Poppies and Sailboats

© Poppies and Sailboats (Rose Lowder, 2001)

Poppies and Sailboats

Artist Rose Lowder makes all her films with a 16mm Bolex that allows her to film frame by frame. She skips and emulsifies some frames and leaves others blank, then uses the same camera to rewind and film these frames. With this method, she creates a new viewing experience in which two different situations are viewed simultaneously.

It, therefore, takes very little to make ordinary things suddenly look entirely different. Through Lowder’s signature style, the boats in Poppies and Sailboats seem to leave the port of Marseille towards a horizon full of poppies.

The film is part of the short film programme “Sea Sights” during the sixth edition of the Shhh film festival, which declares its love for silent film and the sea. This year, the festival is dedicated to The Social Life of Film, an international gathering of nomadic film platforms from around the world.