Mr Cole has contributed a cinematic letter from quarantine to a new omnibus feature film from the Bistrik7 collective - and it will premiere as it opens the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Sarajevo is a particularly beloved city to the filmmakers of Bistrik7, as they are united in having graduated as the first generation from Béla Tarr's film.factory in that very city. Mr Cole has also had the pleasure and the privilege of screening It's Nick's Birthday and Amateri at the festival in previous years.
Mr Cole will be in town to present the movie with his colleagues on the opening night.
The online availability of two of the Institute's Bosnian-made pictures has shifted dramatically in the past few weeks.
Epizoda ? can now be watched for free on Vimeo. This absurdist detective show pilot was written and directed by Graeme Cole at Béla Tarr's film.factory, and was previously available for VoD on Tao Films, an art film and 'slow cinema' platform, which is currently enjoying a creative pause.
Murmurs is available online for the first time, to rent or buy on Vimeo On Demand. The ASMR-tinged experimental feature film was also written and directed by Mr Cole at film.factory, and just like Epizoda ?, features Elma Selman in a leading role. The male lead is the Institute's regular player, Stewart Lockwood.
Epizoda ?
Video | 39'09" | BiH/UK | 2016
Cast
Vladimir Kajević
Elma Selman
A TV detective who's lost the plot drives aimlessly around the city. Negotiating time and space seem achievable next to solving a murder in a factory, the only witness a robot with the ability to get under the skin with its only two programmed lines: “That interests me” and “What are you afraid of?”
Murmurs
Video | 72'42" | BiH/UK | 2015-2020
Cast
Elma Selman
Stewart Lockwood
Hana is an ASMR artist, creating intimate videos for millions of online followers – and she hasn’t left her house for 18 months. Ed is a remote security image analyst, and Hana’s first online hook-up. When Ed arrives at Hana’s home, they begin to nurture an awkward togetherness. But for these lonely weirdos, building trust might take more than endless days of cooking and fucking.
ASMR is the tingly feeling many people get in their head when they watch and listen to somebody playing with hair, turning pages in a magazine or explaining something quietly.
I’ve introduced a lot of people to the bewildering world of ASMR videos over the past few months, during the build up and production of our ASMR movie, Murmurs. People snigger, because it’s an absurd thing to watch. Then the next day they tell you they spent their whole evening watching strangers eating and brushing their hair on YouTube.
As you know, I consider absurdity to be the jam in the sandwich of human experience. Here are 8 sweet and fruity conserves to add tang to your tingles.
“Are you ready to check out?” Most ASMR videos you’ll see will look kind of glossy. Consumer cameras are hi-res these days, and many of the leading ASMRtists invest in professional gear to get those pure tingles to their viewers. Lloyd’s ASMR videos look like they were directed by Harmony Korine. Coupled with his deadpan demeanour, this makes Lloyd’s videos a sinister prospect. Thankfully, his moustache and deep voice channel enough Tom Sellecknicity into the show to keep one reassured of one’s own safety.
I love biscuits. Biscuits are one of the finest things humankind has created. But living in Bosnia, well… it’s not a biscuit culture. So I need to get my fix somehow. Also: if there is a ‘prime time’ for ASMR, I reckon it’s the afternoon. Those sleepy hours when the drive of the day has gone and stuff’s just happening around you. ASMR Angel’s Biscuits of Britain & Beyond series seems to exist in a perpetual, biscuity afternoon.
She’s dark. She’s funny. She’ll toy with your mind, posting and pulling down bizarre trigger vids before you even process what you’ve just heard. Key theme? Gynaecology. Latest vid? Ladybird on a tampon.
Did the Italian Futurists foresee a world of ASMR videos? Of course those overgrown schoolboys didn’t. But they arguably invented sound poetry, and Softly Galoshes has found an anti-futurist, video-primitivist application for it: making you feel tingly and safe. Actually, I can’t handle it, but I salute Softly for her very popular avant-garde practice in the trail of Maja Ratke, Jean-Louis Brau et al.!
His Automaton series is a diary of voyeuristic glimpses into the universe of time-stranded wayward genius Dr. Eugenius. Mr Asimar craftily integrates a wealth of sound effects into his visual steampunkscapes to take you to a never-time while you get your tingles.
First off, Tony Bomboni sounds like he’s been Name Game’d. And maybe he has. But secondly, In addition to yer standard grooming vids, Tony is hellbent on exploring the performance art end of straight-to-camera ASMR through faeries, shaman and – best of all – MERMAN - personae whose garish make-up calls to mind a, er, quieterRyan Trecartin.
Could “Just vinegar and water” become a catchphrase? Nancy doesn’t bring ASMR to the camera – the camera rolls with Nancy as she lives her everyday life, gardening, cleaning, weaving, making soap or watching the deer. This is Nancyvision.
Daft and ridiculous, with a cruel sense of humour, Hana is the fictional ASMRtist superstar in my new flick Murmurs. With millions of fictional hits and a household full of homemade smart objects (smart slippers, smart hairbrush) Hana hasn’t felt the need to leave her home for 18 months. And that’s where the movie begins. Hana is played by Bosnian artist Elma Selman.
You can find out more about Murmurs and support our crowdfunding campaign here – igg.me/at/murmursfilm - we really need your support to get the thing finished and bring Hana to your screens. Please spread the word! (Quietly).
The
movie was shot entirely on portable electronic devices and on the theme of
filmmaking, with particular regard to the various creative and existential ponderings of film.factory's students and faculty. Mr Cole's short, From The Ground To The Stars, was made with the specific challenge: feature
film.factory as a character. Like the other contributors, he was given 7 days to make his short and told to keep the project a secret from his peers.
Directors: Graeme Cole, Kaori Oda, Manel Raga Raga, Namsuk Kim,
Aleksandra Niemczyk, Grant Gulczynski, Fernando Nogari, Patrick
Marshall, Sunčica Fradelić, Thierry Garrel, Ghazi Alqudcy
As regular readers of this blog will know, if there's a riot going on - I'm usually not far away.
While I do not feel qualified to participate in the Bosnian revolution (despite a local associate's rousing call to "occu-fucking-py!" as he drove us drunkenly through the winding roads of Republica Srpska at 80mph last night), I was certainly able to fulfil my duties as a wide-eyed westerner with a camera-phone as Sarajevo enjoyed its collective hangover today, and to reflect on a city reflecting on itself.
