09 JUL – 12 AGO 2025
The artist Ilaria Di Carlo presents a vertical reissue of her multi-award-winning piece La Via Divina.
Curator: Mario Gutiérrez Cru. Supported by PROYECTOR.
In its vertical version for OBLIQUO, La Vía Divina expands upwards and downwards like the staircase climbed by its protagonist, inviting the viewer to follow an endless path. Freely inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, the piece takes us into a labyrinth of more than fifty real staircases—captured in different locations in Germany—that follow one another and transform, each with its own architectural character and atmosphere.
In this journey, the protagonist descends and ascends through spaces that seem to take her to both dreamlike landscapes and areas of disturbing indefiniteness. The physical journey becomes a symbolic one: the staircases as a metaphor for inner travel, for searching, for confrontation with the unknown.
The choice of vertical format in OBLIQUO intensifies this perception, aligning the viewer’s body with the direction of movement and turning the screen into a physical extension of the ascent/descent itself. In dialogue with the urban space, the work acts as a visual portal: an opening in the architecture that refers both to European architectural memory and to personal and spiritual journey.
In the artist’s words, ‘sometimes the path pushes us into total darkness to see where the light really comes from.’ In La Vía Divina, that path is materialised in the precise geometry of the steps, in the hypnotic repetition of turns and landings, and in the certainty that, even if the end is uncertain, the movement never stops.
OBLIQUO
Calle Valencia 17, Madrid.
Monday to Sunday from 9am to 10pm.
The Divine Way
15:00
2018
“The path to paradise begins in hell” — Dante Alighieri
Loosely based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, The Divine Way takes us along on the protagonist’s epic descent through an endless labyrinth of staircases. As the woman journeys deeper, the staircases mutate and she is trapped and pulled into their dangerous landscape, conducting us through more than fifty magnificent locations.
Director’s Statement
The Divine Way reflects on the themes of identity and self-discovery journey in relation to architecture and landscape. Fascinated by the architectural beauty of staircases, my artistic intention was to make a film that takes place only in staircases and that expresses emotions translated into pictures. The film was shot in fifty different locations and collects some of the most impressive staircases in Germany. Symbolically, a stairway always suggests a journey. In psychoanalysis, staircases often represent the subconscious and twisting landscapes of our personalities that can turn us in so many different and contrasting directions.Loosely based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, the film depicts the mystical path of life’s journey, which sometimes pushes us into total darkness, in order to see where the light truly comes from.
Muestras / Shows
2018 Festival PROYECTOR. Embajadores, 18, Madrid; Le Cube. Rabat
2010 De humor para hoy. Big Screen Project, N. York; y Esto es una plaza, Madrid;
ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA – ? Barbara Aronofsky Latham Award for an Emerging Experimental Video Artist
CORK FILM FESTIVAL, Cork, Ireland
OBERHAUSEN INTERNATIONALE KURZFILMTAGE, Oberhausen, Germany (Emerging Artists)
CLERMONT-FERRAND SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Clermont-Ferrand, France (Emerging Artists)
ODENSE INT. FILM FESTIVAL, Odense, Denmark
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL (Short Film Corner), Cannes, France
TEHRAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Tehran, Iran
BLACK MARIA FILM FESTIVAL, New Jersey, Usa ? Jury Stellar Award for Experimental
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FILMS ON ART, Montreal, Canada
FESTIVAL TOUS COURT OF AIX-EN-PROVENCE, Aix-En-Provence, France
FESTIVAL DE FILMS DES FEMMES DE CRETEIL, Creteil, France ? Audience Award
ASOLO ART FILM FESTIVAL, Asolo, Italy
FOTOGRAMMA D’ORO SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Messina, Italy ?Best Scenography
MOLODIST KYIV INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Kyiv, Ukraine (Emerging Artists)
OPEN AIR FILMFEST WEITERSTADT, Weiterstadt, Germany
BAMBERGER KURZFILMTAGE, Bamberg, Germany
FILMFEST DRESDEN INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Dresden, Germany
INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL ÖSNABRUCK, Ösnabruck, Germany
INTERNATIONALE KURZFILMWOCHE REGENSBURG, Regensburg, Germany
FESTIVAL OF FILMS ON CONTEMPORARY ART, Naples, Italy
FILMKUNSTFEST MV, Schwerin, Germany
KÜSTENDORF FILM & MUSIC FESTIVAL, Drvengrad, Serbia ?Jury Special Mention
REGARD – SAUGENAY INT. SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Saugenay, Canada
TIRANA FILM FESTIVAL, Tirana, Albania
MOSTRA INVIDEO, Milano, Italy
ST. LOUIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ST. Louis, USA
EUROSHORTS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, Warsaw, Poland ?Best Experimental Film
FESTIVAL SGUARDI ALTROVE, Milan, Italy
RENCONTRES TRAVERSE VIDÉO, Toulouse, France
SAN FRANCISCO INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, San Francisco, USA
SHORTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Trieste, Italy
BRUSSELS INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, Brussels, Belgium
CELLU L’ART SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Jena, Germany
OPENEYES FILMFEST MARBURG, Marburg, Germany ?3rd Prize Best Experimental Film
TIBURON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Tiburon, CA, USA ?Best Experimental Film
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO FESTIVAL VIDEOMEDEJA, Novi Sad, Serbia
ALTER-NATIVE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Mures, Romania
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO ART OF CASABLANCA, Casablanca, Morocco
INTERNATIONAL KANSK VIDEO FESTIVAL, Kansk, Russia
AKBANK SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Istanbul, Turkey
FESTIVAL NAZIONALE DEL VIDEOCORTO DI NETTUNO, Nettuno, Italy ?Bronze Prize
ICARO FESTIVAL INT. DE CINE EN CENTROAMERICA, Guatemala City, Guatemala
IZMIR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Izmir, Turkey (Emerging Artists)
SEMANA DEL CORTOMETRAJE COMUNIDAD de MADRID, Madrid, Spain
ZEBRA POETRY FILM FESTIVAL, Berlin, Germany
SORIA INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM CERTAMEN, Soria, Spain
FLENSBURGER KURZFILMTAGE, Flensburg, Germany ?Best Experimental Film
DOC BUENOS AIRES/ CINE DE ARTISTAS, Buenos Aires, Argentina
FILM FEST KOSOVO GODDESS OF THE THRONE, Prishtine, Kosovo
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SIGNS OF NIGHT, Bangkok, Thailand
ON ART FILM FESTIVAL, Warsaw, Poland
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SIGNS OF NIGHT, Paris, France ?Jury Special Mention
NICE EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Nice, France
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL MERIDIAN PACIFIC, Vladivostok, Russia (Emerging Artists)
BIENAL INTERNACIONAL DE VIDEO Y CINE CONTEMPORÁNEO VIDEOFEST, Ensenada, Tijuana, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
FUSION FESTIVAL, Lärz, Germany
LA FETE DE L’ART, Chicoutimi, Canada
CORTI VIVI FILM FESTIVAL, Soliera, Italy ?Best Film
SKEPTO SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Cagliari, Italy
CORTINAMETRAGGIO SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy ?Best Cinematography
FESTIVAL INTERNAZIONALE SEGNI DELLA NOTTE, Urbino, Italy
ANOTHER EXPERIMENT BY WOMEN FILM FESTIVAL, New York City, USA
EXPERIMENTS IN CINEMA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
PROYECTOR, VIDEO ART FESTIVAL, Madrid, Spain
FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE DE PONFERRADA, Ponferrada, Spain ?Best Audiovisual about Architecture
IN OUT EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Gdansk, Poland ?First Prize
SI FEST OFF, Savignano del Rubicone, Italy
SANTA FE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, Santa Fe, NM, USA
MOSTRA STRANGLOSCOPE, Florianopolis, Brazil
CINETORO EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, Valle, Colombia
LUND ARCHITECTURE FILM FESTIVAL, Lund, Sweden
ARCHITECTURE FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM, Rotterdam, Holland
ARQUITETURAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Lisbon, Portugal
LONDON ARCHITECTURE FILM FESTIVAL, London, England ?Best Experimental Film
FILM & ARCHITECTURE FESTIVAL 2018, Prague, Czech Republic
FICARQ FESTIVAL DE CINE Y ARQUITECTURA, Madrid, Spain ?Best Filmed Architecture
CINETEKTON FESTIVAL DE CINEMA Y ARCHITECTURA, Mexico City, Mexico
CINEMA URBANA // ARCHITECTURE FILM FESTIVAL, Brasilia, Brazil
ARCHCINE INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE FILM FESTIVAL – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
WORLD ARCHITECTURE FESTIVAL, Amsterdam, Netherlands
ARQUITECTURA EN CORTO, Barcelona, Spain
RIGA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Riga, Latvia
ON ART // WRO ART CENTER, Wroclaw, Polland
FIVA FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE VIDEOARTE, Buenos Aires, Argentina ? Second Prize
FIVAC FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE VIDEO ARTE DE CAMAGÜEY, Camagüey, Cuba
VIDEOBABEL FESTIVAL – VIDEO ARTE- EXPERIMENTAL AUDIVOISUAL, Cusco, Peru ?Honorable Mention
INTERMEDIACIONES – FESTIVAL DE VIDEO ARTE Y CINE EXPERIMENTAL, Medellin, Colombia
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL CANTON, Guangdong, China
BOGOTÁ EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL // CINEAUTOPSIA, Bogotá, Colombia
LINEA D’OMBRA FILM FESTIVAL, Salerno, Italy
MEME PAS PEUR INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL, Reunion Island
FICMARC CARIBBEAN SEA INT. FILM FESTIVAL, Island of Margarita, Venezuela ?Best Experimental Short Film
DORTMUND TRESEN FILM FESTIVAL, Dortmund, Germany
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL OF CYPRUS, Limassol, Cyprus
TAGE DES DEUTSCHEN FILMS, Cinemateque of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
CORTO DORICO SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Ancona, Italy
SHORT TO THE POINT FESTIVAL, Romania ?Best Experimental Film
WINCHESTER FILM FESTIVAL, Winchester, UK
IBRIDA FESTIVAL of MULTIMEDIA ARTS, Forlì, Italia
VISIONÄR FILM FESTIVAL, Berlin, Germany
CAIRO VIDEO FESTIVAL, Cairo, Egypt
PHILOSOFICAL FILM FESTIVAL, Skopje, Macedonia (Emerging Artists)
ENCUENTRO PARA CINEFAGOS// FESTIVAL DE CINE ARTE EN LA FRONTERA, San Cristobal, Venezuela ?Best Video Art
TIME is LOVE VIDEO ART FESTIVAL, Madrid, Spain
VIDEO ART MIDEN, Athens, Greece
CARDIFF MINI FILM FESTIVAL, Cardiff, England
SNOWDANCE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, Germany
INTERNATIONAL MOTION FESTIVAL, Nicosia, Cyprus
CODEC INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM & VIDEO ART, Mexico City, Mexico
PIAZZE DI CINEMA, Cesena, Italy
MINIKINO FILM FESTIVAL, Bali, Indonesia
LISALUNA KURZFILM FESTIVAL, Duisburg, Germany
MALTER VANDOR FILM FESTIVAL, Debrecen, Hungary
CLUJSHORTS- INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
ALTAN KHALIS INETRENATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia ?Best Experimental Film
SHORTS FRINGE – AZORES FRINGE FESTIVAL, Azores, Portugal
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL CANTON, Guangdong, China
CERVIGNANO FILM FESTIVAL, Cervignano, Italy ?Best Montage
FESTIVAL DE FINOS FILMES, Sao Paolo, Brazil
CIVITANOVA FILM FESTIVAL, Civitanova, Italy
MALATESTA SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Cesena, Italy ?Best Experimental Film
BOSTON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
VISIONÄR FILM FESTIVAL, Berlin, Germany
MOVE CINE ARTE, Sao Paolo, Brazil ? Best Dialogue between Video & Art
DOOR KINETIC ARTS FESTIVAL, Door County, WI, USA
THE QUARANTINE FILM FESTIVAL, Varna, Bulgaria
STOCKHOLM EXPERIMENTAL & ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL, Stockholm, Sweden ?Best Experimental Film
THE UNSEEN FESTIVAL, Denver, Co, USA
PROCESSO DE ERROR, Valparaiso, Chile
BLUE DANUBE FILM FESTIVAL, Vienna, Austria/ Budapest Hungary
LA FêTE DE L’ART, Chicoutimi, Canada
GODDESS ON THE THONE FILM FESTIVAL, Pristina, Kossovo
LOOPS EXPANDEND, International Network of Video Art
ONDAVIDEO, Pisa, Italy
CINE ESQUEMA NOVO, Porto Alegre, Brazil
WWVF, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
LOOPS. LISBOA, Lisbon, Portugal
OLBIA FILM NETWORK, Olbia, Italy
OTHERMOVIE LUGANO FILM FESTIVAL, Lugano, Switzerland
CORTI IN FESTIVAL, Altamura, Italy
CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI INT’L FILM FESTIVAL, Pune, Maharashtra, India ?Best Concept Award
BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN FILM FESTIVAL, Beirut, Lebanon
OPEN WINDOW FILM FESTIVAL, Kolkata, India ?Best Innovative Experimental Film
GREAT MESSAGE TO MAN FILM FESTIVAL, Kolkata, India
CINEMAZERO FILM FESTIVAL, Trento, Italy
FIRENZE FILM FESTIVAL, Firenze, Italy
BROKEN SCREEN FILM FESTIVAL, Buenos Aires, Argentina
AFSAD INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Ankara, Turkey
MOSCOW SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Moscow, Russia ?Best Experimental Film
LE PRINCE INT. FILM FESTIVAL, Caracas, Venezuela
LITTLE ISLAND MOVING IMAGES FESTIVAL, Amorgos, Greece
SHORT FILM FEST SAN GIOVANNI, Pesaro, Italy ?Best Fiction Film
ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, Istanbul, Turkey
ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, Istanbul, Turkey (Emerging Artists)
BEYOND HEART FILM FESTIVAL, Kolkata, India
LINZ INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, Linz, Austria
NORTH EUROPE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, London, UK
OLYMPIA SHORT CUTS FESTIVAL, Olympia, Washington, USA
BUENOS AIRES FILM FESTIVAL, Buenos Aires, Argentina ?Best Experimental Film
ATHENS MARATHON FILM FESTIVAL, Athens, Greece
Ilaria Di Carlo
Ilaria Di Carlo is a visual artist working in the fields of filmmaking, scenography, installation, and the performing arts. Raised in Italy, she graduated with honours in Scenography from the Fine Arts Academy in Rome and holds a Master in Scenography from the prestigious Central Saint Martin’s College of Art in London. She subsequently studied Digital Film Production at the SAE Institute of Berlin.
Her current artistic work focuses on moving images and experimental films that explore the theme of journey and the language of identity in relation or in contrast with landscape and architecture. Her films are highly visual and aesthetic, inspired by the influence and symbolism of the scenography.
As a theatre director, she has staged the durational performance Double/Act and the site-specific performance Booloohoom – Nocturne I, loosely based on James Joyce’s Ulysses. Her performance The Black Book inspired her to make her first short film, The Black Book of L. Her short film The Divine Way has won several awards and have been screened in festivals and galleries worldwide such as in Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Tehran Short Film Festival, Festival Tous Courts of Aix-en-Provence, Films de Femmes in Creteil and many others.
She has worked as a set, lighting, and costume designer for theatre and film, and as an actress in the total radical fiction theatre ensemble of Vegard Vinge & Ida Müller since 2011. She was also Vinge’s director assistant for the piece 12 Spartenhaus, performed at the Volksbühne in 2013.
She lives and works in Berlin.