HOME IS THE PLACE WHERE FIRE BURNS (Requiem)

REQUIEM

We are asking you to support the Requiem for Portuguese Forests - CD / Vinyl / Digital / Live - (a Requiem is a Mass for the dead usually played in the context of a funeral). It will be presented in concert, recording and as part of the photo exhibition. It will be dedicated to Portuguese forests, and after the great human loss in 2017, the composition will also be dedicated to the victims and their families. This Requiem will be completed with a black & white video shot while being played in the scenery of a recently burnt forest.

INTRODUCTION

Portugal is going through the greatest ecological crisis in its history. Estimates indicate that just in 2017 around a sixth of its forest area was burnt. These wildfires were also the deadliest ever, with over a hundred victims. The causes are mainly criminal. This problem is not a past disaster, or an exceptional catastrophe. It is steady growing trend in fires and yearly forest destruction area since the mid 1980’s. Long term solutions are not implemented, prevention is not effective, sustainable endogenous territorial planning and ecological ordinance is not in motion.

Portugal has seen a great increase in eucalyptus monoculture expansion. This exotic species is damaging to the forest ecosystem in addition to being easily flammable (almost all large scale wildfires develop in eucalyptus forests). Currently their extent is 26% of all forest area. To solve the wildfire problem in Portugal, providing information and stopping passivity is essential.

The author of this audiovisual project is Martina Vídenová (*1985, Prague), Czech film music composer and musicologist with a connection to Portugal, a country she considers her second home. Martina seeks to raise awareness about the devastating fires in Portuguese forests through her artistic expression (photography and compositions). Native Portuguese forests have been dying and we can´t ignore it. Affected by the disastrous situation, and having taken live-fire and post-fire photos, mainly in the summer of 2017 in diverse areas of the country (ex.: Lousada, Castelo de Paiva, Pedrógão Grande), with an artistic perspective instead of a “sensationalist press type” approach, she felt a need to start working on the composition “Requiem For Portuguese Forests” (a Requiem is a Mass for the dead usually played in the context of a funeral). After the great human loss in 2017, the composition will also be dedicated to the victims and their families. This requiem will be completed with a black & white video shoot while being played in the scenery of a recently burnt forest.

Martina's compositions are rooted in contemporary classical music, especially in minimalism which she often combines with electronic and ambient music. As a composer, she participates in multimedia projects cooperating with filmmakers, visual and conceptual artists. A unifying feature of her compositions is an intuitive inspiration stemming from the color of sound of the individual selected musical instruments and sound samples. Within the area of classical music, she focuses on chamber instrumental arrangement (piano, string quartet). Based on purpose, she also experiments with more pronounced sound effects, human voice, original sound combinations and foley elements. Lately, she concentrated mainly on projects centered on environmental issues - climate changes, coal mining, the extinction crisis, etc.

OBJECTIVES

• To honor the memory of all forest fire victims, as of all ecosystems destroyed annually by fires.
• To take a step against indifference and passivity - to search for new forms of ecological and social activism through art, through the creation of contemporary classical music and its fusion with the documentary format.
• To raise awareness and discussion about the forest fires and forest devastation issue in Portugal and other temperate countries throughout the world as a continuing global cause that should be addressed, in pair with other global ecological issues.
• To promote contemporary classical music through the creation of new audiences and new platforms.

PROMOTION

• Working on an exhibition agenda to bring the project to cities and towns of areas affected by forest fires. As a complement, the possibility of integrating a requiem concert in the event as part of the inauguration. The record will be available.
• The search for maximum national and international attention through digital platforms to propagate the video, the requiem in the scenery of a burnt forest, with links to information about the issue and data for contextualization. Simultaneously, the promotion of the requiem audio recording in high quality and its publishing through digital music platforms.
• The possibility of promoting the project in other countries that suffer with forest fires and to take the project to places with a strong presence of Portuguese immigrants.

CORE TEAM

Author & Artistic Director - Martina Vídenová
www.martinavidenova.cz
Orchestra - Members of Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música
http://www.casadamusica.com/en/residentes/orquestr...
Choir - Members of Coro Casa da Música
http://www.casadamusica.com/en/residentes/coro-cas...
Conductor - Jan Wierzba
www.janwierzba.com/media.html
Music Consultant - Jan Šikl
www.jansikl.cz
Sound Engineer - Rui Guerreiro
Requiem Text - David Zábranský
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Zabransky
Camera - Yvon Teysslerová
https://vimeo.com/user9482040
Camera - Luís Rosa Lopes
www.synkronos.pictures
Camera - João Sousa
https://www.le-joy.org/
Producers - Tomás Valle, Martina Vídenová

CALENDAR

• June 2018 - Pre-production
• 2 July 2018 - Rehearsal and recording
• 6 to 8 July - Video shooting
• July - February 2019 - Post-production and record publishing
• February 2019 - Estimated release
• February 2019 to December 2019 - Scheduling and promotion of exhibitions, concerts and related events.

WHAT IS THE FUNDING FOR

• Musicians
• Equipment rental
• Sound engineering & recording
• Requiem production and post-production
• Transportation & logistics
• Catering for work days
• Video production and post-production
• Accountant & Legal advising

CURRENT SUPPORTERS

This project involves around 60 people, it is financially demanding and we still need to complete the budget to make it a reality. This final funding process is essential to the project’s good conclusion. I hope I have encouraged you with the idea of this project.

Thank you very much for your attention and support!

Martina Vídenová