October 30, 2014 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada
The first-ever collaboration between the Digital Studio of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in Montreal and the Argentine Ministry of Education's television channel Encuentro launches today online―and it's a scream.
Primal is a web-based collaborative experience in which users share their deepest feelings through the act of screaming. Users are encouraged to record their own scream to contribute to the creation of an eternal scream.
Through this unending scream, everyone's primitive expression of his or her innermost recesses comes to light. Whether the scream conveys joy, surprise, anger, fear, hatred or passion, it unleashes one's most intense emotions and basic instincts—it is universal and brings us back to the roots of humanity. This collective scream is accompanied and augmented by a driving musical score from acclaimed Montreal-based DJ Poirier.
In addition to being a space for expression, Primal is also a place of discovery. Through the site's video portraits, you can explore the life, environment and reality of six young people in Quebec and Argentina who boldly participated in this screaming game. They filmed their screaming friends, interpreted their own motives, told their life stories, shared their experiences and became directors of their own cries. Primal is something that is lived, listened to, and shared―whether you follow it as a viewer or as a participant.
• Primal is accessible in English, French and Spanish.
• A study guide allows teachers to further examine the issue and to discuss it with young people by discovering, amongst others, artists who made screaming their subject.
• The project is also being presented to the global digital media community at IDFA DocLab, taking place in Amsterdam from November 20–26.
Credits
• Caroline Hayeur: design, photography and direction (Canada)
• David Mongeau-Petitpas: design and development (Folklore, Canada)
• Marc-Antoine Jacques: design and art direction (Folklore, Canada)
• Manuel Archain: design and photography (Argentina)
• Bruno Stagnaro: design and video production (Argentina)
• Poirier: music (Canada)
• Hugues Sweeney: executive producer (NFB, Canada)
• Natalí Schejtman: transmedia producer (Encuentro, Argentina)
Online screening room: NFB.ca
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Twitter: twitter.com/thenfb
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Melissa Than
NFB Publicist
Tel.: 416-952-8960
Cell: 647-248-9854
E-mail: m.than@nfb.ca
Twitter: @NFB_Melissa
Lily Robert
Director, Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs
Tel.: 514-283-3838
Cell: 514-296-8261
E-mail: l.robert@nfb.ca
Founded by the Ministry of Education of Argentina, the Encuentro television channel combines education and culture in its programming, with a focus on high technical and artistic quality. It offers a permanent window onto social, ideological and political pluralism, giving minorities a voice and thereby contributing to the democratic exercise of recognizing cultural diversity, both in the country and around the world. That is why, eight years after it was created, Encuentro continues to pursue its goal of serving as a model television channel in Argentina as well as in Latin America.
Beginning May 2, 2014, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) marks 75 years of innovation and leadership in film and interactive media. The NFB is one of the world's leading digital content hubs, creating groundbreaking interactive documentaries and animation, mobile content, installations and participatory experiences. NFB interactive productions and digital platforms have won 100 awards, including 10 Webbys. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
