XPRESA

DIDACTIC

At (S8) we conceive of cinema as a tool for self-knowledge and exploration of the senses and emotions. That is the spirit that inspires Xpresa, an educational programme that aims to foster social inclusion.

One of the activities within this programme is the workshop that we provide every year for people with diverse abilities or at risk of social exclusion, given by filmmakers with a recognised track record. Breaking the mould when it comes to sparking enthusiasm for cinema, Xpresa is not content with simply disseminating traditional models of creativity, but is committed to providing the participants with a mechanism through which they can experience and express their own universe through the free, stimulating creation of personal film pieces, made with intuition prior to what is learned. In previous years, we have hosted workshops by filmmakers like Pablo Mazzolo, Jeannette Muñoz, Andrés Duque, Ainhoa Rodríguez and Tânia Dinis.

Xpresa has been able to count on collaboration from local associations in recent years, as is also the case this year with the Galician Asperger’s Association, ASPERGA, and the Disabled Adults Foundation of A Coruña, ADCOR. This year, the San Xosé de Calasanz Juvenile Centre is also joining in.

XPRESA WORKSHOP WITH FRANCI DURÁN

In this two-day workshop, Franci Durán will be sharing with the participants a technique she regularly uses in her films: the phytogram. With this, plants are both the subject of the images and the means to create them, in a way of working that uses an ecological approach. The technique consists of placing plant materials (branches, flowers, herbs, leaves, etc.) onto a strip of 16 mm black and white film, which is then exposed directly to the sun. Afterwards, the film is processed with an organic developer made from the same plants gathered, water, bicarbonate of soda and vitamin C. After the film has been developed and dried, a screening will be arranged for the resulting works of animation in an event where the participants become the protagonists.