Following in the tradition of iconic experimental cinema such as Dziga Vertov’s ‘Man With A Movie Camera’ and Godfrey Reggio’s ‘Koyaanisqatsi’, Trans-Leitmotif provides a visual landscape of Toronto and Hamilton at this point in their historical legacy. Drawing on broad themes such as architectural monumentality and formalism, social/historical identities and cultural/traditional extinction, this film is both personal and anthropological in its scope. Filmed over a two-year period, it studies these distinct cities primarily through the lens of a 16mm Bolex camera, lending them a visual archive and subsequently, an inspired aesthetic vision of time encapsulated. With a mesmerizing musical accompaniment by sound artist Gene Fracassi, augmented by a demanding sound design, both these aural components acutely portray and exaggerate the endless, fascinating urban machinations and atmospherics of the modern, mechanized city. Ultimately, the film focuses on our primary need for grace and beauty to underscore the spaces we create and inhabit, and offers a cogent argument and insightful perspective for the viewer to explore.
