Under the Sun is a collaboration between composer Maya Shenfeld and filmmaker Pedro Maia. It is based on Shenfeld’s release Under the Sun, and uses hypnotic images by Maia collected from the deep entrails of the Vila Viçosa quarries. The images show the sanguine textures of the Alentejo marble and its gigantic blocks, and symbolize the apparent impassiveness of the planet which we so want to save. Shenfeld’s transcendental soundtrack consists of synths, brass, choral voices and field recordings, and radiates like a beam of sunlight reflected in the deep, turning chaos into a spectacle of dramatic and almost impossible landscapes and scenery.

Pedro Maia is a renowned Portuguese filmmaker pushing the boundaries between analog, digital and live cinema. Working predominantly with 16mm and 8mm film, his practice extends the limits and aesthetic of the analog medium by manipulating the raw materials, challenging the traditional process and continually expanding the visual and technological heritage of classic film methods.

Maya Shenfeld is a Jerusalem born Berlin-based composer and musician. In her practice, Shenfeld explores the intersection between modes of musical production used in popular, electronic, and experimental music. Her debut solo album In Free Fall was released on Thrill Jockey records in 2022. Shenfeld is a graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and the University of the Arts (UdK) Berlin, where she completed an MA in classical guitar and contemporary music composition. Notable compositions and sound installations include the Gay Guerrilla Girls, Five Compositions for the Environmental Song, Outline, and Circles for youth choir.

Commissioned by Semibreve in collaboration with A4  (2023)
This work is available for touring.
Contact for presentations: info@festivalsemibreve.com

Presentations:
Premiered at Semibreve Festival in Braga, Portugal (2023)
Next – Advanced Music Festival by A4, Bratislava, Slovakia (2023)
Elevate Festival 2024, Graz, Austria (2024)
Silent Green, Berlin, Germany (Under the Sun album release show) (2024)
Rewire Festival, The Hague, Netherlands (2024)
donaufestival, Krems a/d Donau, Austria (2024)