Today is the birthday of German director Philipp Griess, who directed a fascinating and entertaining rockumentary titled "CHAO LEH - PUNK NOMADS"
For 18 years,German punk band “Speichelbroiss” have been making noise in the Bavarian backwoods. With “ChaoLeh” they have written a German-Punk-Hit for Asia. CHAO LEH - PUNK NOMADS is a film about the everyday life of a punk band on a Do-It Yourself-low-budget tour through Asia.
Philipp Griess was born in 1981. He studied history in Berlin and documentary-camera at the film school ZeLIG in Bolzano, Italy. He works as cameraman for documentaries and as scriptwriter for German broadcasters and independent productions.
Director’s Statement: I hope we managed to make a melancholic comedy, that tells us about the times when reality hits you while you try to live your dream, sometimes emotional, sometimes with a toungue-in-cheek distance. What do you think?
Well, courtesy of ROFFEKE, Kenyans will have an opportunity to watch this documentary soon, and give their thoughts on it.
Happy Birthday Philipp!
(You can wish Philipp a happy birthday in the comments)
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Of Sons of Robots, Robot Dreams Made Flesh and Wearable Android
“Sons of Robots” by Kenyan rock band RASH
“With everyone on their computers, phones, I-pads, games, and other sorts of gadgets, humanity has come to a point in which it is predominantly composed of slaves of technology... or rather "Sons of Robots"...
Robot Dreams Made Flesh by Robert Lyons (ROFFEKE OFFICIAL SELECTION)
An optical FX experiment combining time lapse photography with in-camera multiple exposures on 16mm film using Bolex cameras and an Oxberry animation stand. The subject is model maker/animator Michael Sullivan at work on his stop motion opus "The Sex Life of Robots". The music is "Five" by the Hadron Big Bangers.
Wearable Android by Keita Nishida (ROFFEKE OFFICIAL SELECTION)
Luci Döll's review: "Sitting on a bed of a funky bassline, is this hilarious look at how we tie ourselves to technology and how much technology owns us. This is literally laugh-out-loud funny."
ROFFEKE: What inspired you to make this very unique and entertaining short film?
Keita Nishida: "Wearable Android" was made as one of Japanese comedy movies project "TETSUDON -THE CRAZIEST SHORT FILMS FROM JAPAN-". I wanted to make a nonsense film. "Android" means both a smartphone OS and a robot that looks like a person. What if an android smartphone was a robot-like human? It sounded funny to me.I tried.I think it became a film which was not only nonsense, but also was satirical.
ROFFEKE: How long did it take you to make it?
Keita Nishida: 3days shooting. Including pre-production and post-production, it took 3 months.
ROFFEKE: What challenges did you face when making "Wearable Android"?
Keita Nishida: The hardest problem was the actors carrying the "android" while running. The actors had given up.HAHAHA.
ROFFEKE: Which are your favourite Japanese rock bands?
Keita Nishida: I like:The Blue Hearts (already broke up);SUPERCAR (already broke up);NUMBER GIRL (already broke up);Maximum The Hormone (Active).And I love the Clash and the Smiths too. Alicesailor (the actress in "Wearable Android") is the vocalist for the Amaryllis.
ROFFEKE: What was it about ROFFEKE that made you submit your film to the festival?
Keita Nishida: The name of the film festival is Rock'n Roll!I love Rock'n Roll. And I want to go to Kenya and Africa once, though I don't know I can go to ROFFEKE yet. Anyway, ROFFEKE has a very exciting name to me.
“With everyone on their computers, phones, I-pads, games, and other sorts of gadgets, humanity has come to a point in which it is predominantly composed of slaves of technology... or rather "Sons of Robots"...
Robot Dreams Made Flesh by Robert Lyons (ROFFEKE OFFICIAL SELECTION)
An optical FX experiment combining time lapse photography with in-camera multiple exposures on 16mm film using Bolex cameras and an Oxberry animation stand. The subject is model maker/animator Michael Sullivan at work on his stop motion opus "The Sex Life of Robots". The music is "Five" by the Hadron Big Bangers.
Wearable Android by Keita Nishida (ROFFEKE OFFICIAL SELECTION)
Luci Döll's review: "Sitting on a bed of a funky bassline, is this hilarious look at how we tie ourselves to technology and how much technology owns us. This is literally laugh-out-loud funny."
ROFFEKE: What inspired you to make this very unique and entertaining short film?
Keita Nishida: "Wearable Android" was made as one of Japanese comedy movies project "TETSUDON -THE CRAZIEST SHORT FILMS FROM JAPAN-". I wanted to make a nonsense film. "Android" means both a smartphone OS and a robot that looks like a person. What if an android smartphone was a robot-like human? It sounded funny to me.I tried.I think it became a film which was not only nonsense, but also was satirical.
ROFFEKE: How long did it take you to make it?
Keita Nishida: 3days shooting. Including pre-production and post-production, it took 3 months.
ROFFEKE: What challenges did you face when making "Wearable Android"?
Keita Nishida: The hardest problem was the actors carrying the "android" while running. The actors had given up.HAHAHA.
ROFFEKE: Which are your favourite Japanese rock bands?
Keita Nishida: I like:The Blue Hearts (already broke up);SUPERCAR (already broke up);NUMBER GIRL (already broke up);Maximum The Hormone (Active).And I love the Clash and the Smiths too. Alicesailor (the actress in "Wearable Android") is the vocalist for the Amaryllis.
ROFFEKE: What was it about ROFFEKE that made you submit your film to the festival?
Keita Nishida: The name of the film festival is Rock'n Roll!I love Rock'n Roll. And I want to go to Kenya and Africa once, though I don't know I can go to ROFFEKE yet. Anyway, ROFFEKE has a very exciting name to me.
Friday, August 7, 2015
What a Wonderful World
“Some of you young folks been saying to me, "Hey Pops, what you mean 'What a wonderful world'? How about all them wars all over the place? You call them wonderful? And how about hunger and pollution? That ain’t so wonderful either." Well how about listening to old Pops for a minute. Seems to me, it ain’t the world that's so bad but what we're doin' to it. And all I'm saying is, see, what a wonderful world it would be if only we'd give it a chance. Love baby, love. That's the secret, yeah. If lots more of us loved each other, we'd solve lots more problems. And then this world would be better. That's wha' ol' Pops keeps saying.”
- Spoken intro to "What a Wonderful World" (1970 version)
This week (on August 4), the late great Louis Armstrong would have been celebrating his 114th birthday. He was 63 when “Hello, Dolly!” topped the charts on the week of May 9, 1964. “Hello, Dolly,” actually ended The Beatles’ streak of three No. 1 hits in a row over 14 consecutive weeks. The other song that Armstrong is known for is “What a Wonderful World.”
“What a Wonderful World” features in the soundtrack of two films that have been officially selected by ROFFEKE:
“The Hitchhikers.” Directed by Joung Han. Synopsis: A young driver is racially prejudiced. While he is traveling, he meets some hitchhikers by chance but refuses to give them a ride. This film is a wry comedy and a biting satire on racial discrimination.
“Wonderful World” Directed by David Saveliev. Synopsis: “The film is a visual comment to the song "What a Wonderful World" written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, recorded by Louis Armstrong made as a science fiction drama about a lone survivor of an apocalypse who tries to escape his surroundings of a destroyed abandoned city through his imagination while listening to the song. The film raises the themes of how people interact with the world: after people destroy their world they search for it and try to come back into it. The film speaks of ecological problems and the importance of respect for the environment."
“What a Wonderful World” was also used to great effect in the film “Good Morning, Vietnam”:
“In Hollywood, director Barry Levinson was then working on Good Morning, Vietnam, a film that would star Robin Williams as Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer, a military disc jockey who comes to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service in Saigon during the war. Levinson needed a song to use as a musical backdrop under a montage of Vietnam War images. He considered dozens of songs, but when he heard Armstrong’s version of “What A Wonderful World”, he knew it was the perfect choice for the counterpoint he had in mind. The poignant lyrics and Armstrong’s gravelly voice stood in stark contrast to the images of war Leivnson would screen, a paradox of sight and sound – not exactly the imagery Thiele, Weiss, and Armstrong had in mind at the song’s creation. Still, the music made its political points in the film, but the song also struck an emotional chord with audiences. As a result of this exposure, Armstrong’s 20 year-old recording of “What A Wonderful World” was re-released as a single, hitting No. 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1988. In Australia, the single charted at No. 1 for a brief period in late June 1988....According to Thiele and Weiss credits listed at the Internet Movie Database, the song has also been used variously in at least 50 other TV shows and films.” (Source: The Pop History Dig - "Good Morning, Vietnam soundtrack")
“What a Wonderful World” has also struck a chord with various rock stars including Joey Ramone (he recorded it during his illness) Rod Stewart (duet with Stevie Wonder), Nick Cave (duet with Shane MacGowan) and Willie Nelson. Check them out: TOP 10 VERSIONS OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S 'WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD'
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So that’s that for “ a song sung by a Jazz great and covered by rock stars”. ROFFEKE is happy to announce that the music video for "a song done by a rock band and covered by an awesome Jazz singer" has been officially selected. The beautiful music video was directed by Jethro Massey. Synopsis: “An American in Paris... Texan jazz singer Hailey Tuck in a 1920s style music video for her cover of Maroon 5's song " My colleague, Luci Doll, said: “The singer seems to take the original Maroon 5 song to its logical conclusion, and the video happily follows the music where it's leading. Lovely, fresh re-imagining of the concept. Also, the two guys with the finger snaps are making me incredibly happy. I don't know why.”
Have a finger-snapping day!
ADDENDUM: Today (21st August), I found out that Kenyan rock band "RASH" have done a cover version of "What a Wonderful World"!
- Spoken intro to "What a Wonderful World" (1970 version)
This week (on August 4), the late great Louis Armstrong would have been celebrating his 114th birthday. He was 63 when “Hello, Dolly!” topped the charts on the week of May 9, 1964. “Hello, Dolly,” actually ended The Beatles’ streak of three No. 1 hits in a row over 14 consecutive weeks. The other song that Armstrong is known for is “What a Wonderful World.”
“What a Wonderful World” features in the soundtrack of two films that have been officially selected by ROFFEKE:
“The Hitchhikers.” Directed by Joung Han. Synopsis: A young driver is racially prejudiced. While he is traveling, he meets some hitchhikers by chance but refuses to give them a ride. This film is a wry comedy and a biting satire on racial discrimination.
“Wonderful World” Directed by David Saveliev. Synopsis: “The film is a visual comment to the song "What a Wonderful World" written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, recorded by Louis Armstrong made as a science fiction drama about a lone survivor of an apocalypse who tries to escape his surroundings of a destroyed abandoned city through his imagination while listening to the song. The film raises the themes of how people interact with the world: after people destroy their world they search for it and try to come back into it. The film speaks of ecological problems and the importance of respect for the environment."
“What a Wonderful World” was also used to great effect in the film “Good Morning, Vietnam”:
“In Hollywood, director Barry Levinson was then working on Good Morning, Vietnam, a film that would star Robin Williams as Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer, a military disc jockey who comes to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service in Saigon during the war. Levinson needed a song to use as a musical backdrop under a montage of Vietnam War images. He considered dozens of songs, but when he heard Armstrong’s version of “What A Wonderful World”, he knew it was the perfect choice for the counterpoint he had in mind. The poignant lyrics and Armstrong’s gravelly voice stood in stark contrast to the images of war Leivnson would screen, a paradox of sight and sound – not exactly the imagery Thiele, Weiss, and Armstrong had in mind at the song’s creation. Still, the music made its political points in the film, but the song also struck an emotional chord with audiences. As a result of this exposure, Armstrong’s 20 year-old recording of “What A Wonderful World” was re-released as a single, hitting No. 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1988. In Australia, the single charted at No. 1 for a brief period in late June 1988....According to Thiele and Weiss credits listed at the Internet Movie Database, the song has also been used variously in at least 50 other TV shows and films.” (Source: The Pop History Dig - "Good Morning, Vietnam soundtrack")
“What a Wonderful World” has also struck a chord with various rock stars including Joey Ramone (he recorded it during his illness) Rod Stewart (duet with Stevie Wonder), Nick Cave (duet with Shane MacGowan) and Willie Nelson. Check them out: TOP 10 VERSIONS OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S 'WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD'
-
So that’s that for “ a song sung by a Jazz great and covered by rock stars”. ROFFEKE is happy to announce that the music video for "a song done by a rock band and covered by an awesome Jazz singer" has been officially selected. The beautiful music video was directed by Jethro Massey. Synopsis: “An American in Paris... Texan jazz singer Hailey Tuck in a 1920s style music video for her cover of Maroon 5's song " My colleague, Luci Doll, said: “The singer seems to take the original Maroon 5 song to its logical conclusion, and the video happily follows the music where it's leading. Lovely, fresh re-imagining of the concept. Also, the two guys with the finger snaps are making me incredibly happy. I don't know why.”
Have a finger-snapping day!
ADDENDUM: Today (21st August), I found out that Kenyan rock band "RASH" have done a cover version of "What a Wonderful World"!
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Tarantino, Tarantulas and Calebe Lopes’ “Copula”
“Wow, I'm so glad you liked it! It’s an honor for me and for the Brazilian independent cinema to be in ROFFEKE! The mention of Tarantino genius will leave me with insomnia! I Just LOVED IT!”
This was the enthusiastic response of 19 year old (Yes only 19!) Calebe Lopes to my message regarding his film “Copula”. My message: ‘Hilarious! I love Joel's (non) acting! We officially accept it :-) My colleague, Luci Döll said: "Entertaining film, like Tarantino but without the dialogue. To be perfectly fair, I'd react exactly like the protagonist in the same situation."’
The protagonist of this film is Joel. Synopsis: “Poor Joel ! He just wanted to see a movie about spiders, not fight them!”
ROFFEKE: What inspired you to make a movie that features spiders?
Calebe Lopes: The initial idea came after I watched “Enemy”, a movie by Dennis Villeneuve. The final scene of that film gave me a huge scare! I have been very afraid of spiders since childhood. They are not reliable and are very, very fast! Surely they are my phobia!
ROFFEKE: Who are your favourite directors and why do you admire them?
Calebe Lopes: My favorite directors in order: Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. I love their movies because above all, they are AUTHORS! They know the art of cinema, they know what they want from the camera and the public, and they all have their own style! I love the suspense and the stories that Hitchcock had, the narrative and shots of Scorsese and love the classic style of Tarantino, full of references laden with humor and pop culture! I tried to pass some of that on to “Copula”! There is the unexplained attack as in Hitchcock's The Birds, there is the camera moves and breaking the fourth wall of Scorsese and the irreverent style, the zoom in and zoom out, the quick cuts and B Movies language from Tarantino.
ROFFEKE: How long did it take you to film “Copula"?
Calebe Lopes: The shooting lasted the whole night and the morning of the next day. 10 hours of footage on average. The home scenes were filmed in my house, in the state called Bahia. The city scenes were filmed in a Brazilian megalopolis, Sao Paulo.
ROFFEKE: What challenges did you have?
Calebe Lopes: The main challenges were filming with no money and no staff. I had no money, had no professional actor. It was all done by friends: a soundtrack composed by a friend, the visual FX by a friend, you know, it's an indie movie.
Well ROFFEKE salutes Calebe Lopes’ indie, do-it-yourself punk ethic!
This was the enthusiastic response of 19 year old (Yes only 19!) Calebe Lopes to my message regarding his film “Copula”. My message: ‘Hilarious! I love Joel's (non) acting! We officially accept it :-) My colleague, Luci Döll said: "Entertaining film, like Tarantino but without the dialogue. To be perfectly fair, I'd react exactly like the protagonist in the same situation."’
The protagonist of this film is Joel. Synopsis: “Poor Joel ! He just wanted to see a movie about spiders, not fight them!”
ROFFEKE: What inspired you to make a movie that features spiders?
Calebe Lopes: The initial idea came after I watched “Enemy”, a movie by Dennis Villeneuve. The final scene of that film gave me a huge scare! I have been very afraid of spiders since childhood. They are not reliable and are very, very fast! Surely they are my phobia!
ROFFEKE: Who are your favourite directors and why do you admire them?
Calebe Lopes: My favorite directors in order: Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. I love their movies because above all, they are AUTHORS! They know the art of cinema, they know what they want from the camera and the public, and they all have their own style! I love the suspense and the stories that Hitchcock had, the narrative and shots of Scorsese and love the classic style of Tarantino, full of references laden with humor and pop culture! I tried to pass some of that on to “Copula”! There is the unexplained attack as in Hitchcock's The Birds, there is the camera moves and breaking the fourth wall of Scorsese and the irreverent style, the zoom in and zoom out, the quick cuts and B Movies language from Tarantino.
ROFFEKE: How long did it take you to film “Copula"?
Calebe Lopes: The shooting lasted the whole night and the morning of the next day. 10 hours of footage on average. The home scenes were filmed in my house, in the state called Bahia. The city scenes were filmed in a Brazilian megalopolis, Sao Paulo.
ROFFEKE: What challenges did you have?
Calebe Lopes: The main challenges were filming with no money and no staff. I had no money, had no professional actor. It was all done by friends: a soundtrack composed by a friend, the visual FX by a friend, you know, it's an indie movie.
Well ROFFEKE salutes Calebe Lopes’ indie, do-it-yourself punk ethic!
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