InstituteFestivalProfessionals
EN/NL
Donate
Loading...
MyIDFA
Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot
About IDFA
Archive
Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot
IDFA 2022

Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot

William Kentridge
South Africa, United States
2022
110 min
Dutch Premiere
Festival history

The celebrated South African artist William Kentridge opens the doors of his studio and treats us to his playful philosophical thoughts on the impossibility of knowing oneself. Through animation, performance, collage and charcoal drawings he creates a witty and imaginative self-portrait.

He literally enters into a dialogue with himself: Kentridge interviews Kentridge, both in shot at the same time—in his studio, the impossible becomes possible. The film also pays tribute to the inventiveness of early film and the special effects of Georges Méliès. The result is a brilliant experiment with form and ideas, in which the coffee pot turns out to play a central role.

In the part entitled “Vanishing Points,” we see Kentridge making wall-sized charcoal drawings of his childhood in Johannesburg, after which he summarizes his views on colonialism, apartheid and gold mining in a few well-chosen strokes. He captivatingly attempts to answer philosophical questions about chaos, possibilities, the ascription of meaning, and our place in the world with the only material he needs: paper and charcoal.

Credits
Director
Production
    Kentridge Studios,
    THE OFFICE perforing arts + film,
    Louverture Films, LLC
    Kentridge Studios,
    THE OFFICE perforing arts + film,
    Louverture Films, LLC
Cinematography
    Duško Marović
    Duško Marović
Editing
    Janus Fouche,
    Zana Marovic
    Janus Fouche,
    Zana Marovic
Sound
    Gavan Eckhart,
    Matthew Gardner
    Gavan Eckhart,
    Matthew Gardner
Sound Design
    Janus Fouche,
    Zana Marovic
    Janus Fouche,
    Zana Marovic
Screening copy
    Cinephil
    Cinephil
Executive producer
World Sales
    Cinephil
    Cinephil