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De Gallo Qui Ovavit

Nina Forsman
Finland
15’ 5"

Only chickens and machines can lay eggs. Never roosters. An egg laying rooster is a phenomenon that has disturbed the human mind since time immemorial; in different eras these roosters have been classified as lethal monsters, satanic criminals or biological freaks. But which one came first, the monster or the human?

Nina Forsman’s film lingers on a small and long-forgotten historical event that happened in Basel on the 4th of August 1474 — a rooster got publicly executed for laying an egg. Reinterpreting the story into an alert reflection on species, gender and social control, De Gallo Qui Ovavit is a witty story about “the unwritten laws of nature” as understood by culture. Forsman creates a selected history of law, religion and sexuality, humorously accompanied by a montage of found footage clips of chicks, chicken, roosters and so on, collected from silent newsreels, audiovisual ephemera, vintage bizarreries and recent TV reportages. As does good essay cinema, De Gallo Qui Ovavit opens ideas and images. (Călin Boto)

Screening date and location

September 26th, 8:30 PM, Cinemateca Eforie

Tickets

Awards & Festivals

Nina Forsman

Nina Forsman is a film director and editor from Helsinki. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Documentary Film from Aalto University (2023) and has graduated as an editor from Tampere University of Applied Sciences (2011). Forsman  has edited several award-winning documentaries, films and TV-series. Her recent films as a director are Reflecting Ice (2019) and De Gallo Qui Ovavit (2023). Reflecting Ice toured festivals around the world and was nominated for the Best Cinematography at the prestigious Camerimage Festival in Poland and won the Golden Kapok Award at the GZDOC Festival in China.

  • Technical sheet
  • Production and distribution
  • Director: Nina Forsman
  • Script: Nina Forsman
  • Sound: François Yazbeck
  • Editing: Nina Forsman
  • Composer: Kimmo Helén
  • Producer: Ilona Raivio

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De Gallo Qui Ovavit

Nina Forsman | Duration 15’ 5"

Only chickens and machines can lay eggs. Never roosters. An egg laying rooster is a phenomenon that has disturbed the human mind since time immemorial; in different eras these roosters have been classified as lethal monsters, satanic criminals or biological freaks. But which one came first, the monster or the human?

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