Wallball _ Montreal (the Inaugural 24-Hour Wallball Olympiad)

Wallball _ Montreal (the Inaugural 24-Hour Wallball Olympiad)

Building
Camera
Ball/Play
Vacant lot

Inaugural 24-Hour Wallball Olympiad Wallball is a beautiful, spontaneous game -- one that can erupt almost anywhere and on any surface in the city. The exercise recorded here attempts to show that the game can indeed be carried out by people of all ages and backgrounds at any time of the day. As evidenced in sports such as soccer, football, rugby, basketball, and handball (and to some extent in cricket, rounders and baseball), it does not take much more than a ball to be a catalyst for play. This principle is the main feature of Wallball, where the city is your field of play and all you need is a ball to begin. This time taken to complete this exercise covered the period of a day, though breaks were taken for rest and food. The aim was to first go alone to various locations in the city -- to demonstrate how the game could unfold on several different surfaces. As shown, some surfaces work better than others. At times, bystanders and passersby question what is going on, and even participate in the game. That's precisely the point. How can strangers engage with one another simply by sharing a common curiosity or interest? How can a spontaneous activity become sport and in turn a social catalyst? Several locations were visited during this tour of the city: a Metro station, the Olympic Stadium, Palais de Justice, Centaur Theatre, St-Paul Street in Old Montreal, the fragment of the Berlin Wall, Tour de la Bourse, Centre Bell, Place Ville Marie, Westmount Square and Westmount Park School. However, there is one surface in Montreal that is particularly ideal for this event. The final act of the film presents the game unfolding at the Canadian Centre for Architecture to show that the building (legendary for its large facade) is particularly well suited to Wallball. The rules of the game as played in this film are as follows: Throw the ball at the wall. The goal is then to catch the ball after a bounce or two and throw it back against the wall. Should a participant drop the ball, that person must touch the wall before another participant picks the the ball up and throws it against the wall. If the person who dropped the ball fails to touch the wall before the competitor's thrown reaches the wall, then the 'dropper' is 'out.' Moreover, when a contestant touches the ball, drops it, then touches it again (before he or she has touched the wall), this also results in an out. After three such 'outs,' that participant is retired from the game. The decision was made to carry out this game locally during filming. However, a few questions arose during the planning process. Had I contacted my colleagues and friends in various cities around the world, could they all have filmed Wallball in their cities and sent videos back to me? Would doing this have constituted Wallball as an "Action on the World?" If a social networking site was used, such as Twitter, how many people would have responded to the call to play Wallball at the CCA? One hundred? One thousand? IMPORTANT NOTE: When playing this or any other game in public (or private), please be careful at all times when near roads and/or traffic. Please never play on or near a train or subway platform nor near to electrical wires. Please be cautious and prudent at all times.

Acteurs :

Vedanta, friends, the people of Montreal. Inanimate actors: the Canadian Centre for Architecture building, a Metro station, the Olympic Stadium, Palais de Justice, Centaur Theatre, St-Paul Street, Fragment of the Berlin Wall, Tour de la Bourse, Centre Bell, Place Ville Marie, Westmount Square and Westmount Park School.

Lieu : Throughout the City of Montreal March 13-14, 2009

Autres Outils : Specifically, a tennis ball.

Playing