Primary Optics: Pedro Maia on creating ‘live cinema’ for music from analogue film

Primary Optics is a series that dives into the ideas and technology behind some of the world’s most innovative audiovisual shows and artists. Pedro Maia is a Portuguese filmmaker based in Berlin who primarily works with 16mm and 8mm film. Using a combination of traditional analogue processing techniques and digital technology, Maia’s work in what he calls “live cinema” has led to collaborations with musicians such as Shapednoise, Vessel and SHXCXCHCXSH. Earlier this year, FACT travelled to Berlin to capture Maia at work at Andec Filmtechnik, an analogue film lab opened in 1984 that is one of the last in Europe. Here, Maia works as a freelancer part time on film processing and digitisation, and also uses the lab’s equipment to form the raw material he needs to create his arresting visuals live on stage. “I like the idea of visual music,” he says. “When I come to a project, my idea is ‘how can I make this a live show, a live film, and a performance?” A musician playing in front of a screen,