Aline Motta

16 min. Portuguese, Yoruba, Tofin Gbe.

(Outros) Fundamentos talks about the consequences of the journey that Aline Motta undertook in search of her roots and questions the sense of belonging to a place that might not acknowledge its seemingly evident kinship. It brings together Lagos in Nigeria, Cachoeira in Bahia, and the artist’s home town Rio de Janeiro in Brazil through the waters and bridges that connect the three cities and their common ancestral background.
The film is the last installment of a trilogy that began in 2017 with Bridges over the Abyss, followed by If the Sea had Balconies.

Aline Motta, born in 1974 in Niterói, Brazil, combines different techniques and artistic practices, merging photography, video, installation, performance, sound art, collage, and textile materials. She earned a bachelor degree in Communication Studies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Certificate in Film Production at the New School University/New York. She has received several grants and scholarships and recently participated in important exhibitions in Brazil. (Outros) Fundamentos is her third short film.

Artist’s Statement

“My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.” Audre Lorde

If I break the silence, which identities become possible? What may come to light when I'm looking for myself? Between the whispers of those who came before me, the spaces that they were prevented from occupying, the narratives that have been blurred, what remains as a possibility of expression and language? As I seize this political body that resists and advances through the times, it becomes a territory for artistic experimentation. What was transferred to me, a passage between worlds, seeks to reveal other corporalities, create meaning, re-signify memories, and elaborate other forms of existence. I make myself visible, who sees me?

Production Aline Motta. Production company Aline Motta (São Paulo, Brazil). Written and directed by Aline Motta. Cinematography Aline Motta. Editing Aline Motta. Music Aline Motta. Sound Pedro Santiago. With Joceane Soares, Jamiu Jimoh, Ajarat Jimoh, Jani, Shoyumi.

Films

2017: Pontes sobre Abismos / Bridges over the Abyss (8 min.), Se o mar tivesse varandas / If the Sea had Balconies (9 min.). 2019: Filha Natural / Natural Daughter (16 min.), (Outros) Fundamentos / (Other) Foundations.