‘One-Way Ticket to the Other Side’: Pornographie Exclusive Music Inspires Oldenburg Anthology Film
“A film is – or should be – more like music than like fiction,” Stanley Kubrick once said. “It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what’s behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.”
The Oldenburg Film Festival and Brussels-based Cold Wave/Electro-Rock musical duo Pornographie Exclusive have taken this to heart. On Friday evening, they will put on a special show in the form of the world premiere of an anthology film called One-Way Ticket to the Other Side, accompanied by a live gig by Pornographie Exclusive (PE), at Oldenburg’s State Theater.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
The organizers promise to take audiences on a “road trip through the labyrinths of the human psyche.”
PE consists of actress and dubbing specialist Séverine Cayron (The Belgian Wave) and writer, director and cinematographer Jér?me Vandewattyne (Spit’n’Split, The Belgian Wave) who was honored with last year’s Audacity Award in Oldenburg, which is given to a film that pushes the boundaries of modern cinema – in his case: The Belgian Wave, a psychedelic drama set in the early 1990s when there was a wave of UFO sightings in Belgium and the country was diagnosed with a collective psychosis. Inspired by the vibe of the festival, Vandewattyne and Cayron teamed up with Oldenburg fest director Torsten Neumann and his partner, Canadian actress Deborah Kara Unger (The Game, Thirteen, Fear X), to produce an anthology film.
The result is One-Way Ticket to the Other Side, made with short films that are contributions from PE themselves and 10 filmmakers and Oldenburg alumni who were each inspired by one track from the band’s debut album. The not-so-blockbuster budget for each film contribution: 100 euros ($110).
The Oldenburg describes the film as “a cinematic, musical and surreal journey that follows two masked characters – stoic outlaws with a mysterious past – as they wander through a world suspended between end and beginning, dream and reality.”
The Friday show, meanwhile, will combine live music with indie cinema into a showcase of “a musical anthology outside the system, deeply punk and defiantly free, where it is not the journey that inspires the music but rather the music that creates the stories.”
Read below the short comments that the directors of each part of the anthology shared about their respective contributions.
A Party in Tears by Guillaume Campanacci
“The first time that I heard ‘A Party in Tears,’ I felt violence surrounding me. A carnal reaction. The lyrics made me turn a beautiful French new wave boy-meet-girl into a nightmarish cannibalistic boy (m)eat girl. ‘Share with me, the demons that you hide.'”
Under the Black Sky by David Gregory
“I wanted to have some fun doing a throwback to classic era music videos by using homage, pastiche and testing out of digital effects while drawing on my passions for old exploitation cinemas and still standing cinema buildings, the people behind these enduring classics and a smattering of absurd and occasionally gross imagery all with the indispensable help of veteran Euro cult actress Geretta Geretta (Demons, Rats) and VFX wizard Kyle Broom trying out some delicious new goopy visuals.”
Electric Blue by Douglas Buck
“I found a profound sense of melancholy – of reflection and thoughtfulness – captured in the Electric Blue piece that spoke deeply to me, and to my sensibility as a filmmaker. Walking alone amongst the evocative architecture of Old Montreal, hypnotized by the haunting song on a loop in my headphones, it took little time at all for the story of the neglected girl Electric Blue and the pained man she meets to reveal itself to me.”
Wanderlust by Truman Kewley
“The challenge of crafting something visually compelling within the constraints of this anthology was one I embraced wholeheartedly. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of this project. The song demanded strong visuals, blending layers of static and motion in a dynamic way. Collaborating with Jér?me and Séverine, we created Wanderlust, a surrealist piece that delves into the theme of loving something that appears impossible to love.”
Pire Que La Douleur by Martina Sh?ne Radunski
“The lyrics suggest that pain drives us to seek connection, leading to beauty, creativity, and deeper relationships. My short film offers a counter-interpretation by showing my protagonist V seeking connection but being rejected, demonstrating that pain can also deepen loneliness, even when we long for companionship. Yet, despite this painful isolation, the film suggests a glimmer of resilience.”
Invitation to a Suicide by Buddy Giovinazzo
“The first time I heard ‘Invitation to a Suicide,’ it painted a place in my mind that was disturbing and beautiful at the same time. I decided to let the music take me back to my roots, to a place where I felt at home. Naturally, that would be the grimy rundown city of Berlin.”
Kosmische Liebhaber by Patrycja Planik & Andreas Horvath
“A nameless creature falls onto a stony landscape, releasing energy that feeds life and color into the surroundings. The cosmic clash of alien flesh and million-year-old structures evokes the spectacle of consuming lava that once created Earth.”
From a Bridge View by Jér?me Vandewattyne & Séverine Cayron, aka Pornographie Exclusive
“We had planned to introduce Icon with a strange catwalk, lit only by the characters’ van. However, a sudden change of location caused by the arrival of destructive gangs prompted us to rethink the mood, transforming what was intended as a simple interlude into a full segment. We shot and composed ‘From A Bridge View’ in 48 hours, a true creative trance. We were caught up in our own game, and it was a real pleasure.”
Icon by Jen Gatien
“I was immediately drawn to the pulsating relentless beat of ‘Icon’ and immediately envisioned a fantastical journey. Influenced by Gaspar Noe and Dennis Hopper, I wanted to create a hallucinatory motorcycle ride through the neon-lit nightclub environments of New York City to the swamps of Mississippi. For me, the song ‘Icon’ feels cinematic and emotional, so I wanted to feel transported to an abstract world, where there is nothing linear.”
Cracks by Katsuki Kuroyanagi
Inspired by the word “Cracks,” the film is set in an old section of Shibuya in Tokyo that has escaped redevelopment and is a metaphor for the divide between the masses and the underground.
Slander by Edgar Pêra (whose movie Telepathic Letters (Cartas Telepáticas), created with AI images, will screen at Oldenburg)
“The idea for this film is not really important. What was important were the feelings and sensations I got when I first heard ‘Slander.’ When I make a film, I don’t want to show anything. I want to talk about something, through the cinematic medium, and hearing ‘Slander’ gave me the right energy, vibrations that already resonated within me. So, ‘Slander’ for me is the perfect match, a match made in (AI) hell.”
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
