Private Project

SMASHED


A creative mind puffing on a marijuana pipe looking for inspiration embarks on a psychedelic journey around the surreally empty streets of Venice, Italy.

  • Jean Michel Sinisterra Munoz
    Director
    Anima, I Delitti del Bar Lume, Off Meter
  • Federica Marchese
    Director
    The Blind Zone, Ennoi
  • Jean Michel Sinisterra Munoz
    Key Cast
  • Federica Marchese
    Cinematographer
    Blue Lanterns, The Kidnappers, The Hairdryer
  • Michael J. Munoz
    Music Score
  • Project Type:
    Music Video, Short
  • Genres:
    Dance, Music Film, Dance Film
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    500 USD
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Jean Michel Sinisterra Munoz, Federica Marchese

FEDERICA MARCHESE

Italian-Polish award winning cinematographer and writer/director/producer graduated with a double major in cinematography and directing from the Beijing Film Academy.

Federica started her career as a visual artist in Berlin, Germany, in 2010, where she co-founded False Manners Productions, an independent visual art production house that integrated moving images with electronic music. 
 
Since 2016, after relocating to Beijing, China, Marchese worked as director of photography for Chinese feature films and television series, including the "The Kidnappers", "Nothing but Thirty" and "Ghost in the Body," released on China's most renown streaming platforms, besides shooting several short-films and documentaries.

Between 2021 and 2022 Federica won four "Best Cinematography" awards in Los Angeles and New York International Film Festivals with the film "Blue Lanterns”, shot and produced in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China and the film “Off Meter”.
 
Marchese's directorial debut was in 2017, with the release of the Fantasy/Thriller short-film "Ennoi", winning 3 awards as “Best Female Director”, “Best Cinematography”, “Best Film” and getting screened in more than 15 countries all over the world.

MICHAEL J. MUNOZ aka Jean Michel Sinisterra Munoz

Colombian from African/indigenous/hispanic descent multidisciplinary artist, actor, dancer and musician, with almost 20 years of experience as a contemporary dancer, Jean Michael has worked with some of the major choreographers in the world such as Damien Jalet, Ohad Naharin and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui to name a few.

He is currently involved in a European Tour with a 30 minutes solo for stage called "3S", created by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Cyrano, Anna Karenina, Beyonce choreographer).

Till 2019 he was part of the prestigious Swedish Gotheborgsoperan DansKompani and he performed on the original Netflix film “Anima”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and choreographed by Damian Jalet for Thom Yorke’s album.

His passion for films has brought him to brunch off his career to acting for camera and since 7 years he has played as protagonist and secondary character in several short-films and music videos among Sweden, Italy, China and Malaysia.

The last January Michael debuted on Italian television playing the role of Santiago in the Sky Cinema tv-series “I Delitti del bar Lume” at its 10th season, and a couple of years earlier he won a honourable mention award as “Best Actor” in Shanghai.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The music/dance film “Smashed” is the result of a close collaboration between a dancer/actor/musician and a cinematographer/piano player who found themselves during a pandemic lockdown in the vicinity of Venezia.

Having both grew up in Italy, we knew that the city of Venice in that specific time where the streets were completely empty, was a blessing that only a few could ever experience. We had an unbelievable location, a camera and some basic equipment, a couple of people who were willing to help and a countdown of five days before the 10pm mandatory curfew began.

The story developed into a psychedelic adventure through the empty, narrow, history filled streets in the city of the bridges and canals.
It's a visual description of the sensations and feelings arising in the human mind on a cannabis induced psychedelic trip.The paranoia, sense of lost and ultimately, enlightenment, rings the artist to break through the metaphorical walls of his insecurities, making him experience a new intellect hidden deep within himself but not without consequences.

The music score was composed by Michael J. Munoz featuring Federica Marchese’s keyboards and was entirely created in post-production, with a specific attention to create sounds tailored to the choreography.

“Smashed” is our own product, a personal challenge, the outcome of our relationship, strangely born in China and strengthen up through all the journey of up and downs, rewards and frustrations that the pandemic carried for two people like us, who used to live free around the world and suddenly got forced to go back to a country they didn’t belong to for a long time.