Fern Silva
From the earliest voyagers who navigated by starlight to the discovery of habitable planets by astronomers, Rock Bottom Riser examines the all-encompassing encounters of an island world at sea. As lava continues to flow from the earth’s core on the island of Hawaii—posing an imminent danger—a crisis mounts. Astronomers plan to build the world’s largest telescope on Hawaii’s most sacred and revered mountain, Mauna Kea. Based on ancient Polynesian navigation, the arrival of Christian missionaries, and the observatory’s ability to capture the origins of the universe, Rock Bottom Riser surveys the influence of settler colonialism, the search for intelligent life, and the discovery of new worlds as we peer into our own planet’s existence.
A kinetic journey through the graphic motifs of textiles paired with figures and landscapes to explore the technological development of fabric production and consumption alongside systems of visual and spoken language. The piece investigates recurring graphic symbols and how their cross-cultural appropriation functions within a global economy.
Through softly textured 16mm photography and regional iconography, Silva offers a modernist reflection on two of upstate New York’s most storied 19th century touchstones—the landscape painters of the Hudson River School and the legend of Rip Van Winkle—nodding to a few musical heroes along the way.
In The Watchmen, pulsating orbs, panopticons, roadside rest stops, and subterranean labyrinths confront the scope of human consequences and the entanglement of our seeking bodies.
A glimpse into the collective memory of the city of Chicago at the invitation of the Chicago Film Archive. In a very associative way, the experimental anthropologist and cineast Silva sampled a mini city symphony from 35 films, limiting himself purely to existing visual material. The soundtrack comes from Phil Cohran, known among other things for his work with Sun Ra.
“Mermaids flip a tale of twin detriments, domiciles cradle morph invaders, crocodile trails swallow two-legged twigs in a fecund mash of nature's outlaws... down in the Everglades.” (Fern Silva)
Shot on the road in the southwest, leading up to the not quite so cataclysmic and transformative events anticipated to take place around December 21, 2012 as predicted in the Mayan Calendar.
Carried by the frenetic energy of a magic carpet, Concrete Parlay is a metaphysical flight that weaves among visual kernels of the anthropic and biological worlds. From prehistoric horseshoe crabs strewn among modern refuse, stoic pyramids foregrounded by golf course maintenance, mystic rituals evoking avian gestures, to contemporary political upheaval equalized by natural phenomena—the poetic equivalence among images transcends particular umwelten, as the disorienting whirl of the compass connotes the kinetic nature of existence.-Aily Nash
Filmed on location in Harlem (NY) and Ethiopia, Forged Ways oscillates between the first person account of a filmmaker, a man navigating the streets of Harlem, and the day to day life in the cities and villages of Ethiopia.
Peril of the Antilles was filmed at the beginning of November 2010 while visiting a friend in Haiti. At this specific time, the cholera epidemic was on its way to Port-au-Prince, Hurricane Tomas was on the horizon, presidential elections were in a couple weeks and the first Gede (day of the dead) took place since the January quakes. Along the way I acquired a very curious copy of Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly’s (Haiti’s newest president and once bad boy of Compas) music video from his early 90’s heyday… shot in a familiar location… rajé gain´ zoreille…
“Those who go thither, they return not again.” Plumes dust the arid land, east to west, shapeshifting as they lift in ascension. Something lowers. An ark ran aground where revolution took root: ropes raise stones in baskets. Hearts heavier and lighter than the feather, permitted passage. Tethered or freed, resting from life or dawning anew. (Charity Coleman)
Fern Silva’s Servants of Mercy (Portugal/USA, 2010, 14m), presents a variation on portrait film, subtly showing the redevelopment and changes of Portuguese landscape and society through the prism of his families old household helper, a remainder of Portugal’s older bourgeois traditions. Fernando Pessoa’s famous poem of exile “Oh Sea, how much of your salt is from the tears of Portugal” can be heard song on the soundtrack, reflecting the gulf between the past and the present and the countries unique place on the edge of Europe. -George Clark, APEngine
In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails suggests a future already arrived, merging the destruction with the creation of life as seen in the tiny turtles crawling their way to the sea, or heard in the crackling of a Geiger counter as a masked man sprays plants with pesticides.
Home Haven employee Mike Roswell is fed up with organized religion. After a less-than-ideal encounter with a Jehovah's Witness leaves him questioning his beliefs, he decides to take matters own hands and start an Alliance... of Atheists. Mike and best friend Dave embark on a journey to bring the Voice of Disbelief to the masses. Many hilarious encounters including a near suicide, annoying residents, and a showdown with the Jehovah's Witness meet them on their way. But little do they know that starting the Atheist Alliance will get them noticed by more than just their followers...
By Fern Silva and starring Rosa Marinete Silva (1946-2021)
Rebounds (The Impossible Return) is a hypnotic portrait of basketball culture in modern-day Greece. The film draws parallels between the origins of competitive sport in Ancient Greece and contemporary spectator sport culture. Finding how in the midst of economic turmoil, aspirations of class mobility, masculinity, and nationalism pave ways for familiar fantasies to unfold amongst citizens and immigrants alike.
