Telling stories through film and conversation.
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WILDsound's The Film Podcast

In each episode, the C.E.O. of WILDsound, Matthew Toffolo, chats about all things storytelling and film. Conversations with talented individual from all around the world.

Posts in Musical
EP 1202 - Filmmaker Yazan Al-Hajari (ETERNAL LINES: William Shakespeare’s Verse in Music and Motion)

ETERNAL LINES: William Shakespeare’s Verse in Music and Motion., 5min., USA
Directed by Yazan Al-Hajari
Eternal Lines: William Shakespeare’s Verse in Motion and Music” is the second part of a series where I delve into Shakespeare’s vast Canon, handpicking songs and sonnets that resonate deeply with me. I’ve woven these pieces into a narrative that, while personal in selection, unveils a connected story, reflecting the universal themes and emotions Shakespeare so masterfully depicted. This project is a heartfelt tribute to the timeless beauty of Shakespeare’s poetry, crafted with deep admiration for his poetic genius. While delving into Shakespeare’s poetry, my goal was not only to breathe new life into these classic texts but also to capture and reflect my own emotional journey as I navigated through the myriad of themes and expressions found in his work. Through a fusion of original music, captivating AI and real footage and visuals, and immersive sound design, I’ve endeavored to present Shakespeare’s poetry in a contemporary light, offering a fresh perspective that honors the essence of his work while inviting modern audiences to experience its magic anew.

https://yazanalhajari.com/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063482441871
https://www.instagram.com/yazanhajari/

Get to know the filmmaker:

My drive to create this film sprung from the enchanting layers within Shakespeare’s poetry—their timeless beauty and the myriad interpretations they invite. Each sonnet, with its rhythmic musicality and vivid imagery, became a cornerstone for the film’s narrative and aesthetics. This project was more than an academic endeavor; it was a personal voyage into the heart of these verses, exploring their resonance within my own life and experiences.

The process was two-fold: a devoted study of Shakespeare’s sonnets to honor their original spirit, coupled with a deeply personal journey to discover their significance to me. This wasn’t just about bringing academic analysis to life; it was about letting these verses breathe and speak through my creative lens, intertwining Shakespeare’s insights with my own. In essence, this film was fueled by a blend of fidelity to Shakespeare’s work and my introspective engagement with his poetry, striving to create a visual experience that is as rich and multifaceted as the sonnets themselves.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Oct. 5, 2023 - Musician Michaela Betts (THE ROSE music video)

THE ROSE, 4min., UK, Animation/Music Video
Directed by Hilary Campilan
Baroque-pop, cinematic folk tale about lost childhood, with ethereal vocals, weeping cello & distorted bass. Starring dancer / choreographer Chrissy Brooke, Directed by Hilary Campilan.

http://www.michaelabetts.co.uk/
https://fb.me/michaelabettsmusic
https://mobile.twitter.com/miksweety
https://www.instagram.com/mikbetts

Get to know musician Michaela Betts:
The Rose is a deeply personal biographical song about childhood trauma. I released the song initially as part of my EP Ripe Fruit and then re-released a “darker” more orchestrated version The Rose (Darker) in July 2023. Because of the strong imagery in the lyrics, I felt compelled to seek out the right people to collaborate on the music video. It always felt right to animate it.

I found Hilary Campilan the animator and director on Instagram and was immediately drawn to the striking work she was doing with dancers, animation and ai. I was already friends with dancer & choreographer Chrissy Brooke as we had worked together in a singing capacity. We all connected and the rest is history!


You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at
www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Sept. 25, 2023 - Filmmaker Linda Kudzmas (MISFORTUNE)

MISFORTUNE, 7min,. USA, Drama
Directed by Linda Kudzmas
Adapted from a Polish folktale, ‘Misfortune’ tells the story of two sisters; Marta the elder, and Zofia the younger. Marta is very rich, and lives in luxury. Zofia is very poor because Misfortune lives on her stove. Misfortune plagues Zofia, causing disasters that constantly keep her struggling to survive. When Zofia cleverly rids herself of Misfortune, Marta becomes jealous and risks everything to get Misfortune once again, living on Zofia’s stove.

https://friedegganimation.com/misfortune/index.html

Get to know the filmmaker:
The story of how someone can experience misfortune through no fault of their own, and how other people judge the situation and not the struggle.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

July 13, 2023 - Filmmakers Mike Schmiedeler, Michael O’Brien (DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON FRIDAY NIGHT)

DON’T TURN YOUR BACK ON FRIDAY NIGHT, 103min., USA
Directed by Mike Schmiedeler, Michael O’Brien
From EP Tom Morello – Meet former gravedigger turned doorman at the Park Hyatt in Chicago turned frontman to his own band, Ike Reilly. At 40 years old he landed a recording contract with Universal and in true rock & roll fashion he bought his family a dream home in his hometown of Libertyville, IL. Ike took his band out on the road where they became what The New York Times called “one of the best live bands in America.”

https://www.dontturnyourbackonfridaynight.com/the-film
https://www.instagram.com/mikeschmiedeler/
https://www.facebook.com/mike.schmiedeler/

Get to know the filmmakers:

Michael O’Brien: I introduced Mike to Ike and his music about 12 years ago…I showed him a demo/sizzle Ike and I had made for AMC that sadly was given a pass. Mike became a huge fan of Ike’s music and eventually a good friend. It took a few years of persistent cajoling but Ike finally agreed with Mike’s premise that his is a story that demanded to be told.

Mike Schmiedeler: What he said  I came as a fan. I knew how his music touched me and I also knew his story was so unique that it had to be told. He got his first record contract at age 40 while he was working as a doorman at a hotel. And he had been a gravedigger. Literally. But then he also married his high school sweetheart and had these 4 amazing kids. But then wrote some of the most insightful, provocative lyrics on life, death, money, lust, loss and hope that I’d ever hear. It’s like he exists in worlds he should not simultaneously.

July 8, 2023 - Filmmaker Kyan Li Rong Soh (PURPLE)

PURPLE, 4min,. Australia, Music Video
Directed by Kyan Li Rong Soh
Music Video depicting cold loneliness.

https://vimeo.com/kyans

Get to know the filmmaker:

In the aftermath of a painful, personal experience, I felt really lonely. This is my expression of that. It took my maybe two weeks (to make the film). That’s not normal for me, I usually spend a lot of time conceptualizing things before I shoot/record stuff, but this one flowed really quickly.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

February 26, 2023 - Filmmaker Philip G. Anderson (ALWAYS PRESENT)

ALWAYS PRESENT, 30min., USA, Musical Dance
Directed by Philip G. Anderson
An artist explores their relationship with fear in the creative process.

https://www.philipganderson.com/
https://www.instagram.com/philipgandersonmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/philipgandersonmusic/
https://twitter.com/panderson91

Get to know the filmmaker:

The things that I imagine motivate all artists, a desire to create, to explore and express artistic ideas, to tell a story. The project’s focus is to illuminate an artist’s relationship with fear in the creative process, how it influences them in conscious and subconscious ways, and how to acknowledge and accept that fear as an always present part of the process. I sought to illustrate that through contemporary dance, music, and film.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

February 23, 2023 - Filmmaking team of "O". (Fabien Legeron, Daniel Larose, Jennifer Gothuey)

O, 10min., France, Music
Directed by Fabien Legeron
Locked in since ever, exiled forever – In the in-between of anywhere, a form wanders aimlessly, cut from any companionship or hope.
What will be the meaning of finally being freed ?

http://www.fabienlegeron.com/

https://instagram.com/fabienlegeron

Conversation with filmmaking team:

Director: Fabien Legeron

Musician: Daniel Larose (GEROSTENKORP)

Performer: Jennifer Gothuey

Get to know filmmaker Fabien Legeron:

When Daniel contacted me, I had been in what one would call a creative rut for some time – life, its events and necessities, the struggles with jobs and loved ones that we all encounter, well, it takes its toll.


Amazingly, what felt like a creative emptiness vanished when this old aquaintance reached out saying “Hi, I’ve got this musical piece I’d like to make a short movie of, the only guiding idea is the word “Archangel””.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

February 18, 2023 - Musician Jonathan Bareford (CLEAR music video)

CLEAR, 5min., USA, Music Video
Directed by Jedidiah Roberson
Clear is about the clarity that our environment is in danger and understanding what side you are on. It’s proof that anyone can be changed to respect nature’s beauty, you just have to see it for yourself. It’s the urgency that something has to be done now, and that it cannot wait. That we all have that rebel in us that wants to do what’s right.

https://www.jonobareford.com/home
https://www.facebook.com/jonobareford
https://www.instagram.com/jonobareford/

Get to know Jonathan Bareford:

I’ve always been inspired by the landscapes of ice caves and glaciers. It reminded me of red rock slot canyons but in the form of ice. When I finished my last music video, I wanted to dive deeper into the story of trying to save the environment but this time about how overwhelming environmental preservation can feel when half of the world isn’t interested in helping. That made me want to take on a good vs evil action style to this video in sort of a vintage NASA aesthetic. Something that would feel more relatable like an old action movie and inspire people to really think about the concept and our environment.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

February 9, 2023 - Filmmaker Duy Viet Hai Tong (LONG KISS GOODBYE)

LONG KISS GOODBYE, 8min., Canada, Relationships
Directed by Duy Viet Hai Tong
A window into the last day of a relationship.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I made this film during a period where not a lot of things were happening around me. I was just trying to find my feet in a new environment. I had just graduated from university and moved to Canada. So, I think there was a personal component to making the film because it was for me to reflect on such a long journey from when I was a kid to just being done with the education environment and moving to another phase in life.

The relationship aspect of it came down to reflecting on past experiences and combining them with other things I know of. That’s where the European arthouse influence came in and I thought what a great tribute it would be to have a romance film in that style set in the modern day. We did ditch the excessive smoking though.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

January 8, 2023 - Filmmaker Asbirg Anderson (FLORES)

FLORES, 4min,. Germany, Music Video
Directed by Asbirg Anderson
Artur is strolling around the city of Münster. ‘What shall I do?’ he asks himself – ‘Live wild and dangerous’ was the response. Three encounters help him to be courageous.

https://instagram.com/asbirg.naranjo

Get to know the filmmaker:
The idea of making a film about the people and their deeds or words that stayed with me for years was not new. Then I went to diffferent short film festivals and what stood out to me was with which feeling I left the cinema. And I was like, wait, what if I make a positive short film. How would the audience feel about hat?

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

December 25, 2022 - Filmmaker Alex Sebastian (LOST AT SEA)

LOST AT SEA, 6min,. Germany, Music Video
Directed by Alex Sebastian
A fairy tale gone wrong: A woman between two men.

http://alexsebastian.de/
https://facebook.com/alexsebastianmuc
https://instagram.com/alexsebastianmuc

From filmmaker Alex Sebastian:

I’m basically a self producing independent rock/pop artist and as such in control of the whole creative process start to finish. First there was the song which was inspired by a friends poem. While I was working on producing song with some great musicians (e.g. drummer Jerry Marotta, who also played for Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney and many many more) I had to listen to it over and over again while out running. Images of a drifting abandoned boat came into my head (The starting image and the ending image.) and I crafted the initial plot.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

November 2, 2022 - Filmmaker Martin Daigle (BEAT)

BEAT, 11min,. Canada, Experimental
Directed by Martin Daigle, Sylvain Pohu
To subject to repeated beatings or physical abuse, to strike against repeatedly and with force, To shape or break by repeated blows, to defeat or subdue, and many other meanings of the word beat is thematic content that influenced the structure of this solo for drum kit and electronics. Furthermore, the abstract and various meanings of the word are represented by the sound of free jazz and noise music is present during the entirety of the piece.

https://www.martindrum.com/
https://www.facebook.com/martindaigledrums/
https://www.instagram.com/martindaigledrums/?hl=en

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

September 4, 2022 - Filmmaker Guo Xiang Khoo (CIRCLES music video)

“Circles” is a music video of a song composed by Charlie Lim. He is visualized as a pixel art character journeying through a surrealistic pixel art landscape to find his love. Conversation with the amazingly talented Singapore filmmaker Guo Xiang Khoo on the making of the film.

https://youtu.be/jaH7laaq808

Director Statement

Circles was my first time directing a music video. I had a thought that the idea of a character running around, looking for something he lost no matter the period or era a rather romantic thought.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service today. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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June 6, 2022 - THE 13TH NOTE Film Team

THE 13TH NOTE was the winner of BEST FILM at the May 2022 Experimental/Music Film Festival.

Interview with producer Jeff Spike Wong, producer KAT Troulinos, director Karim Khorsheed, musician Rusty Cooley, musician Yan Shen.

Project Links

“Traditional Classical compared to Speed shred metal, music that moves the soul differently in everyone.”

Film also showing on the WILDsound TV app next month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.


Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

April 3rd 2022 - Filmmaker Fritz Aigner (CHAMELEONS)

CHAMELEONS was the 2022 winning Feature Film at the Experimental, Dance, Music Film Festival.

“The documentary focuses on the diverse work of instrumental and singing teachers in the field of tension between education and being an artist, between elementary music teaching and musical excellence. How and where do the instrumental and vocal teachers actually work? What are the challenges you face?”

Conversation with filmmaker Fritz Aigner on the making of the film.

https://www.chamaeleons-film.at/

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app next month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.


Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

March 2, 2022 - Musician/Filmmakers Filmmakers Stella Cole & Emma Scotson (FINE)

FINE was the winner of Best Performances at the February 2022 EXPERIMENTAL Film Festival.


https://www.stellaxemma.com/

FINE, the Official Music Video - Sometimes no is enough without having to explain the story of why. This video embodies and presents as many depictions of “no” as possible.

Conversation with artists Stella Cole and Emma Scotson on the making of the film and the creation of the song.

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February 7, 2022 - Director Salvador Cantellano & Opera Singer Jenna Robertson (SPIRIT ORPHAN)

SPIRIT ORPHAN follows Scottish migrant Jenna Robertson’s recovery from bushfire and evacuation in the Gold Coast Hinterland through the creation of a new opera.

Film playing at the WILDsound TV app. You can watch for free and sign up at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform.

Conversation with director Salvador Cantellano & Jenna Robertson on the making of the film and their collaboration.

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January 25, 2022 - Filmmaker Paula Fouce (THE DARK HOBBY)

THE DARK HOBBY was the winner of BEST FEATURE FILM at the December 2021 ENVIRONMENTAL Film Festival. There is a 2nd screening on the WILDsound APP in February. You can watch for free and sign up at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS).

In Hawaii, a group of Native Hawaiians and conservationists struggles politically to protect the exotic fish being looted from the reefs. Turtles, whales, and dolphins are all protected, but not the fish. Now many verges on extinction. 28 million fish are in the aquarium trade pipeline at any given time. They undergo bladder piercing, fin cutting and starvation for shipment and reach the mainland dead or dying. They would have lived up to forty years on a reef. Fish species are in crisis worldwide and many are caught with cyanide and dynamite.

Conversation with documentary director Paula Fouce on the making of the film.

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January 24, 2022 - Filmmaker Hayley Young (DRIVE)

DRIVE was the winner of BEST FILM at the December 2021 MUSIC Film Festival. There is a 2nd screening on the WILDsound APP in February. You can watch for free and sign up at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS).

An intimate look inside a musician and producer’s collaborative process. Nationally renowned cellist and composer Joshua Roman records his 2020 Music Journal piece “Drive” with Ryan Hadlock, producer at Bear Creek Studio.

Conversation with director Hayley Young on the making of the film. http://www.hayleyyoung.com/

Hayley Young began working as Staff Photographer for Seattle Magazine and Seattle Business Magazine in 2009. In the years since, she has personally photographed over 2000 people and places across Washington State. Her work has been published nationally as well, taking assignments for The Guardian, Washington Post, Fast Company, OUT Magazine and The Sunday Times (UK).

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January 22, 2022 - Filmmaker Caitlin Gray (REVERIE)

REVERIE was the winner of Best Direction at the December 2021 Romance & Relationship Film Festival. There is a 2nd screening on the WILDsound APP in February. You can watch for free and sign up at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS).

A dance/music video: A woman is haunted by the memory of her lost love.

Conversation with filmmaker/choreographer Caitlin Gray on the making of the film with

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