Normal

“Am I normal?” Various forms of this question accompany us throughout our lives. If we don’t fit into the ‘normal’ box, the world reminds us to conform. But no matter how hard we try, there always seems to be a bit missing – or sticking out from the box. What to do then? Should we keep up our endless quest for normality, or is it better to accept that life doesn’t have to be normal?

Czech singer-songwriter Petr Vořešák searches for answers to these fundamental human questions in a short music documentary based on a collaborative audio-visual experiment. People from around the world reveal a unique take on what normality means to them – from the perspective of their feet. The result of two years collecting these poetic contributions is a music film – but by no means a normal one.

  • Petr Nuska
    Director
  • Petr Nuska
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Music Video
  • Genres:
    Music, Documentary, Experimental, Live performance
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 24, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Czech Republic
  • Country of Filming:
    Czech Republic, France, Russian Federation, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    Czech, English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Short Film Breaks
    Bucharest
    Romania
    January 8, 2022
    Romanian premiere
    Award: Bronze Elephant in the Experimental Film category
  • VASTLAB Experimental 2022
    Los Angels
    United States
    November 11, 2021
    US premiere
    Official Selection
  • TAKT Film Fest
    Novi Sad
    Serbia
    September 23, 2021
    Serbian premiere
    Official selection
  • Buzz Vicious Underground Film Festival
    Amazonas
    Brazil
    July 5, 2021
    South American premiere
    Official selection
  • Mediating Camera
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    May 3, 2021
    Russian premiere
    Official selection
Director Biography - Petr Nuska

Petr Nuska is a visual ethnomusicologist and ethnographic filmmaker. His passion for capturing music straddles music documentaries and music videos, both guided by commitment to innovation in pursuit of underexplored perspectives on music. Since 2011, he has been involved in projects worldwide in the fields of documentary and ethnographic film, educational and activist videos, and production of music videos with independent musicians. Results of this work have been screened at various international film festivals. He is currently producing a feature-length documentary film ‘Blood, Sweat and Tearful Music’ (for premiere in November 2021), which emerges from his visual-ethnomusicology PhD research.

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Director Statement

I created the music film ‘Normal’ for Petr Vořešák – my musical alter ego – to mark the end of my quest for normality; hoping it helps me stop trying (and pretending) to be normal once and for all, and that it inspires others in their personal ‘normality’ quests.