Nicole Hewitt
area: Film / Video
Key Facts
nationality
Croatia, Great Britainarea
Film / Videoresidence
London, Zagrebrecommending institution
culture2culturetime period
August 2003 - August 2003Born 21st April 1965 in Croatia.
EDUCATION
1971-1978
attended secondary school in Croatia
1978-1980
studied privately for O and A levels in U.K.
1981-1982
attended City and East College of Further Education - took A levels - English, Art and Serbo-Croat
1983-1986
Brighton Polytechnic - reading Expressive Arts - obtained B.A.
1988-1989
British Council Post Graduate Scholarship specialising in Model Animation, Barandov Studios, Prague
2000-2002
MA in Fine Art Media at the Slade School of Art
WORK EXPERIENCE
1987 -1990
Backround artist, designer and animator in Luna Film, Zagreb.
1990 - 1991
Assistant animator at Animus Productions, London.
1992 - 1995
Model maker, assistant animator, motion control operator at Animated Picture Company, London.
TRANSLATION
1985 to present
Freelance translation including:
BBC Newsnight, Soros Centre for Contemporary Arts catalogue essays, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb catalogues, nu: The Nordic Art Review, Zagreb Bienale of Contemporary Music catalogue essays.
Books and publications:
Against Our Will, Susan Brownmiller, Naklada Ljevak, Zagreb 1995
Perceptual Art, Janka Vukmir, Meandar, Zagreb 1997.
Wors and Images, ed.SCCA, Zagreb,1996.
Plays:
Decadence , Stephen Berkoff, with Natasa Lusetic 1997
East , Stephen Berkoff 1999
Disco Pigs, Enda Walsh 2001
LANGUAGES
English and Croatian (bilingual), French (fair),
FILMS
1989 -
HERMANÕS BURDEN, 5', 35 mm, cut outs and drawn animation, shown at festivals in Zagreb, Annecy, Edinburgh, Clermont Ferrand, Espinho, Bristol, Belgrade. Produced by Luna Film, Zagreb.
1991 -
NOTES ON CONTINUITY, 8', 35 mm, model animation, shown at Croatian Short Film Festival, International festivals in Zagreb and London, and screenings in Pula, Berlin. Produced by Luna Film, Zagreb.
1993 -
MEAT, 4', 35 mm, animacija predmeta. Produkcija Arts Council of
Great Britain.
1995 -
BLUE FILM, 3', 16 mm, stop frame animation for experimental theatre group project. Produced in Amsterdam and shown in Amsterdam, London, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Koper, Piotrkow and Skopje.
1995 -
SINGLE VIABLE FETUS, 3', 16 mm, stop frame animation. Own
production. Shown in Amstedam, London i Zagreb.
1997-
QUELL - 5', 16 mm, stop frame animation and live action for experimental theatre project by KUGLA, produced and performed in Vienna.
1999 -
IN/DIVIDU - 7' 33'', 16 mm, stop frame animation. Produced by Zagreb film. Winner of the first prize for animation at the Croatian Short Film Festival in Zagreb (March 1999). Awarded Special Mention at Split Festival of New Film and Video (September 1999). Selected by Siena International Short Film Festival 1999, Espinho Festival of Animation 1999, Alpe Adria Festival, Trieste1999, 12. Filmfest Dresden (experimental programme, April 2000), Annecy International Animation Festival 2000, Zagreb International Festival of Animation 2000.
2002 -
IN BETWEEN, 20Õ, live action and stop frame animation, produced by Zagreb Film. presented at Tate Modern, selected at Short Film Festival Zagreb 2002.
2002 -
GLORIA, 1Õ3OÓ, 16mm film transferred and edited on video. Installed at Slade School of Art MA show and for exhibition CINEMANIA(C), Pula, July 2002.
AWARDS FOR IN/DIVIDU:
Winner of the first prize for animation at the Short Film Festival in Zagreb (March 1999).
Awarded Special Mention at Split International Festival of New Film and Video (September 1999).
Awarded Special Mention at Sitges International Film Festival 2000.
Awarded first prize for Experimental animation at Norwich Animation Festival 2001
Awarded Special Mention for Innovations in Animation at Hiroshima International Animation Festival 2001.
COLLABORATIONS
1992 Animation on TALKING TO A STONE, Independent Arts Council Production, dir, by Inger Lise Hansen.
1993 Producing film material, loops and texts for international theatre group KUGLA, HORSEÕS TAIL
1993 Exhibition of film and art works in TACHELES, Berlin.
1994 Animation on STATIC, Arts Council Production, dir. by IngerLise Hansen.
1995 Producing film loops and texts on 16 mm, for KUGLA project THE DOOR, Zagreb, Amsterdam
1995 BASKETBALL FILM, for KUGLA 3 min animation.
1996 Film and video material for multimedia project HAZARIAN LULLABY, Harrow College, London.
1996 Animation on HOUSE, Dir. by Inger Lise Hansen, San Francisco.
1996 Films and loops for KUGLA, THE SON.
SYMPOSIA
2002 Panelist at Symposium on Art and Animation, Tate Modern, March 2002.
TEACHING AND EVENTS
1997 to present visiting tutor in experimental animation, Academy of Fine Art, Media Department, Zagreb.
1997 to present organised following workshops:
Tim Web, RCA animation tutor, one week workshop, Zagreb. British Council, Zagreb Film, Academy of Fine Art.
Michael Gibbs, artist and writer, workshop in net.art. British COuncil, Academy of Fine Art Zagreb, Academy of Fine Art Split
Marc Mercier, video curator and festival director, 4 day seminar in contemporary video art, Institut Francai, Academy of Fine Art Zagreb, Academy of Fine Art Split.
Jon Thomson and Alison Craighead, sound workshop, in conjuction with British Council, MAMA media Zagreb, Multimedia Centre Rijeka, Art Workshop Lazareti, Dubrovnik.
RESIDENCY PROPOSAL
THE WALTZ – a single screen gallery installation
In February 2004, the Croatian National Theatre will try to emulate the Viennese Opern ball by launching its own annual Ball. The Viennese Opern Ball has long been seen in Croatia as the pinnacle of high society, and Vienna as the heart of an imaginary Croatian cultural and political heritage – the Austro Hungarian Empire. The imaginary source shaping Croatian national identity is Vienna.
The venture is primarily a business venture, the commodity on sale (at a ridiculously high price) is the fantasy of an Imperial past, a colonised subject’s longing for belonging to the mother state. But what is the fantasy on sale in Vienna, itself – do both ex colonisers and ex colonised share in the fantasy of the past?
As, by a lucky coincidence the cameraman I have worked with on two previous films is the marketing director for the Croatian National Theatre I will have access to all the preparations – visits to Vienna to see the role model, meetings with potential sponsors, brainstorming sessions with marketing agencies, discussions with set and costume designers, orchestra recitals and ballroom dance school rehearsals. I hope to infiltrate both the Croatian and the Austrian ball organisations and film the preparations, especially the general rehearsals and the event itself.
The work I propose will be a gallery installation using documentary footage shot on location and later manipulated frame by frame. The audio will consists of all the clandestine recordings of the meetings and preparations.
As my primary practice is stop frame animation, and as my main interest lies in the distinction between ‘documentary’ and ‘illusionist’ cinema I will use my 16 mm bolex camera to document the fantasy of an Imperial Ball and to explore the complex post colonialist relationship between the two countries.