On a Clear Day

Abstract

On a Clear Day is a middle-length audiovisual essay created around a series of cinematographically composed spaces of Brussels, shot between 2013 and 2016. The film meanders between establishing shots of stagey landscape views – as if peering into the skyline of Brussels for distinct architectural landmarks so characteristic of its neighboring capitals – and long travelling shots, drifting through the open city. The off-screen text, narrated by actor Dirk Roofthooft and written by the filmmaker, draws inspiration from The Prelude by William Wordsworth, and is an idiosyncratic evocation of the architectural, literary and political history of Europe’s capital; looming under the grey concrete surface and in the many layers of its deep history. Flowing with the moving of the camera and entwined with the musical score composed by Nabihah Iqbal, the narration evokes a bodily, experienced but imaginary reading of urban public space.