Elvenland

HD Video
colour
32 minutes
2009

Florian Magnus Maier: composition and electric guitar
Jan Rokyta: cimbalom
Claudia Copier: voice
Julija Hartig: violin
Arturo Ramón: flamenco guitar
Aristoteles Potamianos: double bass
Greg Smith: drums, percussion

Screenings/Performances:
International Filmfestival Breda (Breda)
European Media Art Festival (Osnabrück)
Cinema de Balie (Amsterdam)
de Wereld van Witte de With (Rotterdam)
Nederlands Filmfestival (Utrecht)
Signes de Nuit (Paris)
Festival de Cinema Independente de Barcelona (Barcelona)

After visiting a concert of the Hungry Gods I was so impressed with their music that I decided to make a storyboard for a film dedicated to their music: through a series of tableaux vivants we travel north, following a boy roaming a deserted world. He wrestles and runs down dark tunnels and climbs endless stairs. He ends up in a snowy landscape, finds a boat and sets sail for fairytale, unspoilt islands.

The film was shot in the old inner-city areas of Schiedam and Edinburgh and on the island of Røst in northern Norway. The story is loosely based around strikingly similar legends from the Netherlands, Scotland and Norway:

A family is blessed with three sons, but the third son fails in everything. After he leaves his family, he travels to a far country and encounters great difficulties on his way. Upon reaching his destination, a miracle happens.

The images are set to music composed by Florian Magnus Maier. The music evokes the mystery, like voices on a gust of wind whispering a message to the boy. Polyrhythmic layers, unexpected turns and passionate Oriental melodies are juxtaposed with capricious, high-speed outbursts.

The Hungry Gods are seven virtuoso musicians with a great diversity, both in their musical and cultural background. Percussion, violin, flamenco guitar, cimbalom, electric and acoustic guitar, bass, drums, electronics and the elegant contralto voice are combined in this unusual orchestra.