Dancing with Dead Animals
Animation artist Maarten Isaäk de Heer was astonished by the huge number of animal deaths in his direct environment: from masses of fruit flies all dying together, to mice brought in by his own cat. He decided to make a record of all of the dead creatures he encountered over the course of a single spring and summer.
Making 3D photograms of their sometimes semi-decomposed bodies enabled him to bring them back to life, so they can dance with a contemporary Adam and Eve in a paradisiacal landscape of twigs, leaves, bark and other dead organic material.
The dome projection draws the viewer into this celebration of life after death. Along the way, this living tableau of cadavers becomes increasingly surreal, like a scene by Hieronymus Bosch. It’s a danse macabre, but without any malevolent intentions. It goes beyond good and evil, simply illustrating the same biology that governs us all.
Winner of the Filmfund DocLab Interactive Grant 2022
Honorable Mention at Fulldomefestival, Jena 2023
Exhibitions
Sheffield DocFest, Alternate Realities 2023
IDFA Doclab 2022
Screenings
FAB Berlin 2023
Horsetooth Filmfestival 2023
Macon Filmfestival 2023
Fulldome Festival Jena 2023
Fulldome/ VR, 8K, 10 min loop
Director
Maarten Isaäk de Heer
Production
Richard Valk, Evelyn Brancard for Menetekel Film
Sound Design
Michał Krajczok
Screening copy
Evelyn Brancard for Menetekel Film