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The Dog from the City

Sabbia Entertainment

Public space as tableau vivant.


A dog called Sabbia is the protagonist of this short film. By following his run through parks and public spaces, the filmmakers investigate the relationship between Nature and the City.

The literary reference for the video’s title is "The Man From The Atom", a short story by Green Peyton Wertenbaker published in 1926 in the first issue of Amazing Stories, the sci-fi magazine edited by Hugo Gernsback. In this story, the main character is a man from outer space, and following his alien point of view the reader gets an overview of Earth in its entirety.

Sabbia offers a similar experience to the observer of this short film. The dog passes through various environments in quick succession and the viewer gets the impression that he is able - through his sheer movements - to instantly reach places that are both distant and different. Public spaces appear as a continuous carousel of "tableau vivant". Sabbia is the permanent figure of different scenes which, edited in similar frames and flowing seamlessly, make differences and similarities visible. Though collage, the video investigates public space and offers a unique point of view revealing the city in a new, different way.

Time here has a double meaning. Sabbia’s walks through every shot take the same time and dictate the speed by which we moves through space, with him; in the background and with other rhythms, man interacts with that particular space, be it natural or artificial. The urban landscape described through the eyes of a dog reveals an extensive nature with its different soils, both natural or mineral, parks and living areas. The result, as the author says, is a "continuous horizon in which we can interpret both the City and Nature on different levels. The link between what is directly connected to the environment and what is man-made is defined by the contrast between a fluid, ever changing Nature and the massive architecture surrounding it".

Credits

Location: Milan, Italy
Production: Yellow Office
Music: Múm

Italy 2014
Duration: 5'57''