VIVA ÁGUA is a meditation on the philosophical work entitled ÁGUA VIVA written by Clarice Lispector in 1973. The film reflects on Lispector’s interior experimental monologue on the “instant-now” of time, the discomforts of language which are “beyond thought” and the harmonious dissonant reminders and remainders of that “sometimes what is seen is ineffable.”
Director and Editor: Cynthia Madansky
Cinematographer: Michele Paradisi
Performance: Joanne Burke
Voice: Livia Marques
Music: Zeena Parkins
Cynthia Madansky’s film projects engage with cultural and political themes, such as identity, nationalism, the transgression of borders, displacement, nuclear arms and war, foregrounding the consequences of politics on the daily lives of individuals.
Her award winning films have been shown as single-channel works and multi-channel installations at numerous international venues including, the MoMA, NYC, Istanbul Modern, Walker Art Museum, Berlin Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Cinéma du Réel, Tehran Film Festival, India 30 City Peace Festival, and Homeworks Beirut.
Her films have received awards from international film festivals including Cinéma du Réel, Images Festival, Huesca Film Festival, and the Documentary Film Festival Madrid.
Madansky has received numerous grants including the Fulbright Grant, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize, New York State Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Art Matters, The Jerome Foundation, National Foundation for Jewish Culture, Paul Robeson Funding Exchange, North Dakota Historical Society and the Astraea Foundation. She was an artist in residence at MacDowell, The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Ucross Foundation and the Santa Fe Art Institute.