Cinetopia Salon Presents: Finis Terrae + Live Score

A reimagining of Jean Epstein’s groundbreaking 1929 silent drama with a new, original score performed live.

Presented by Cinetopia Salon, Finis Terrae + Live Score features Jean Epstein's silent masterpiece in a stunning 4K restoration by Gaumont, accompanied by a live performance of a new, original score by Edinburgh-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Dan Abrahams and French drummer Philippe Boudot.

Jean Epstein's 1929 silent masterwork tells the story of four seaweed harvesters on a remote island off the coast of Brittany, cut off from the world as they toil amidst burning pyres of kelp. A petty quarrel arising between two of the group, Ambroise and Jean Marie, quickly turns to tragedy, leaving Ambroise with an undetected poisoned wound. When later he is discovered delirious and feverish, Jean-Marie must take him to nearby Ouessant island, across the fog-laden, turbulent sea, to reach a doctor.

Shot in a documentary-style, using local non-actors, Jean Epstein’s camera reveals an unforgiving, isolated environment where men live a hard, rudimentary existence of toil against the sea and the elements. Through experimental techniques, Epstein frames the landscape, the sky, and the waters in a highly poetic visual style, rich in atmosphere, and a dual sense of menace and beauty. 

Cinetopia is a film events and exhibition company based in Edinburgh with a mission to connect the film industry, foster conversations, and produce engaging opportunities for audiences to experience cinema through various offerings such as film screenings, pop-up cinema, workshops, masterclasses, and networking events.