Portrait of the world-famous Spanish artist Miquel Barceló. Inspiring documentary counterpart to the feature film The Double Steps featuring the exquisite performance Paso doble at the rocks of Bandiagara in Mali by Barceló and choreographer Josef Nadj.

© Tusitala Producciones Cinematográficas, Bord Cadre Films (Suiza, minoritaria)

‘Who would bring clay to Mali?’ the inhabitants of the Dogon region wonder when a truck arrives from Spain with four tons of wet clay. It is raw material for a performance by Spanish artist Miquel Barceló and French dancer and choreographer Josef Nadj.

The performance is called Paso doble, to be performed atop the famous Cliff at Bandiagara. It’s a beautiful, humorous choreography for two men in black suits using clubs and their hands to attack the clay, creating a work of art that fits in beautifully with the surroundings.

It is immediately obvious why Miquel Barceló, undisputedly one of today’s greatest artists, feel so at home in Mali, a country where he has regularly worked for 20 years. He just gets more inspired, even when the wind prevents him painting and termites eat his work.

The cooperation between Isaki Lacuesta and Barceló not only yielded this beautiful documentary, but also the fiction film The Double Steps, which also screens at the festival.

Source: International Film Festival Rotterdam

Event Title: Screening of «The Notebook of clay»
Venue: International Film Festival Rotterdam
City: Rotterdam
Country: Netherlands
Dates: 27, 28 and 29 January and February 4, 2012