Mexican Visual Artist | Cinematographer | eXperimental Filmmaker
Rafael Balboa lives and works in Mexico City. His film production is characterized by a strong focus on abstract films. Since recently, he is working mainly with found footage to create short experimental films, as well as installations that explore the idea of "expanded cinema". Rafael Balboa works on both individual and collective projects.
[SPA]
Rafael Balboa es un cineasta radicado en la ciudad de méxico, su producción se centra en el cine abstracto, pero recientemente el ha estado trabajando principalmente con película encontrada. Balboa también explora la idea del "cine expandido" tanto como en instalaciones en lo individual como en presentaciones en vivo en lo colectivo.
contact
rafabal@yahoo.com| Statement |
One thing that I discovered in my films is that they always reveal themselves as living entities with their own aesthetics. When the work is experimental, it is possible that you fail or that you get somewhere you didn't intent at first. In either case, I try to achieve something that is difficult to describe with words - as Robert Motherwell said: " Sometimes it´s experimentation, but sometimes it's a revelation...". Maybe one part of the revelation is that cinema as art is more powerful than anything else.
[SPA]
Algo que descubrí hace algunos años revisando mis trabajos, es que a veces se revelan como entidades propias, incluso con su propia estética. Cuando el trabajo es experimental, es posible que uno falle o llegue justamente a un lugar donde no fue la intención primera llegar, de cualquier forma, siempre he tratado de mostrar lo que no se puede poner en palabras, incluso en imágenes. Como alguna vez dijo Robert Motherwell -"...a veces es experimentación, pero otras veces...es una revelación".
FILMOGRAPHY (from the beginning...)
2001
Homage to Robert Wiene (Homenaje a Robert Wiene)
7:00min | 16mm | b&w | stereo | cat. german expresionism
"Amateur film, a recreation of classic expresionist film:
The Cabinet of Doctor´s Caligari"
2002
Contrappunti
3:30min | Regular 8 | color | stereo | cat. experimental
¨This short film was inspired on the Sergei`s Einsenstein
theory of the counterpoint between Images + sound, but
the idea was to create a third dimension on the audience
with the elements of sound, music, memory and strong
images. This is 5 minutes version with a extra material
from the original version from 2002.”
2003
Colours
3:30min | 16mm | color | stereo | cat. experimental/hand-painted film
"This is an entire living entity of music by Autechre and abstract
images. Influenced by Stan Brakhage an paintings of the
neo-abstract expresionism of the XX century. This film is
entirely made without any optical printer device."
2003
Très Muybridge (Crazy Muybridge)
7:30min | 16mm | b&w | stereo | cat. experimental
“This is a half abstract simphony between music of Gustav Holst´s
(Mars: The bringer of war) and some animation of the XIX Century
photographer Eadweard Muybridge and some dummies a la Man Ray."
2006
Intermezzo
3:30min | 35mm | color | stereo | cat. experimental
Centro Multimedia, CNA, Music by Julio Clavijo
"For the very first time I had the chance to work with original
music strings & frecuencies provided by Julio Clavijo. The
entire film is made with 35mm found footage, after many
destruction by chemicals the results really bites people."
2007
For Absent Friends
15:00min | super8,16mm | color | stereo | cat. experimental
"A portrait of ghosts from the past"
2009
QUADRILOGY
(Available only Here)
Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is RECycled
[part 1: First Call]
3:40min | FFF* | color | stereo | cat. experimental | Low-Res
(*Found Footage Film)
Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is RECycled
[part 2: Red Alert]
4:40min | FFF* | color | stereo | cat. experimental | Low-Res
(*Found Footage Film)
Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is RECycled
[part 3: Too Little, too late]
2009 | 6:00min | FFF* | color | stereo | cat. experimental | Low-Res
(*Found Footage Film)
Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is RECycled
[part 4: Epilog]
3:30min | FFF* | color | stereo | cat. experimental | Low-Res
(*Found Footage Film)
"This is a Found Footage Quadrilogy, The rule here was to create nothing.
These short pieces were conceived only to extract things from films
founded in the WWWeb, even music or titles are not created...everything here
even the Title is taken from somewhere...The main idea is to talk about
of the incoming future where artist don´t create anymore just cut & paste
the things RECycling the past."
2011
COMING SOON!!! Never to Theater Near you...
Never Trust American Movies
28:20min | FFF* | color | stereo | cat. experimental | Score: Nurse with Wound
(*Found Footage Film)
"Found Footage poetical Film sort of experimental Road Movie".
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Screenplays
Hamlet´s Return (Spanish)
2001 | adapted from luis Buñuel´s Hamlet 1918 | cat. surrealist
Très Bataille (Spanish)
2007 | adapted from Georges Bataille´s histoire d l´oire 1928 | cat. surrealist |
The Faraoh of the Desert (Spanish)
2008 | original screenplay | cat. surrealist
The Monologues of Peer [work in progress]
2008 | adapted from Henrik Ibsen´s Peer Gynt 1867 | cat. drama
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Installations
Paintings in the Optical Printer
2006 | Series of paintings in motion for several output channels.
Programa de Apoyo a la Producción en Arte y Medios , CNA, Centro Multimedia.
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LIve Performances EXPANDED CINEMA (Trinchera Ensamble as a collective)
Founded & Created in 2004 by Rafael Balboa (MEX), Manuel Trujillo (MEX) y Doris Steinbichler (AUS)
more info
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Current Projekcts:
Trinchera Ensamble
TRYO
Never Trust American Movies
LAST UPDATE 05/2011
