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Mark Lotterman - Happy

People should be happy. Even this Egyptian goose, who tries to cast a spell on us with a seductive dance. Its gracious and clumsy movements captivate us. But it’s not the only one to master the dance. Three flocks of geese each led by their guru goose also share the pond; all of them torn between their desire to express their own individuality and the urge for group behavior. Soon the water begins to rise. Never mind. The geese will keep on dancing for us until they drown.
A video about the search for ones own identity through seemingly audacious self-expression on the one hand and the undeniable drowning into the masses on the other.

  • Alice saey
    Director
  • Alice saey
    Writer
  • Alice saey
    Producer
  • Mark Lotterman
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 35 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 26, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Turku Animated Film Festival
    Turku
    Finland
    August 25, 2017
    World Premiere
  • Festival Silhouette
    Paris
    France
    September 2, 2017
    French Premiere
  • Pixelatl
    Cuernavaca
    Mexico
    September 5, 2017
    Mexican Premiere
  • KROK International Animation Film Festival
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    September 13, 2017
    Russian Premiere
  • Ottawa International Animation Festival
    Ottawa
    Canada
    September 23, 2017
    North American Premiere
    Best Commissioned Animation
  • Paris International Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    September 23, 2017
    Best Music Video
  • Anim'est
    Bucharest
    Romania
    September 29, 2017
    Romanian
  • Tofuzi
    Tbilisi
    Georgia
    October 7, 2017
    Georgian
  • Animasyros
    Syros
    Greece
    September 30, 2017
    Greek
  • KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    October 21, 2017
    Dutch
    Best Animated Music Video
  • CutOut Fest
    Quérétaro
    Mexico
    November 11, 2017
    Best Music Video
  • Banjaluka International Animation Festival
    Banjaluka
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    October 28, 2017
    Bosnian
    Award for Creativity and Artistic Expression
  • Gdasnk International Animation Festival
    Gdansk
    Poland
    November 11, 2017
    Polish
    Best Music Video
  • Multvision International Festival of Animated Arts
    St Petersburg
    Russian Federation
    November 11, 2017
    Best Artist
  • Animafest Zagreb
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    June 4, 2018
    Croatian
  • Festival INternational du Film d'Animation d'Annecy
    Annecy
    France
    June 15, 2018
    Jury Award for a Commissioned Film
Distribution Information
  • Sève Films
    Country: France
Director Biography - Alice saey

Alice Saey is a Paris-born animation film maker and graphic designer. Her first animated short has been presented in several international festivals and was honored with the Arte Creative Prize in 2015. After her studies in Strasbourg, she moved to Rotterdam, where she has now based her studio. She won the HAFFtube online competition in 2015 for her hand-draw animated music video « She’s Young » for dutch band Shaking Godspeed. Alice collaborates with several cultural events and musical formations in Holland and France. In April 2017 she released her second music video « Happy », for Rotterdam-based singer Mark Lotterman. Her next short film « Flatastic », produced by Sève Films, which was partly developed at the Open Workshop in Viborg, was pitched at 2017 Visegrad Animation Forum.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

‘Happy’ is a portrait of a beautifully depressed modern society; a cruel observation of people’s minor achievements and ordinary disasters. Through the thorough portrayal of individuals stories, the lyrics draw a landscape of sociological patterns and the paradox of feeling unique while indulging in group behavior. The image here acts as a counterpoint: talking about people while looking at geese; geese constituting here a replica of large-scale human behaviors, society and general stiffness.
The Egyptian goose stood as a sacred symbol in Ancient Egypt ; nowadays it is just another Dutch city bird. In that aspect, it embodies both the idea of a beautiful mystery and a boring routine ; thus reflecting on the tone of the song, which is constantly balancing between sincerity and cynicism.
The animation starts to the image of a colorful cosmos, which turns out to be the eye of the goose. So the point of view of the video follows the structure of the storytelling; starting from the infinitely small and zooming out to a form of macrocosm made of the remaining pieces of the dancing geese, drawing small particles in space. All the while remaining within the area of a pond.

My idea was to leave Mark’s stories breathe during the chorus and have a more observational approach to the goose, in order to let the more surreal dance kick in once his voice is gone during the instrumental chorus. The idea is to create an immersive atmosphere of discovering, observation, leading up to surprise, awkwardness, and wonder.