[ the film ]

Barcelona in 48 Hours is a short film by photographer Anja Hitzenberger and composer Edward Ratliff. The film is both an impressionistic portrait of a contemporary dance artist and a meditation on movement of the body, through dancing and traveling.

"Barcelona in 48 Hours" is a film in photographs: its visual material comes almost entirely from black-and-white stills. The visual style is neither like Muybridge nor typical documentary films. Rather, the raw material of hundreds and hundreds of photographs was edited to create a story and dream-like movement, so the viewer almost forgets the film is made from still images.

The film centers on David Zambrano, an internationally-known choreographer, teacher and dancer. Teaching and performing in a different city every few weeks, Zambrano's life is in constant motion. The 27-minute film was shot in Barcelona, as Zambrano arrives from Vienna, and ends two days later as he leaves for Amsterdam. In between we see a poetic snapshot of his life and work.

Two weeks were originally scheduled for shooting the film, but due to Zambrano's hectic schedule, only two days were finally available. The title and narrative structure of the film comes from those 48 hours of shooting.

"Barcelona in 48 Hours" is the first film produced and directed by Anja Hitzenberger and Edward Ratliff. Hitzenberger, originally from Austria and based in New York, is an art photographer whose work focuses on movement. Her work has been exhibited in group and solo shows in Europe and New York, and published internationally. Ratliff is a composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has performed his music at international jazz festivals, and his music for dance has been heard in festivals and theaters in New York and Europe.