As it happened, I was able to accompany the wonderful Omani Frei to the Cinanima Festival in Espinho in 2021. Inspired by the concentrated load of animated films, I started working on my own animated film while still there.
The song Ufo by Yok Quetschenpaua, which has been with me for a long time, is the template for this and is now being filmed in an English and German version in an animated cartoon. 🎉
The song, freshly mastered from the studio, is here. Bilingual, of course:
I gather three other musicians – Atze, Henk & Achim – around me to record the song in the recording studio. We rehearse for six weeks and on 25 February the time has come and we record in the Virtuos Vibes recording studio in Dresden.
In parallel, the great Alina Milkina creates the world in which the film will take place. Berlin as a cartoon:
The text is ready. \o/
Still in Espinho, I start working on the storyboard and the translation of the German text, with great support from the lovely Brad Hock.
As a participant in the mp3+4 :: 4 Werke project of the Neustadt Art Kollektiv, I was allowed to put my song Alex into a film in cooperation with the gifted painter Helena Zubler and the up-and-coming artist Alexa Paul. I am supported by the great Omani Frei.
🥳 Alex was awarded for the second time and will be shown at the 18th Der Phantastische Trashfilm festival from 5 to 7 May in Kassel. Keep it up!
Not quite, but almost: The Courage Film Festival voted Alex into the semi-finals. Then the screening time was out. 🤣 Still, the first laurels, and at a festival where Alex definitely belongs. Thank you!
It is done, the film is released.
The colouring of the drawings by Alexa Paul is completed. Now the last step is to assemble the pictures into a film. The video has to be ready by 30 April. ⏱️
Helena has finished the nine drawings. The colouring is now done by Alexa Paul.
Ich habe – parallel zum Song Anarchia – mit den Musikern Atze, Henk und Achim eine Version des Songs einstudiert und aufgenommen. Wir haben uns dabei den Spaß gegönnt, mit Banjo, Waschbrett und Kontrabass zu arbeiten. Herausgekommen ist ein Stück Leichtigkeit, das ihr hier schon einmal genießen dürft:
I rehearsed and recorded a version of the song with the musicians Atze, Henk and Achim. We had the fun of working with banjo, washboard and double bass. The result is a piece of lightness that you can enjoy here:
The project is funded and we are excited to create a total of four videos with three other art teams. Helena, Omani and I have had the first video call and I have submitted my storyboard to Helena for submission.