ARLINGTON, Mass. — “American Mirror: Intimations of Immortality,” a documentary starring Academy Award nominee Susan Sarandon will be shown as part of the Arlington International Film Festival, on November 7, 9 p.m.
The film focuses on a social issue that has a global reach: how we perceive and judge ourselves and others in a world dominated by social media, which demands perfect beauty and instant gratification. As an Armenian artist, Tigran Tsitoghdzyan, paints the portrait of actress Susan Sarandon in his New York City studio, the two discuss the concepts of beauty and aging in modern society dominated by social media. While they talk, director Arthur Balder takes us on a visually spectacular journey that expands our ordinary perception of time. His artistic vision, opening with a dream within a dream, challenges the canons of mainstream documentary filmmaking.
“Intimations of Immortality” is a reference taken from British Romantic poet William Wordsworth’s ‘Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood’. For Wordsworth poetry was all about the memories we keep from our most deeply felt living hours. This has become a revelation to Balder’s craft as an essential part of his filmmaking: the reconstruction of deep thought-processes, which we can call memories but also omens and other sorts of visions, imagery occurring in the internal eye of the subject, entirely subjective.
Awards include Parajanov-Vartanov Awards (US) for Best Innovative Film, Best Cinematography and Best Composer; Fabrique du Cinema Award (Italy) for Best International Documentary; Melbourne Documentary Film Festival nominated for Best Art, Best Director, and Supreme Jury Award; Ierapetra Documentary Film Festival (Greece) Audience Award and Best Director; European Cinematography Awards (Netherlands) nominated for Golden Eagle Award for Best Film of 2019, Best Cinematography, Best Lead Actor and Best Original Score.
For a full lineup of the film festival, visit https://aiffest.org/schedule/
To watch a trailer of the film, go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kNHO7Re6Yw
