Private Project

Foundations of the Work of the Sun

In the end, all the benefits must not be consumed by time. Therefore, where the Sun works, the overall untidiness of the world is replaced by new foundations. Short narrative of the legs - factographic poem about the journey to work.

"Leibniz inspired poem in a setting of Andrej Platonov's pit."

The Foundations of the Work of the Sun (2023) is a short film-poem consisting of interconnecting “micro-essays” that collectively constitute a “fictional documentary” about the work of the sun. Inspired by (among other things) G.W. Leibniz’s theory of a pre-established harmony and his contributions to the science of optics, the film reflects on how the camera “translates” sunlight into intelligible images and how a photograph might be understood as the visual document of an embodied perspective. Based on a poetic sound composition, each story in the film touches on themes of labor, exhaustion, and utopianism. One chapter alludes to Andrei Platonov’s The Foundation Pit (1968), while another follows the story of a worker whose life is recorded in photograms, snapshots, and prints. Taken together, these “micro-essays” address the question: How to think collectively through the individual?

  • Jakub Štourač
    Director
  • Anna Luňáková
    Director
  • Anna Luňáková
    Music / Sound design
  • Jakub Štourač
    Music / Sound design
  • Anna Luňáková
    Analogue photos / video / edit
  • Jakub Štourač
    Analogue photos / video / edit
  • Anna Luňáková
    Text / voice
  • HERONS VECTOR
    art collective
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Základy Práce Slunce
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Poetry, Experimental, Essay, Philosophy
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 12, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    300 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Czechia
  • Country of Filming:
    Czechia
  • Language:
    Czech, English
  • Shooting Format:
    35mm, Digital
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • The 14th Shanghai Biennale: Cosmos Cinema
    Shanghai
    China
    November 8, 2023
    Part of exhibition
  • Marienbad Film Festival
    Mariánské lázně
    Czech Republic
    July 15, 2023
    Czech festival premiere
    Main competition selection
  • Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    April 10, 2024
    Turkey Premiere
    Award Winner
  • Serbest International Film Festival (SIFF)
    Kishinev
    Moldova, Republic of
    September 1, 2024
    Semi-Finalist
Director Biography - Jakub Štourač, Anna Luňáková

Anna Luňáková & Jakub Štourač’s interdisciplinary practice finds expression in theater, performance, and moving image. Luňaková’s background in philosophy and Štourač’s in printmaking translates into their treatment of both sound and image as physical objects with narrative potential, and their work combines field recordings, and vocal testimony with experiments in analogue photography and film. Their expansive approach extends to their collaboration with Continuo theatre group as musicians, performers, and co-authors.

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