Born in Toulouse in 1993, Ekiem Barbier is an author, filmmaker, and musician. In 2012, he directed several short films, including fiction and animation, for which he also composed the music. He then attended the School of Fine Arts of Montpellier, where he joined the collective In Extremis in 2015, contributing to various exhibitions. In 2017, Ekiem obtained his DNSEP (Master's Degree in Plastic Expression). That same year, he ventured into documentary filmmaking, producing Anent and Marlowe Drive. He continues to explore video art with a particular focus on anthropology and experimentation, employing a poetic and digital approach. Ekiem currently resides and works in Marseille.
Knit’s Island
Knit’s Island
Knit’s Island
Synopsis
In a 250-square-kilometre online community, individuals simulate survival scenarios through avatars. A film crew enters, forming connections with participants who gradually reveal their true selves. Blending virtual experiences with real-life stories, the documentary explores the implications of virtualisation and the evolving nature of human interaction in a digital world.
'We started our research during our studies at the Beaux-Arts. Our first intention was really just to experiment. We did not intend to make a documentary or a film in any way, but mostly just wanted to observe. The idea was to connect to a game and to go and see what was going on there, by observing, without playing. We weren't really aware of what was going on in these online games at the time. At some point we came across a player who wasn't using any of the game's tools and was just hanging out. When we saw that this was possible, to stop in a game, to simply take in the landscape and look around, to sit down with people in a virtual world, to just pause, to talk about other things, to not play in fact, we realised that it was perhaps possible to make a documentary here. That's how it started I think.' - Guilhem CAUSSE
Festivals & Awards
2023 Jury Prize-Burning Lights, Visions du Réel
2023 Special Jury Prize, Yamagata IDFF
Director's Profile
Ekiem BARBIER
Filmography
2014 Bust
2015 Acier Trempé, Ondes, Jardin
2016 Anent
2017 Marlowe Drive
2023 Knit’s Island
Guilhem CAUSSE
Born in Narbonne in 1993, Guilhem Causse entered the School of Fine Arts of Montpellier in 2012. There he developed a work revolving around the relationship between image and sound, in the form of installations and video projections, halfway between cinema, performance and contemporary art. He is fascinated by collapsology and interested in recording natural and meteorological phenomena, which he then combines with virtual images in timeless spaces where the viewer is invited to settle. In 2017, he got his DNSEP (Master Degree in Plastic expression) and developed his research around the film Solaris, which he declined in a series of video and sound works, in the form of hypnotic and immersive installations.
Filmography
2017 Marlowe Drive
2017-2023 Solaris
2023 Knit’s Island
Quentin L'HELGOUALC'H
Born in Lyon in 1992, Quentin L'helgoualc'h got a DNSEP (Master degree in Plastic expression) at the School of Fine Arts of Montpellier in 2017. Then in 2018 he joined the Post-graduate Art program. He developed a plastic work mixing several mediums, such as sculpture, video, and drawing. In 2017, he directed Marlowe Drive, a documentary immersed in the virtual world, in collaboration with Ekiem Barbier and Guilhem Causse. In 2019 and 2020, he made two video pieces: Between Empty Things and Cristaux Liquides, which combine live action and 3D animation, to deal with the thin relationship to digital spaces. In 2021, he joined the Fresnoy, the National Studio of Contemporary Arts, where he directed the fiction film Les Neiges électriques.
Filmography
2017 Marlowe Drive
2019 Between Empty Things
2020 Cristaux liquides
2021 Les Neiges électriques
2023 Knit's Island
Credit
Producer｜Boris GARAVINI
Scriptwriter／Cinematographer｜Ekiem BARBIER, Guilhem CAUSSE, Quentin L'HELGOUALC'H
Sound｜Mathieu FARNARIER
Editor｜Nicolas BANCILHON
Music｜Ekiem BARBIER, Guilhem CAUSSE, Marc SIFFERT
Print Source
Square Eyes｜info@squareeyesfilm.com