trailer trash

Sundance 2011 proved to be one of the biggest and brightest in recent years. While a stellar selection in both the fiction and documentary categories delighted audiences and critics, distributors were striking deals with a zeal unseen in recent years. As the documentary elite fly back from snowy Utah, and Robert Redford looks mournfully at the mess they’ve left behind, we’re looking over the prizes awarded to 2011’s documentaries.

U.S. Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize
How to Die in Oregon (Peter D. Richardson)
A contentious film about a hot-button issue, How to Die in Oregon snubs the rhetoric surrounding legalised euthanasia in favour of a close look at two personal stories. Winning universal acclaim from critics and audiences, it seems that Peter Richardson has succeeded unreservedly. Conventional wisdom might suggest that the Grand Jury Prize points towards an Academy Award for Best Documentary, but the two prizes haven’t shared a winner since 1991’s American Dream.

Winner of the Special Jury Prize, U.S. Documentary Competition
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey (Constance Marks)
An audience favourite, Being Elmo wins a prize previously won by No End In Sight and The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. If a little more lightweight than those films, Being Elmo was deservedly beloved by the jury. A heartwarming portrait of the voice of one of the greatest Muppets, Being Elmo follows Kevin Clash from his days of backyard puppet shows to the Daytime Emmys. Critics have had mixed reactions: Katy Rich of Cinemablend.com writes that, “there’s so much joy crammed into the film that there’s no time to notice the lack of depth”, while Daniel Fienberg of HitFix notes that “the emphasis is strongly on manipulative moments”. Audience hearts remain melted.

Winner of the World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Documentary Film
Position Among the Stars (Leonard Retel Helmrich)
Stand van de Sterren - to give Position Among the Stars its native name - took the Special Jury Prize for the Netherlands after flattening the competition at IDFA in November. Winner of the IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, and the award for Best Dutch Documentary, Stars follows an elderly Indonesian woman as she contemplates society’s rapid transformation over the past decades.

Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award
Project Nim (James Marsh)
James Marsh’s follow-up to the smash hit Man on Wire carried the burden of great expectations, but Marsh’s skill for observation and choosing terrific stories has not abated. The tale of a chimpanzee raised to communicate with scientists, Nim allows the director to deftly explore the questionable validity of the project, while never detracting from the magic of the story. Anthony Kaufman of Screen International calls Project Nim “not exactly the wild fun ride of Man On Wire, but it’s quite a trip all the same”.

Elsewhere, the prized Audience awards were given to Buck in the US category and Senna in the international category - one of three wins for the UK this year. Both portraits of extraordinary men, each film was acclaimed by the paying public. Buck, doomed to be dubbed ‘the real-life Horse Whisperer‘ until the end of time, is nonetheless a certified crowd-pleaser. The story of Buck Brannaman and his talent for intuiting the thoughts and emotions of horses seems set for a wide release. Senna tells the story of the brief but glorious life of F1 driver Ayrton Senna. Asif Kapadia’s story seems to push all the right buttons, and for a film about Formula 1 to win over a mainly American audience is no mean feat. As Germain Lussier of Slashfilm puts it, “more than just a great sports story, Senna is a great story, period”.

If A Tree Falls and The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 scooped the US and World Cinema editing prizes respectively. If a Tree Falls has been acclaimed for bringing a real kinetic energy and sense of urgency to proceedings, in a documentary about the radical conservationists ELF: the Earth Liberation Front. The Hollywood Reporter writes that, “Curry and co-editor Matthew Hamachek assemble the wide-ranging material into an informative, compelling story line”. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, similarly, arranges an array of archive, photographs and interview footage from a staggering period of time into a definitive document of the era.

Praising Sundance’s continued support for both documentary and dramatic categories, Kenneth Turan wrote for the Los Angeles Times that Sundance remains “as important a non-fiction showcase as any festival in the world”. On the evidence of this year’s crop, and the presence of Sundance 2010 films at this year’s Oscars, we would be inclined to agree.

Imagine ‘Your Life: The Movie’. All it takes is you, a camera and a dash of ingenuity to make a record of daily goings-on into your very own biopic. The results, once posted on YouTube, will be available to anyone in the world who cares to watch. The concept isn’t entirely new; enterprising amateur filmmakers have already embraced the challenge and the term ‘vlogging’ (that is, a video blog) has entered new media vocabulary.

Well-established filmmakers Kevin Macdonald and Ridley Scott, inspired by the prolific output of the YouTube generation, have added a broad new dimension to the idea for their upcoming documentary venture. The video-sharing website, which celebrated its five year anniversary this February and now has a daily offering of around 2 billion films, is the perfect springboard for a global scheme like this. Those responsible for the film want the creative power behind its content to be put into the hands of the world’s population. They’ve encouraged people to film aspects of their everyday lives which will be edited into a feature length narrative, in the hope that it will provide an animated snapshot of 21st century life. Now that all the entries have been submitted, Macdonald and his team are left with the mammoth task of filtering around 10,000 hours of amateur footage. The finished product will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Life in a Day is a unique experiment in terms of both scale and scope and something unlikely to be achieved by less than top directors, who are able to conjure up mass exposure for the project. Macdonald, in an enlightening interview with Empire Magazine, explains how Scott’s company Scott Free approached him to take part. He’s a wise choice for the job having directed two award-winning documentaries, One Day in September and Touching the Void.

Away from the technological side, Macdonald’s passion for the project lies in the anthropology. By assembling fragments of life from all parts of the world he expects a more complete picture of society to form, a sort of 21st century ‘time-capsule’ for future generations. Encouraging the general public to be daring and resourceful will hopefully spur people’s creativity further and provide a boost for the arts industry.

Some people aren’t so sure about the much-heralded experimental nature of the project. Blog writers have pointed out that similar films have already been attempted and had little success.  It’s definitely ambitious and a lot rides on people submitting enough footage to construct a decent film. Macdonald and Scott will have their work cut out making something totally fresh and insightful because YouTube broadcasting is already such a huge part of people’s lives. On the other hand the videos have never been put together quite like this before, condensing global experience to convey a message. With the world’s population in charge, it’s likely it’ll be something worth saying.

Ten new notifications! And two friend requests! Add an event invitation or two and you’ll be basking in your Facebook popularity. You definitely won’t be attending the charity fundraiser being held by your best friend’s sister and you only dimly remember the existence of those old school friends demanding your attention…but still, there’s satisfaction in at least being recognised on others’ social radars.

Whether you check it six times a day or take the stance of digital conscientious objector there’s little chance you’ve avoided the phenomenon that is Facebook.  The social networking site is known to be a great place for generating buzz, whether for a private party or a public outcry calling the world to arms. It has caused various media stirs for its role in promoting controversial fan groups or exposing photos which should really have stayed offline.

The site itself has had its own share of publicity, largely negative, with much of it prompted by courtroom dramas. The trials and tribulations of founder Mark Zuckerberg since Facebook’s launch six years ago have involved fighting billion dollar lawsuits from his co-founders who are unhappy with his management.

The founder of Facebook? Look no further

Inspired by this, new feature film The Social Network recounts Facebook’s story from its alleged booze-fuelled origin to early accusations of idea-snatching from fellow Harvard students. The film first caused a fuss online with the release of a trailer portraying Zuckerberg’s rise as a gripping thriller, the early bedroom beginnings making way for corporate boardrooms, via glamorous girls and wild parties, as Facebook’s concept skyrockets beyond belief.

So will this ‘rags’ to vast riches story have any interest for the public? Initial blog responses suggested not. Opinions were mainly along the lines of “boring idea” and took issue with the ‘Hollywoodising’ of the story. An article by the Times described Zuckerberg’s portrayal in the film as that of a “ruthless and untrustworthy sex maniac”, a far cry from the quiet computer type you might expect. Director David Fincher will have a hard task making Zuckerberg’s laddish image believable if his media appearances are anything to go by. An interview with Zuckerberg succeeds in reinforcing the geek image. The 26 year old elaborates on what sparked the Facebook idea, explaining that the rise of communication and information sharing was his greatest inspiration.

No indication of seedy motivations then.  Zuckerberg may be the poster-boy for web success, but not all start-ups have such happy endings. Two JTD titles examine the ups and downs of the internet revolution since its emergence in the early 1990s. Message in a Bubble examines the early years of dot-com culture, where ruthlessness and risk-taking propelled enterprising individuals into the World Wide Web and just as quickly fuelled their destruction. Director James Stanford wanted to examine how business has been transformed by the “volatile and fast-moving” nature of the Internet. The more recent film Us Now sees global communication and the willingness to share as key steps towards a new form of mass collaboration. Emphasis is put on the interactive approach people now take to progress, whether it be social, political or cultural. It’s a reminder that despite its flaws, the Internet has also changed the way we interact, meaning ideas can go stratospheric at the click of a button.

The Social Network premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 24th, and has gone on worldwide release after overwhelming positive reviews and Oscar buzz. The world really does want to watch the story of Facebook. This pacy, dramatic version of Zuckerberg’s media ascent, colourfully decorated with a large quantity of artistic license, is guaranteed to be the talk of the social networks. No matter how they come across on screen, Zuckerberg and friends are here to stay.

They may not have the same level of media hype as Cannes, Sundance and Berlin but the film festivals which take place off the mainstream radar are still great places for seeing quality documentaries. The autumn season recently kicked off in Toronto, but there was plenty of opportunity for films to showcase themselves around the globe during the summer.

A cosmic dream becomes reality

Down in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia’s Melbourne International Festival from 22nd July to 8th August offered few world premieres but was a good opportunity for catching up on any missed gems. The documentary section featured the eye-opening Space Tourists. Having won the World Cinema Directing Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, this film continues to make an impact with its exploration of cosmic ambitions. It’s a chance to see how those who take the trip into orbit justify the $20 million price tag.

Elsewhere on the line-up was Catfish, the tale of American photographer Nev Schulman (a friend of director Henry Joost) facing the perils of social networking. A friendship with a young fan which burgeons over Facebook takes a strange twist when Schulman becomes involved with the girl’s older sister. Seeing as Facebook has just reached the 500 million users milestone, it serves as a very topical cautionary tale against being too trusting online.

The DokuFest International Documentary and Short Film Festival in Kosovo (31st July – 7th August) divided its documentaries into categories including View from the World, Green Docs and Europe Next Door. In the latter group, the 25-minute home-grown entry Living in a Ghetto provides a short insight into the host country and the oppressive effect EU policies have on Kosovan lives. Another Balkan film is The World According to Ion.B, which premiered at the 2010 Hot Docs Canadian International Festival. It looks at the rise of collage artist Ion Baraldeanu from one of Bucharest’s homeless to the host of his own gallery exhibition. The transformation of fortune is the stuff of fairytales but is not without its challenges for the charismatic Romanian.

Teens aim to dazzle with the tricks of their trade

The Los Angeles Film Festival is a great example of the film industry breaking the mould. Despite its glitzy Hollywood setting, the festival values artistic merit and independent production over big names and budgets. This has led to The Documentary Award being one of the top two juried prizes available, and this year the prize went to director J. Clay Tweel for Make Believe. It concerns The World Magic Seminar, held annually in Las Vegas, which is the arena for the Teen World Championship. Aspiring young magicians from all over the world with incredible talent gather to pit their skills against each other. The nature of illusion is examined as we see the boundary between magic and reality paralleled with the transition from childhood to maturity. While the tricks themselves are awe-inspiring, it’s this human drama which succeeded in winning the LA judges over. A full list of winners and jury statements can be viewed here.

To discover more festival offerings this autumn, visit Film Festival World for a comprehensive calendar of events.

Comic-Con...the ultimate display of geek porn.

At the biggest comic book and popular arts convention in the world it’s unsurprising that being called a geek isn’t considered an insult. It would be more accurate to say that it’s an honour. Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego is a self-proclaimed nerd fest and the hordes of fans who attend display their passion for all things geek with unabashed enthusiasm.

Comic-Con started life in the 1970s as a small convention attended by 300 dedicated comic book fans. How times have changed.  In recent years hardly a month has gone by without the release of a superhero or graphic novel adaptation.  Geek culture has broken into the mainstream and Comic-Con is now a key commercial date in the Hollywood calendar.  The event is a showcase for established and upcoming film, TV and comic book projects within the genres of fantasy, sci-fi and horror.  Over its four day proceedings, anyone who’s anyone in the fantasy world turns up to give talks, host panels and screen exclusive footage to fans eager for as much industry insight as possible. These offerings are feverishly scrutinised all over the web, as fans blog and Twitter hard with their thoughts on their favourite fantasy creations.

And what fans they are.  Legions of film-goers and comic readers are what make the convention unique with their dedication to the worlds of superheroes and monsters, and they have high standards.  The audience response here is known to be critical, and the creative forces behind the projects must surely go back to the drawing board if the crowd verdict is less than favourable.  Post-convention analysis often gives a good indication of what impressed audiences and what didn’t live up to their high expectations. The fans ultimately have the power to make or break the filmmakers’ efforts.  Quite often, this will be done whilst in elaborate costume.  The crowds always turn up in an imaginative array of fancy dress to emphasise their dedication to the fanbase.  Extreme dressing is preferred; both ends of the spectrum are represented, with full body suits and scantily clad outfits all the rage.

Ackerman...the Pope of fantasy fiction.

You have to be impressed by the amount of passion whipped up for what are essentially freakish and monstrous creations.  A true fanboy will most likely have a collection of relevant memorabilia and avidly seek out as much information on the subject as possible.  This form of hobby may seem like it is driven by new media phenomenon, but has its roots early in the 20th century.  The first ever World Science Fiction Convention was held in 1939 and was a pioneering event for geek culture.  It was attended by one Forrest J Ackerman, a key figure in cultural history who in 1954 coined the term ‘sci-fi’ and in the process laid the foundations for modern fandom.

Famous in the business but not a household name, Ackerman’s legacy deserves to be recognised by a wider audience given the dominance of the sci-fi and fantasy genres in modern pop culture.  The JTD title Famous Monster takes a look at the life of the ultimate über-nerd, from his vast collection of fantasy memorabilia to his position as editor of the horror mag Famous Monsters of Filmland. It’s an introduction to the man behind the monsters and a warm celebration of his achievements, made fittingly by “Uncle Forry”’s own devotees.

Ackerman championed artists he felt were worthy of public attention and allowed readers an insight into contemporary developments in the horror and fantasy genres.  The film is a tribute to the man who was in many ways responsible for the huge success of events such as Comic-Con, as well as all those who dress up as monsters- just because they can.

The truth of the Cheonan's demise is hidden beneath the waves

Earlier this year a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, claimed 46 lives when it sank off the coast of North Korea. The events surrounding this tragedy were unclear, with noncommittal comments from both Korean countries.  Speculation and rumours appear frequently in press coverage. As more details emerge the initial suggestion that an explosives accident was to blame has been abandoned. This is a serious case of geopolitical intrigue. The eventual conclusion is that North Korea had in fact released a deadly torpedo attack on the Cheonan. The UN Security Council are now involved, which conveys the magnitude of the event for the international community.

This summer sees the 10th anniversary of another political minefield ignited by naval events. The Kursk disaster involved the sinking of the Russian fleet’s most advanced submarine following an undersea explosion. Following the loss of the Kursk the Russian government’s reaction was enigmatic, especially considering 118 sailors had been killed.  Despite question marks over the political motivations which could have prompted the disaster, the generally accepted scenario is that the Kursk’s fate was down to its “own torpedo mishap”; at least, this is the version of events according to the all-knowing Wikipedia.

A French documentary aims to uncover the truth behind the PR mask. Kursk: A Submarine in Troubled Waters is a persuasive piece of film-making providing an in-depth look at the consequences of the event, encompassing politics, media and personal tragedy. The film’s position certainly isn’t neutral, but the evidence is convincing and it is easy to believe that there is far more going on behind the scenes than the public gets to see.  The film is available for viewing on the jtd website here.

Kursk highlights the extent to which the former President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, controlled the event’s outfall.  One of the most disturbing moments in the film is the statement that had the situation worsened between Russia and the USA, the world could have been facing a conflict on the scale of a third World War, and this time it would be nuclear. To get a sense of the historical and political background from the Cold War to the present day, have a look at the jtd title The Putin System which charts his rise to power and puts things into perspective.

Russia looked to their President for decisive action and were left wanting

It is very interesting to acknowledge the parallels between the Kursk and the murky tragedy of the Cheonan. The more recent crisis again seems to be a dramatic turning point for geopolitical relations. North and South Korea are in fact technically still at war, having only signed an armistice (rather than an official peace treaty) back in 1953. A report by the BBC conveys the extent to which the relationship between the two countries continues to be strained, particularly in light of the Cheonan’s sinking, and can be viewed here. This film displays examples of military officials dodging responsibility and evading the truth, as Kursk does, and one wonders just how much is being hidden below the political surface.

South Africa has had a media makeover. The nation is currently riding high on its triumphant hosting of one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar, the football World Cup. Amongst the guaranteed reams of newspaper analysis and hours of in-depth television punditry, coverage was also dedicated to the social impact of hosting the event.

Given its generally negative perception as a violent and strife-ridden society, South Africa had been a controversial choice for World Cup host, but the competition came and went without major incident. The football community breathed a sigh of relief, and a positive lasing legacy now seems possible with tourism and industry getting a much need boost.

Sport and politics, a force to be reckoned with?

The arts provide a wide scope for exploring what it means to be a modern, progressive South Africa, and films in particular are an important medium for expressing both the darkness and light at the heart of a recovering nation. The country is proving itself to be a burgeoning player in the film market, with the 31st Durban International Film Festival (22nd July-1 August) screening nine world premieres of South African feature films and an extensive documentary programme proclaiming “a sharp insight into a spectrum of African realities”. One such insight is Connie Field’s Have You Heard From Johannesburg?: Fairplay, part of a series charting recent history, which illuminates how sporting boycotts during apartheid stimulated political change. It’s a topical reminder of the influence sport can have on a culture’s social fabric.

The festival has also secured the significant honour of being the focus of the World Cinema Fund’s Spotlight Series, an association set up by the Berlin International Film Festival to support countries in transition.

It’s another small but hugely positive step in gradually changing the world’s view of how South Africa is judged by the rest of the world.

Durban’s full line-up can be viewed here.

Ziman's South Africa is far from the hopes and dreams of World Cup 2010

This summer also sees the 12th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival come to Cape Town and Johannesburg. It showcases its own spotlight on South Africa, with documentaries from both international and home-grown directorial talents presenting their perspectives on the tangled, yet vibrant society.  Clifford Bestall’s The 16th Man is the real-life story that Clint Eastwood’s recent Invictus was inspired by. This time Nelson Mandela plays himself in his incredible mission to heal a divided nation surrounding the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

But should we exercise caution before celebrating South Africa’s political and social renaissance? This week’s feature release Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema is a timely reminder of the realities facing so many of the post-apartheid generation. Set in Johannesburg’s most dangerous neighbourhood, the all too believable tale underlines the extent to which organised crime has become the norm in the notorious district of Hillbrow.  An interview with director Ralph Ziman asks questions regarding the film’s effect on South Africa’s current optimism.  His diplomatic response seems reasonable amongst the glitz of the film festival circuit, as the research the film is based upon proves there is still a lot of work to be done.

And so the festival season has descended upon us, have you got your tickets? If not, enter into the spirit with these titles.

The hills are alive with the sound of Glastonbury...

Glastonbury is a music documentary or a ‘Rockumentary’ about ….you’ve guessed it, the Glastonbury music festival. Directed by Julien Temple, the film was released to mark the event’s 30th anniversary, and also to fill the void when the festival took a well deserved break back in 2006.

Although the film is conventional in presentation, it doesn’t feature a chronological structure. The result is more like a home video montage than a two hour feature-length film.Temple splices together grainy archival footage with crisp images from recent years. There’s a loose commentary by farmer and festival organiser-extraordinaire Michael Eavis, who discusses the festival’s beginnings of free love to its current status as a heavily sponsored multi-million pound music extravaganza. Eavis’ commentary doesn’t romanticise the festival - instead, he recalls riots, waste, robbery, fence dodgers and…  …lots of excrement. There’s also some fascinating footage of flower-girl Arabella Churchill, granddaughter of Winston, who was a key supporter and organiser of the festival.

Visuals are beautifully combined with the aural, and snippets of performances by Bjork, The Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground and Tangerine Dream create a patchwork quilt of music nostalgia.

The 2009 documentary Dust & Illusions presents a more intellectually rigorous look into the ceremonial festival tradition. 30 years on, the film explores the evolution of the Burning Man Festival, which takes place yearly in The Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA.

Ritualistic happenings at Burning Man

The film encompasses Burning Man as a movement, culture, and a slice of zeitgeist. Director Olivier Bonin amalgamates footage that spans the past 20 years, offering access to the seminal figures and footage that have cultivated a movement.

Ultimately, both docs give a sense of place and insight into festivals which the mainstream media rarely labels anything more than places of spectacular or self-indulgence awe.

The recent BP drilling disaster has unleashed turbulent commentary about “Peak Oil”, as last week President Obama poignantly labelled the spill the “environment’s 9/11”. Coverage has spiralled even further as BP now admits that there are not the resources or tools to contain a deepwater oil leak. BP’s failure to disclose the truth now poses further questions about its approach to safety in general - ‘big buck’ corporations involved with BP or with similar critical production techniques are now being lined up for heavy scrutiny.

Obama takes an awkward stance on the Oil Crisis

It’s a relief to see that Obama has realised the severity of the spill. Following his attacks on BP’s continued failure to contain the oil blow-out, he has taken the unusual step of calling a special press conference to discuss the ongoing crisis. For those who didn’t manage to catch it, a session was broadcast live from the White House on YouTube, followed by a virtual Q&A session with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. For the full interactive experience the White House embedded a Google moderator form into the YouTube channel that enabled the public to vote for their favourite questions. See if  Gibb’s online answers satisfied the digital population here.

It’s fair to say that our over reliance on fossil fuels is driving companies to take unnecessary environmental risks as highlighted by the Gulf oil disaster. Our trust and dependency on the ‘Peak Oil’ industry is examined widely in JTD title PetroApocalypse Now?, a short but scary journalistic investigation into the industry. Filmmaker Andrew Evans highlights oil’s pivotal place in society, a resource more central to the planet’s development than many realise. Evan’s argument that is a drug we have all become regulated by and tolerant to is a hard to ignore. Catch it in full here.

Source offers a peak into how the oil industry has had direct effect upon developing communities. Director Martin Marecek sets out to investigate the site of the world’s first oil well in the Azerbaijan town of Baku – a place eagerly explored by foreign investors, all of whom are hoping to line their pockets with the country’s hidden source of wealth. With much of the population living under the poverty line, the country’s post-Soviet government is promising that oil will turn Azerbaijan into a “proper country”, and a prosperous one at that. But what does this mean for its people? And will “the black stuff” be more of a curse than a blessing for this struggling country? Watch it in full here.

Rabbits aren’t the only ones with 360 degree vision

Today, filmmaking tools are so accessible and easy to use that experimental approaches to storytelling have become hugely prevalent. In the hands of someone with little concern for traditional cinema techniques, even the most mundane of subjects can appear hypnotic. Using such tools to find beauty in the most seemingly bland, seedy or even dangerous parts of our cities is a growing theme.This approach is prevalent in the new multimedia, collaborative umbrella project Highrise, set up by the National Film Board of Canada. A project that aims to blow all traditional definitions of the documentary genre out of the window.

Highrise’s first project is led by filmmaker Katerina Cizek, who has been capturing her urban experiences on a 360° camera. Spending time in Toronto, Cizek has been shooting staff and patients in city hospitals, riding along with police, and working with a group of homeless women.

Fritz Lang’s Metropolis becomes reality?

Cizek’s film is soon to be released as a full feature-length web documentary, but it is only one of many personal views in the Highrise project which also represents web-based excerpts, still photography, video and texts. Keep up to date with the now and future city at the Highrise here.

Ideas of people colliding, living vertically, engulfed in metropolises, are also brought to life epically and experimentally in filmmaker and artist Timo Novotny’s audio visual film Life in Loops. The film pays homage to director Michael Glawogger, by remixing his cult and unique vision of urban sprawl Megacities.

A real treat for the eyes, Life in Loops uses unused footage from Megacities, and is remixed with original work to create a very different mood and tempo from Glawogger’s original. Loops captures the dark corners of city’s straining under the weight of too much humanity in too small a space: Mumbai, Mexico City, Tokyo and New York City. An electronic soundtrack acts as a companion to Novotny’s pulsating visuals, which flip between a sterile airport in Tokyo, an overcrowded train station in the sweltering heat of Mumbai and the harsh reality of homeless children in the Moscow snow.

Watch Life in Loops in full here.