© Marco Cendrone (POMO)

PAL/SECAM – Combustion

(Brussels/Belgium)

A clever mix of cinematic experience, fireworks and musical trip, Combustion has the same effect as a high kick on an octagon (well, we suppose).
No “ohlabellebleue” here: Blisson + Vanderborght show how pyrotechnics are used as a mass diversion weapon in today’s society.
On the big screen, a film brings together images of collective glorification gleaned from the internet, military parades and pop-star concerts, standardised TikTok videos and North Korean political meetings; all meddled with the daily life of the “little hands” quietly, making bombs, in Liuyang, a Chinese city regrouping most pyrotechnic factories of the planet.

The busy atmosphere is punctuated by many sound explosions. A reminder that one of the most unifying elements in the world is not so far from the war weapon.

Although their duo has only recently come into being, Cathy Blisson and Amaury Vanderborght haven’t been rookies for long. A journalist for Télérama, playwright and now creator of documentary shows, she has worked with Anne Quentin and the group Berlin; as for Amaury, he is an acclaimed circus performer and pyrotechnician, who has been teaching at the CNAC for a couple of years. Together, they devise projects combining performance, audiovisual writing and pyrotechnics.

Un projet de PAL/SECAM (Blisson + Vanderborght).
Conception : Cathy Blisson et Amaury Vanderborght.
Direction documentaire et dramaturgie : Cathy Blisson. Direction musicale et recherche vidéo : Amaury Vanderborght. Images Liuyang : Dino Sze Lung. Traduction Liuyang : Wan Lun Yu. Scouting Liuyang : Leo Lirs. Réalisation vidéo : Super Tchip. Montage vidéo : Yoann Stehr et Maxime Jouret. Recherche extra found footage : Yoann Stehr. Montage son et mixage : Nathan Foucray-Bretonnière. Conception pyrotechnique : Édouard Grégoire et Gabriel Legrand. Pyrotechnie live : Arteventia. Régie de tournée : Sarah Foubert. Contribution artistique : Marco Cendron, Nadim Bahsoun. Chargé·es de production : Steven Cayrasso et Agathe Cornez. Chargé de production et de développement : Philippe Naulot. Design graphique : Marco Cendrone (POMO). Creative Commons (CC) : Sources : Joe Bielawa, Keith Martin, Shawn Hart, Joe Shlabotnik, (stephan), Laika ac.

Une création de PAL/SECAM en production déléguée avec les Halles de Schaerbeek.
Coproductions : Les Halles de Schaerbeek-Belgique, La Rose des Vents-Scène nationale-Lille Métropole Villeneuve d’Ascq, Factory international-Royaume-Uni, Kunstencentrum VIERNULVIER-Belgique, Le PALC-Pôle National Cirque-Châlons-en-Champagne, Compagnie du Poivre Rose-Belgique.
Avec le soutien du West Kowloon Cultural District-Hong Kong, Theater op de Markt-Belgique, Wallonie-Bruxelles International et le Service Cirque, Arts de la Rue et Arts Forains du Ministère de la Culture de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.