SYNOPSIS
Preemptive Listening is an ode to the sirens that are and those that could be. Through a soundtrack of new siren sounds composed by an array of experimental musicians, the film asks: Does an alarm have to be alarming? How can we counter alarm fatigue, both as a lived reality and as a metaphor for our current state? Can we envision sounds not only scored to immediacy, but signals set to a longer temporal frame, sounding the alarm for the distant future?
＊This film contains lighting that may affect photosensitive viewers.
REVIEW
Preemptive Listening, a sound collage work by visual artist and filmmaker Aura Satz, explores the multifaceted concept of the siren—its sonic practices and its status as an emergency signal. The siren, first invented in the late 18th century, proved its true value during the two World Wars. In post-war Japan, its purpose was reimagined as a symbol of peace, with music replacing its alarming associations. Considered a code for modern notions of emergency and preparedness, the siren is a relic of World War II and the Cold War. It can be interpreted as a warning signal, a crisis management tool, an indicator of disease, or a symbol of climate collapse. As our planet continues to face ongoing crises, Satz's work prompts us to reconsider: What does the emergency signal of the siren signify today? This multi-year project combines footage of siren sites from around the world with commissioned music from 20 artists, interwoven with drone footage. Part essay film and part sound experiment, Preemptive Listening offers a unique meditation on humanity's shared future through the medium of sound. The film's visual composition is striking: numerous drone shots feature slow descents, ascents, or circular movements, sometimes synchronizing with or countering the drone's direction. These visual effects are destabilized by the accompanying sound, which activates subwoofers, creating a visceral viewing experience. The film's overwhelming sound design includes organ and bell performances juxtaposed with scenes of massive cooling towers from soon-to-be-demolished coal power plants.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
How to listen ahead, how to hold the future in mind when listening? The siren is the prism through which to refract a complex web of entangled relationships to threat, alert, alarm, a doorway, an exit route, survival. At its most basic, beyond any learned sound signal, the siren is firstly a call to attention, secondly a call to action, and lastly, it faces the future. In warning’s suspended pause we find possible rescue or refuge, a sound that demarcates a way out from past catastrophe.
