영화 이미지에서의 존재도학-샹탈 아케르만의 <동쪽>을 중심으로

Ontography on Cinematic Image-Focused on <D’Est> by Chantal Akerman

This paper explores the aesthetic connection between the formal structure of cinematic images and the concept of “ontography” from Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO), focusing on Chantal Akerman’s film D’Est(1993). D’Est unfolds through long takes and traveling shots, devoid of interviews, narration, or subtitles that help telling a story. It traces the geography and temporality of Eastern Europe in a serial arrangement that emphasizes the irreducible surfaces of images rather than events or meanings. This mode of arrangement can be interpreted as an ontographic practice, dismantling hierarchical distinctions and positioning human and non-human objects on a flat plane. The film’s scenes evoke Latour litanies, with each object asserting itself independently. In doing so, the film frees itself from narrative constraints and invites interpretation and translation by the viewer. This study highlights how the images in D’Est are composed to reveal the equal ontological status of all objects and examines how this visual strategy resonates with the philosophical thinking of Object-Oriented Ontology. Ultimately, it proposes that cinema can reframe the world through a non-anthropocentric gaze and that the aesthetics of the image can become a field for ontological reflection.