Les tableaux vivants

What happens when museums close their doors?
And if the paintings came to life, began to dance to fill the spaces now empty of the public.

In this film, the dancers take us on a choreographic stroll going from the exhibition rooms to the basements of the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours.
The four dancers evolve throughout the film, from graceful muses to animal creatures retreating into the darkness of the underground.
The music, the choreography and the scenario make this film a real sensory journey where the camera dances for a stunning experience.

“The living paintings” were filmed during the residence of the Nawel Oulad Company at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours.

During this residency the choreographer created 4 performances entitled “Inspiring Women”.

For more than 10 years Nawel Oulad has been developing choreographic and musical writing in direct dialogue with works from the field of plastic arts.

For “Inspiring Women” she wished to pay tribute to the women without whom many of the museum’s masterpieces would not have been produced. From figures of Saintes to Greek deities through orientalist nudes, each canvas has given rise to a singular gesture that is so epic, sometimes contemplative, sometimes virtuoso, sometimes minimalist.

The film “the living pictures” directed by Antonin Sgambato was shot at the beginning of the residency before the performances are elaborated also it constitutes a distinct work with a cinematographic scenario punctuated by the discovery of the museum of its exhibition rooms in the underground .