Marco: a friend form Simonis

documentary short | 10'16''
trailer

Marco plays guitar and sings to the passers-by in Simonis metro in Brussels since 1984, even knowing that his end is approaching. Two heart-attacks and cancer shook-up his bohemian busker’s life, but he didn’t give up music or painting.

I met Marco when I moved to Brussels and didn’t know almost anyone in this city. I was doing a lot of street photography, wondering around the streets of the new town, talking to strangers. One day of April 2019 I saw him playing for the passers-by and his solitude amongst the people made me stop and listen. The music he was playing was resonating so well with the sight of a man alone in the crowd I dared to approach him we agreed to meet for a talk. This talk transformed into a friendship lasting for almost a year. I learned that he is a very private person, very shy too. Nonetheless, he was comfortable enough one day for me to turn on the camera and capture one of our numerous conversations. Then I filmed him in his usual busking spot – Simonis metro station, performing those songs I heard when we first met. At this point, I realized that they not only reflect that sight I noticed when we first met, but his life story too.

 

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