Synopsis

The filmmakers invite you to experience the world premiere of Sound Imaginations: Telematic Immersion (2024), audiovisual journey that dissolves the boundaries between the real and the imagined. This film weaves together distant soundscapes and visual environments, from the deserts of California to the vibrant energy of São Paulo, the resonant echoes of Moscow and Mannheim, and the spiritual rhythms of Pune. Through ambisonics sound and 360-degree visuals, this project creates a sensory space where physical presence and telematic dreams converge.

Produced and directed by composer Paulo C. Chagas and flutist Cássia Carrascoza, Sound Imaginations features real-time recordings of flute and electronics, captured in a green-screen studio and telematically processed. The work offers a unique aesthetic of sound and image, inviting the audience to “hear the invisible” and feel the nearness of the distant. This immersive experience challenges traditional perceptions of presence and absence in contemporary audiovisual art.

The world premiere at UCR ARTS will be a special opportunity for the audience to experience this convergence of sound and image, the result of a collaborative exploration of the limits of technology and art by internationally renowned artists.

Works featured in the film:

• Mojave (2020/21)
• I Hear You Breathe (2022)
• Sound Imaginations Improvisations (2020/22)
• Virtual Studies (2020/21)

About the Artists:

Paulo C. Chagas is an internationally acclaimed composer and Professor of Composition at the University of California, Riverside, where he founded the “Experimental Acoustics Research Studio” (EARS). With over 200 works, Chagas explores the intersection of tradition and digital innovation, including orchestral, chamber, electroacoustic, audiovisual, and telematic compositions. His recent works, such as Re-soundings (2021), Olhe essas águas… (2022), and A Hora das Coisas (2023), showcase his ability to fuse tradition with cutting-edge technology. Chagas is also an award-winning researcher, with contributions to semiotics, philosophy, and music technology.

Cássia Carrascoza is a Brazilian flutist, educator, and researcher renowned internationally in classical music and network arts. She is a professor at the University of São Paulo and has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Riverside for the past few years, conducting research on telematic performance under the supervision of Prof. Paulo C. Chagas. Carrascoza has received numerous prestigious awards, including the APCA Contemporary Music Award (2010) and the 8th Bravo Award (2012). Her career is devoted to promoting contemporary Brazilian music, inspiring numerous compositions dedicated to her. Her current research focuses on collaborative composition, telematic performance, and electronic improvisation.

Trailer

Film Details

Director: Paulo C. Chagas and Cássia Carrascoza
Running Time: 77 minutes
Release Year: 2024