Experiencing Interruptions?

Sisyphus

Armed only with his shovel, a man faces the absurd: a mountain of sand that he must destroy in order to rebuild again and again. Similar to Sisyphus, he finds himself trapped in the inescapable — a prisoner of time and his own thoughts. In his monumental effort, Victor Pilon follows the inspiration of Albert Camus and explores themes of grief, the absurd and the quest for meaning, offering a resolutely contemporary take on the ancient myth.

This mythological story, nourished by the timelessness and brutality of the themes it explores, resonates deeply with the contemporary human experience. It tells of a man chained to a destiny he can no longer control. A man who, after realizing the emptiness of his beliefs and the absurdity of his existence, persists despite everything, shovel after shovel. This never-ending quest throughout the film confronts us with our own humanity, our own fragility, and asks us about the meaning we can still give to our efforts in a world often devoid of answers.

  • Victor Pilon
    Director
    Icarus VR, Invisible, Cité Mémoire
  • Victor Pilon
    Key Cast
  • Jean-François Gratton
    DIrector of Photography
    Into The Light, Québec Profond, The Night I Shot Marilyn, Cité Mémoire, Zimbelism, Cabine C
  • Victor Pilon
    Editor
  • Benoît Fry
    Editor
    RITUÆLS, La Nuit des Chevaux Volants
  • Marcin Bunar
    Music, Sound designer and mixer
  • Dear Criminals
    Music
    Nelly
  • Michel Lemieux
    Creative Assistant
  • E. Marian Tremblay
    Producer
    Invisible
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Sisyphe
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature, Other
  • Genres:
    Art, experimental, performance
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 4 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    75,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    No Dialogue
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • International Festival of Films on Art
    Montreal
    Canada
    March 24, 2024
    World Premiere
    National Selection, International Selection - Closing Film
Director Biography - Victor Pilon

Victor Pilon belongs to the first generation of artists described as multidisciplinary creators. A director, set designer, visual designer and photographer, he works on stage productions as well as large-scale public events.

Pilon received a Bachelor’s degree in visual arts with a specialization in photography. As the Canadian government’s official photographer, Pilon photographed heads of state and covered more than 30 visits of the British Royal Family. Pilon’s work as a visual artist has been exhibited in galleries across Canada. His pieces are housed in the Canada Council Art Bank and Library and Archives Canada collection. A book on his artwork was published in 1988.

In the early 1990s, Pilon met his closest collaborator: Michel Lemieux. With their production company 4D Art, they devise singular shows in which new technologies intensify the audience’s sensory and emotional experience. The duo masterfully integrates theatre, film, dance, poetry, visual arts, music and sound to create unique theatrical worlds. Their collaboration has yielded more than 30 unique creations presented around the world.

Notable 4D Art creations include Shakespeare’s The Tempest, The Beauty and the Beast, Norman - a tribute to animation cinema pioneer Norman McLaren and Icarus. Cité Mémoire, the largest city video projection circuit in the world, is shown every evening throughout Montréal.

Sisyphus, his latest creation, sees the artist putting himself at risk in a powerful, emotional and physical contemporary art performance that is both introspective and contemplative.

M. Pilon is a member of the Order of Canada, the Ordre national du Québec, the Order of Montreal and the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec. With 4D Art, he has been awarded the Grand Prize of the Conseil des arts de Montréal twice in 2015 and 2022.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This project is an effort to understand the eternal rebeginning, to grasp the absurdity of existence, a desire for clarity, a quest for the why that dwells in all of us.