documentary · Si c’était de l’amour (If it were love); documentary, Panorama 2023 La Bête dans la jungle (The Beast in the Jungle)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023