The Maestro
2011 · 6m · Australia
Directed by Adam Anthony
Genres: drama, experimental
Tones: contemplative, surreal, tender
A homeless man finds and liberates a device that takes him into a symphony of light and sound, with the filmmaker using time-lapse photography to visualize the protagonist's extraordinary perception of reality — 3rd Prize for Best Cinematography at Tropfest 2011.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Anthony wrote, directed, produced, edited, and art directed this himself on a Canon 5D Mark II with available light — every technical limitation is converted into a formal choice, and the timelapse decision is the one that makes the film irreducible: only time-lapse can show what it feels like when time has come unmoored.
Homeless man liberates a device, timelapse stands in for altered perception. The Koyaanisqatsi comp is generous — this is a 2011 Tropfest finalist, which is exactly the ceiling it hits.
Adam Anthony shoots a homeless man's altered perception through real city timelapse rather than CGI — Koyaanisqatsi-grain grounded in a single consciousness. Tropfest cinematography prize well-placed.
Festivals
- Tropfest 2011, 3rd Prize, Best Cinematography