Guy Maddin has never been one to bow before convention and so when word arrives that he has teamed with Montreal's Phi Centre to shoot twelve films in thirteen days with the public invited to participate ... well, coming from Maddin this sort of insane undertaking is pretty much the sensible thing to do.
Seances is a film shoot, an experience and an installation, which will subsequently become a film and an interactive work. The basic premise of Seances is that most silent filmmakers lost at least one film to a twist of fate. Ever since, these films have hovered like ghosts in search of their final resting place.
And now Guy Maddin has decided to recreate these lost films. Every day, he will call on the spirits to take hold of the actors, plunging them into a deep trance that will enable them to act out the lost film of the day.
The most amazing part: the public is invited to attend these Seances of cinematic spiritualism. Cameras will be set up to transmit--live and in closed circuit--the shoot taking place inside the Phi Centre.
Supported by the National Film Board of Canada, the shoot will run July 4 - 20 with the public free to attend the filming for free at the Phi Centre in Montreal.