Rosto’s ‘Reruns’ and ‘Thee Wreckers Tetralogy’ Dutch premiere
Skwigly
Artist/filmmaker Rosto is special guest at Imagine, the film festival in Amsterdam focusing on fantastic cinema. Rosto’s new film Reruns, which recently grabbed an award at the leading short film festival in Clermont-Ferrand, can be experienced on the big screen in the Netherlands for the first time.
Reruns is the last in a series of four films. The Dutch premiere is a perfect reason for the Imagine Film Festival to show the complete Thee Wreckers tetralogy in one program. It is an excellent opportunity to experience how coherent Rosto’s cinematic vision really is. During an extensive follow-up talk, the artist shows fragments and tells about his work and future plans. Imagine Film Festival, the festival for all horror, sci-fi and fantasy fans, takes place this year from 11 to 21 April at EYE Film Museum in Amsterdam.
Reruns
Reruns is yet again a complex crossover of live action, animation and music. In this film we descend to a dream city under water. Rosto explains:
The film plays with the idea that we derive our identity from our memories, but also from our dreams. This is the most autobiographical film of the tetralogy. We follow me as a little boy who visits his old school and his grandmother’s house. We witness my character grow up until he is so old that he is actually dead. It is a film about my past and future.
Awards
Reruns premiered earlier this year during the Short Film Festival of Clermont-Ferrand, where the film won an award for best visual effects. The three previous films from the tetralogy, No Place Like Home (2008), Lonely Bones (2013) and Splintertime (2015), were also awarded at international festivals.
Tetralogy
With the premiere of Reruns, Thee Wreckers Tetralogy has been completed. Each film has a different storyline, but they are all connected and come from the same source. Says Rosto:
The four films are satellites around the online graphic novel Mind My Gap. It is great that the Imagine Film Festival shows the complete tetralogy, because if you see the four films in a row, a lot of things become clear.
Rosto is currently working on a feature film adaptation of Mind My Gap.
Music
Although Rosto connects characters and stories in all his work, music is what really connects his projects. Rosto explains:
Music has always been a driving force in my work. It all started with a series of rock ‘n’ roll songs that I wrote since 1995. The tetralogy is based on four songs by the band Thee Wreckers. The films show what the music looks like.
Hybrid animation
Many people believe that animation is fully computer-controlled, making it a lot easier to make a movie. However, that’s not how it works for Rosto:
My films are hybrid, there are many different techniques involved. I work with actors, dancers and mime players. We have actually rebuilt my grandmother’s room using original Super-8 shots and modern technology. It can hardly be more complicated, and that’s why my productions always take up a lot of time. For me, animation is not about hardware and software, but about the inspiration and skill of the different teams.
The complete Thee Wreckers Tetralogy will be shown during the Imagine Film Festival on Tuesday 17 April at 7:45 pm in EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. After the screening, there will be an extensive discussion with the artist. Tickets can be purchased via the Imagine website.
To learn more about the work of Rosto listen back to our podcast interview (stream below or direct download) and check out some of the films’ music in our Animation Composed series.
For more on the work of Rosto visit rostoad.com