Haiku
"Haiku | 俳句" is a symphonic audiovisual project for two Japanese performers, alternating percussion groups, soundscapes and rhythmicized video sequences. The film is an experimental approach to pay tribute to the extraordinary art of Japanese haiku poetry.
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Martin GerigkDirectorStructures of Nature, Rain, Energy
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Martin GerigkWriterStructures of Nature, Rain, Energy
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Martin GerigkProducerStructures of Nature, Rain, Energy
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Eri UchinoKey Cast
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Cauro HigeKey Cast
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Project Type:Experimental, Short, Other
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Genres:poetry, haiku, music, percussion, Japan, audiovisual, experimental
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Runtime:17 minutes 17 seconds
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Completion Date:February 2, 2020
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Production Budget:10,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Germany
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Country of Filming:Japan
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Language:Japanese
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Shooting Format:digital, 4k
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Montelupo Fiorentino International Independent Film FestivalMontelupo
Italy
October 1, 2021
Best Experimental Film -
23rd The Artists Forum of the Moving ImageNew York
United States
October 1, 2021
Winner Best Editing -
Serbest International Film FestivalKishinev
Moldova, Republic of
September 1, 2021
Best Experimental -
54th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film FestivalHouston
United States
April 1, 2021
Gold REMI Winner “Experimental Short (Music)” -
69th Columbus International Film & Animation FestivalColumbus
United States
April 1, 2021
Best Experimental/New Media -
New Renaissance Film FestivalAmsterdam
Netherlands
March 1, 2021
Best Experimental -
18th Oxford Film FestivalOxford
United States
March 1, 2021
Best Experimental -
36th International Digital Arts Festival Videoformes 2021Clermont-Ferrand
France
March 1, 2021
Official Selection -
Sydney International Film FestivalSydney
Australia
December 1, 2020
Best Editing -
XXIII Icaro International Film Festival in Central America
Guatemala
December 1, 2020
Best International Experimental Short -
Austria International Film FestivalVienna
Austria
November 1, 2020
Best Poetry Short -
21st Fargo Film FestivalFargo
United States
March 1, 2021
Official Selection and Honorable Mention Winner -
39th New Jersey Film FestivalNew Brunswick
United States
January 1, 2021
Official Selection and Honorable Mention Winner -
2021 Film and Video Poetry SymposiumLos Angeles
United States
January 1, 2021
Best Experimental -
10th Balneário Camboriú International Film FestivalBalneário Camboriú
Brazil
December 1, 2020
Winner “Vivo Award - Language” -
Sherman Oaks Film FestivalSherman Oaks
United States
November 1, 2020
Grand Jury Prize Winner “Best Short Film – Experimental”, Filmmakers Award Winner “Outstanding Director – Experimental” -
17th annual Syracuse International Film FestivalSyracuse
United States
November 1, 2020
Best Experimental Short -
Reykjavik Visions Film FestivalReykjavik
Iceland
October 1, 2020
Best Experimental Film -
32nd Girona Film Festival GFFGirona
Spain
September 1, 2020
Winner “Remedios Varo Award” (video creation section) -
BonDance International Film FestivalUreshino
Japan
September 1, 2020
Best Film Score -
Filmfest BremenBremen
Germany
April 1, 2021
Official Selection
Martin Gerigk (*1972) is a composer of contemporary music. His repertoire includes compositions for orchestra and chamber music, as well as several solo concertos. His compositions are performed nationally and internationally including in Korea, Japan, USA, England, Finland, Austria and Switzerland. In this context he works together with renowned international soloists and ensembles.
In addition to his compositional work he is known for his remarkable audiovisual art and experimental films which focus on inherent synesthetic connections of sound and visual perceptions. Besides creating interwoven aural and visual landscapes of music, nature sounds and video sequences one important aspect of his art is the illustration of the hidden poetry of nature phenomena and sciences.
His experimental films won several international prizes and were screened at noted festivals like Asolo Film Festival, International Digital Arts Festival Videoformes, Girona Film Festival, Salento International Film Festival, Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, USA Film Festival, New Jersey Film Festival, Sidney International Film Festival, Fargo Film Festival, Sherman Oaks Film Festival, Canberra Short Film Festival, Film and Video Poetry Symposium Los Angeles, Syracuse Film Festival or ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival.
I first came into contact with haiku poetry in my youth. In a small library. There was a book with selected haiku by the great Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō containing the original Japanese version and an English translation. Probably then, the fascination for this extraordinary poetry seems to have embedded itself somewhere inside me.
The real dimension of haiku poetry only became clear to me while visiting Japan for the first time years later. The untouched, partly wild nature in Japan has an almost spiritual attraction. At that time, as a composer, I asked myself whether it is possible to capture these wonderful impressions in an abstract haiku that does not consist of words and syllables, but of music, text and photographic events. This is how the idea came about for the current project.
However, the implementation should take a few more years. In order to be able to select suitable traditional Japanese haiku for the film project in terms of content and sound, it was initially essential to fully learn all the official Japanese characters called kanji in order to be able to research in Japanese databases at all. A really difficult learning session!
For example, Kobayashi Issa, one of the four great haiku poets whose haiku I use in the film project, wrote more than 20,000 haiku. At first it looked as if it would be an almost impossible undertaking to find the suitable thematic texts for the film. So, it took several months to create the script for the film.
Following the typical structure of a traditional Japanese haiku the film contains 17 specific events divided in three parts of 5, 7 and again 5 units. All these events are built and derived from original Japanese haiku, contemporary text sequences, sound patterns, rhythmicized video sequences or pure music sections. In their entirety they create a kind of abstract and virtual “hyper-haiku” including a typical “seasonal” and “cutting word” called kigo and kireji.
The music of “Haiku | 俳句”is inspired by the omnipresent rhythms of nature. I therefore decided only to use percussion instruments for the music. In total, more than 100 individual instruments were recorded for the film project, an exciting experience. My special thanks go to Tobias Liebezeit, a true sound magician!
Working with the two actors was also a great asset. It was not easy to find two Japanese performers who were willing to communicate their inner feelings unfiltered only through facial expression and body language. With Eri Uchino and Cauro Hige I finally found the best actors that I can imagine for the film. The interaction during the shoot was absolutely fascinating and very touching.
Contrary to expectations, traditional haiku usually imply no personal views or emotional reflections in the first instance. They rather describe different frozen moments in juxtaposition, intended leaps of thoughts and images, crystallized and distilled to be perceived just like they are.
So, the speech, images and music of “Haiku | 俳句” are intentionally kept in suspense like in common haiku poetry. They wait for an audience to come to life eventually. An audience that is willing to get involved in discovering the hidden superordinate haiku within combined chains of intertwined poetic visual and auditive associations, patterns and layers. Just by this interaction the haiku finally gets complete and reaches a state of emotionality. And at best, something new and touching emerges for each individual viewer.
Overall, the implementation of the project was a very rich and wonderful experience. A time that I really enjoyed and that is still having an impact on me. I hope that I can take the audience on my journey into a very special world and culture. There's a lot to discover!
When I look back, the film is probably nothing more than an absolute declaration of love for Japan, its people, culture and wonderful nature.