Chistine Rebet
Thunderbird (2019)
Thunderbird, 2018
16mm transferred to HD
5:40
Edition of 5 plus II AP
Direction: Christine Rebet
Produced by Christine Rebet and Gabrielle Giattino
Animation Assistants: Romane Granger, Julie de Halleux ,Shi-Yen Huang, Nikolai Meltchakov, Louise Pignier Leroul, Lise Remon
Camera: Gustavo Jahn (Shot on 16 mm in Berlin)
Editing: Fabrice Gerardi
Editing Assistant: Joseph Elbaz
Scanning processing and color grading: Silverway Paris
Soundtrack: Mirwais
Musique: Nasser Naama 'Al 'Amiriyya'" Le Luth de Bagdad" Institut du Monde Arabe
Voice over: Lisa Denem, Grayson Millwood, Simon Will
Recorded by Patrick Petzold at Studio 206 Berlin
Footage organized by Sebastien Rey shot on site at Tello, ancient Girsu, Iraq Scheme The British Museum, London
Special thanks to: Francois Darrasse, Lillian Davies, Vincent Dupuis, Fatima Yassir Husain, LaborBerlin, Jean-Marie Leau, Francois Prodromides, Federic Rebet, Lucie Regent, Sebastien Rey
In ancient Sumer and Mesopotamia, it was believed that the gods sent divine visions to the rulers to inspire the commission of their city temples. The statue of the king Gudea, ruler of Lagash (Southern Iraq), around 2200-2100 BCE was found throughout the excavation at Tello (ancient Girsu) in 1881 with an imprint of the future Temple carved on the figure lap. The God Ningirsu ordered Gudea the construction of his Temple through a dream apparition. The five minutes animation "Thunderbird" re-imagines the dialogue between Gudea and Nanshe, goddess of prophecy, to whom the ruler seeks assistance in the translation of the vision he experienced.
"Thunderbird" is a response to the recent destruction and pillage of the Middle East's last major archaeological sites. It pays tribute to ancient Near East architectural rituals to preserve public monuments within the past, present and future towards eternity. The film began through a long dialogue and numerous exchanges with Sebastian Rey, the lead Archaeologist of the British Museum's Iraq Scheme, an organization training Iraqi archaeologists and international specialists with the latest technologies.The curriculum alternates between the British Museum for technical and academic training and the site at Tello (where the statue of Gudea was found) for exploration and excavation. In 2015, with co-director Fatima Yassir Husain, Rey had the honor of reopening excavations at Tello after 82 years of interrupted fieldwork.