Everything Else is Noise

In Mexico, Tere – musician and composer – opens her home to a musician friend’s television interview. To soothe her guest’s nerves, Tere tells an eccentric and charming story about how her extraordinarily acute sense of smell has inspired her compositions. But no sooner does the interview with two journalists begin than it loses the flow, falters and slips out of rhythm: outside noises seep in, machines suddenly start playing up – and Tere’s daughter, a young woman armed with refreshing irony and ruthless reality checks, bursts into the scene. Mother and daughter, both razor-sharp and quick-witted, form a tender alliance that gleefully brings the hypocrisy of the art world crashing down. They expose name-dropping and snobbish posturing, mock sexism and instead celebrate an honest, unpretentious sobriety – and the clear-eyed awareness of two women living close to, yet firmly outside, the coveted power centre of fame. In minimalist form, this absurdly comic chamber piece proves that the extraordinary hides in the everyday – and that noise and music are inseparable parts of it. (Yun-hua Chen)

Nicolás Pereda, born 1982, combines fiction and documentary techniques to explore the everyday. His work has been featured in more than 30 retrospectives and screened at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, and Venice, as well as in museums including the Reina Sofía and MoMA.

Director Nicolás Pereda. Screenplay Juan Francisco Maldonado, Nicolás Pereda. Cinematography Nicolás Pereda. Editing Nicolás Pereda. Music Violeta García. Sound Design Guido Berenblum, Gerardo Kalmar. Producer Catalina Pereda. Co-Producer Kristina Konrad. Production company En Chinga Producciones (CDMX, Mexico). With Teresita Sánchez, Rosa Estela Juárez Vargas, Luisa Pardo, Lázaro G. Rodríguez, Francisco Barreiro, José Rodríguez López.

Films: 2007: ¿Dónde están sus historias? / Where Are Their Stories. 2008: Entrevista con la tierra / Interview with the Earth (short film). 2009: Juntos / Together, Perpetuum Mobile / Perpetual Mobile. 2010: Todo, en fin, el silencio lo ocupaba / All Things Were Now Overtaken By Silence, Verano de Goliat / Summer of Goliath. 2012: Los mejores temas / Greatest Hits. 2013: Matar extraños / Killing Strangers (co-directed by Jacob Secher Schulsinger, Berlinale Forum 2013), El palacio / The Palace (short film). 2014: Los ausentes / The Absent. 2015: Minotauro (short film). 2016: Historias de dos que soñaron / Tales of Two Who Dreamt (co-directed by Andrea Bussmann, Berlinale Forum 2016). 2019: Mi piel, luminosa / My Skin, Luminous (short film, co-directed by Gabino Rodríguez). 2020: Flora y fauna / Fauna. 2021: Querida Chantal / Dear Chantal (short film). 2022: Flora (short film). 2024: Lázaro de noche / Lázaro at Night. 2025: Cobre / Copper. 2026: Everything Else is Noise.