The Curtains Of Zagra

A hero with a thousand faces seeks the Moustache of Destiny.

A horseman sets off on a quest one morning and is diverted into the Underworld. Here he retrieves a magical moustache which affords him magical powers, such as flight and invulnerability. Finally returning home, he uses the moustache to slay his nemesis and restore the moustache to its rightful owner.

This comically Surreal film contains visual references to the stories of Odysseus, The Wandering Knight, The Man With No Name, Don Quixote, Icarus and Pegasus and the paintings of Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Sydney Nolan, Paul Nash and Rene Magritte.

The title is taken from a place in Spain where the locals use curtains instead of doors, which was also the location of many Spaghetti Westerns

  • Martin Pickles
    Director
    What Is Animation, Ode To Joy, Like Me, Only Better, The Time Travellers Of 1908, The Commuter, G.M.
  • Martin Pickles
    Producer
  • Mikey Georgeson
    Composer
  • Mikey Georgeson & The Civilised Scene
    Music performed by
  • Martin Pickes
    Film Design by
  • Mikey Georgeson
    Film Design by
  • Martin Pickles
    Scenario by
  • Mikey Georgeson
    Scenario by
  • Martin Pickles
    Animation
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Music Video, Short
  • Genres:
    Music, Surreal, Fantasy
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2014
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Shooting Format:
    Quicktime HD
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Spotlights at Whirlygig Cinema
    Hackney, London, UK
    August 6, 2014
  • pop-Z.com
    London, UK
    April 23, 2014
Director Biography - Martin Pickles

Originally from North Yorkshire, I spent several years at Oxford studying Classics, drawing cartoons, painting and designing theatre sets. I then moved to London to earn a living. But I ended up making films.

Some years later I studied Animation at the Royal College of Art, where my graduation film Like Me, Only Better (2007) was selected by seventy international film festivals and won prizes at five. Since then I have focussed mainly on hand-drawn animation.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The song and film are a paean to those bold enough to venture into their own personal underworld and return with "boons" for the rest of us.

This is an exciting collaboration between animator Martin Pickles and singer-songwriter (and graphic artist) Mikey Georgeson, formerly of British cult band David Devant And His Spirit Wife. The film evolved by osmosis from simple visual ideas which grew over time into the scenario you see before you.