SHORT VIDEO SERIES
La casa de nadie Portrait
A series of filmed portraits created during JazzAscona, away from the stage and the conventions of the interview. Four unexpected words become points of departure for conversations shaped by association, memory and the immediacy of the moment.
What comes to mind when you hear "art"?
Conceived and directed by José Pino, La casa de nadie Portrait begins with a simple premise: four words, chosen beforehand and revealed to each artist only when filming begins. Nothing is prepared, and there is no expected answer. The first response is enough to begin.
From there, the conversation finds its own course. A word may call up a memory, an image, a place — or another word. Connections appear and disappear; thoughts change direction. What matters is less the answer itself than the movement it sets in motion.
The setting is an old stone landing in a former fishing village on the shores of Lake Maggiore. The artists sit close to the water, surrounded by mountains, shifting light and reflections. JazzAscona continues nearby, but here its stages, schedules and audiences recede from view.
This distance changes the rhythm. There is time for a thought to remain unfinished, for a pause to become part of the conversation, for an unexpected association to lead somewhere else. The camera stays with these moments without asking them to become conclusions.
La casa de nadie Portrait is neither a conventional interview nor a prepared statement. It is a record of something taking place in the moment: an artist confronted with four words, following the connections they provoke.
Across the series, what remains is not a collection of answers, but a succession of gestures, memories, hesitations and thoughts — nine individual ways of responding to the unexpected.
Portraits
Nine portraits were filmed during JazzAscona 2023, featuring Bo Dollis Jr., Amina Scott, Niccolò Monté Rizzi, Jesse McBride, David L. Harris, Manon Mullener, John Boutté, Ella Yépez Knecht and Bryce Eastwood.
Each artist was invited to speak in the language they felt most at ease with — English, Italian or Spanish — allowing each conversation to unfold in its own voice and rhythm.
Subtitling, developed in collaboration with Swiss Hypertext, is an integral part of the project. Each voice remains in its original language, while translation creates a passage between languages and makes the portraits accessible across linguistic boundaries.
In La casa de nadie Portrait, different languages coexist without being made uniform — each preserving its own voice while becoming accessible to others.
La casa de nadie Portrait
Behind The Scenes
Photos © 2023 Martina Knecht
La casa de nadie Portrait
Short video series (9 episodes)
Concept, Direction, Camera, Sound & Editing: José Pino
Casting, Production Design & Editing: Martina Knecht
Cast: Bo Dollis Jr., Amina Scott, Niccolò Monté Rizzi, Jesse McBride, David L. Harris, Manon Mullener, John Boutté, Ella Yépez Knecht, Bryce Eastwood
Mixing & Mastering: Ask Kæreby, José Pino
Subtitling: Swiss Hypertext
Production: La casa de nadie, Switzerland, 2023
Release: YouTube
Copyright: © 2023 José Pino
La casa de nadie thanks JazzAscona for the press accreditation and the support of its Press Office, with special thanks to Luca Martinelli. We also thank CISA – International Academy of Audiovisual Sciences, Locarno, for its support in the production of the series.