Scene from the film Sofa Rockers
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Sofa Rockers

Direction
Year 
2000
Country
  • Austria
  • Japan
Runtime
4min 

Each beat has its own speed, each tempo suggests certain images: Timo Novotny'’s video for Richard Dorfmeister’s Sofa Surfers remix, which was shot in Japan on Super-8 film, begins with an aerial view of a construction site and a crane. As the bass begins softly, the images start to move up along a vertical line, apparently reflecting the path of an elevator. Everything is transparent, everything is structured: The scaffolding is echoed in the picture’s frame, which rolls across the screen in a way similar to a poor film projection, offsetting the illusion of movement. Or the images accentuate the music through superimpositions, short zooms and shots through cloudy glass.
A small model of the Statue of Liberty then briefly disorients the viewer, and the vertical movement becomes horizontal, moving from Tokyo to Kyoto: Analogously to the laid-back drum ’n’ bass, the images then begin a relaxed and aimless journey through Japan’s urban spaces. In this phase, the two elements almost unite – in smooth parallel movement.

Near the end, the rhythm materializes in the human body. Three kids breakdance, then others dance in a city park. While this is not an arrival at a certain destination, it is definitely more than a chance meeting. The escalators at a large train station continue to run mechanically, and the space does not come to rest until the music has faded away. (Dominik Kamalzadeh)

Details

  • Original Title
    Sofa Rockers
  • Direction
  • Music
    Motor Music
  • Sound
    Richard Dorfmeister
  • Runtime
    4 min (1-15 min.)
  • Year
    2000
  • Country
    • Austria
    • Japan
  • Format
    • Colour
  • Festivals
    • Augsburg - Kurzfilmwochenende
    • Aukland - New Zealand Int. Film Festival
    • Clermont-Ferrand - Festival de Court Metrage
    • Osnabrück - European Media Art Festival
    • Rotterdam - Int. Filmfestival
    • Tokyo - Image Forum Festival
    • Zürich - VIDEOEXperimental; Video & Film Festival
    • Edinburgh - International Film Festival
    • Ann Arbor - Film Festival
    • Pesaro - Film Festival

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