Local videographer Melika Bass was recently commissioned by the Icelandic band Sigur Ros to create a video for the group’s new album, Valtari. Bass, an Asheville native, tells Xpress, “Along with 11 other international filmmakers, I was given a small budget to create an original film (with complete freedom!) to a song on their new album Valtari, which they are currently touring.”
On the website for the Valtari Mystery Film Experiment, Sigur Ros says, “The idea is to bypass the usual artistic approval process and allow people utmost creative freedom. …We never meant our music to come with a pre-programmed emotional response. We don’t want to tell anyone how to feel and what to take from it. With the films, we have literally no idea what the directors are going to come back with. None of them know what the others are doing, so hopefully it could be interesting.”
Bass worked with the song, “Varðeldur.” In her director’s comments, she describes her piece as “a film portrait of an unstable entity in a haunted vessel, drawn into and floating away from a siren song.” The concept centers around an eerie expressive movement performance by Selma Banich. The secret release date of the film was yesterday. Watch it here:
Sigur Rós – Varðeldur from Sigur Rós Valtari Mystery Films on Vimeo.
oh.my.gawd. So after crying toruhgh the whole thing after like the first minute. that was sooo beautiful. And now im inspired. I feel like writing. or making a short film. Or designing or SOMETHING. And i thank you cheeks, for sharing it with us. Made me feel so much at one time at the beginning a little afraid, those that know me know that im really not big on babies, they kind of freak me out as weird as it sounds. They scare me. So the dolls were freaky. But then i felt sad and then i felt angry at his dad attacking him and then on the soccer (football for y’all in the states) field when they kissed my little heart flew up into the air and i had the biggest smile on my face. But wow what a powerful peice of work!