At times you find yourself on a dark road in a deep black valley. It is hard to orient yourself. You vaguely recall who you are, but it is hard to completely grasp, you have to lay down to dissolve into the ground.
We all contain darkness. A door to a strange place, where the world falls apart and becomes unrecognizable. A floaty reality, almost dreamlike.
How do we respond when we have to face our own fears and mortality, and is it possible to find tranquility within the world of our nightmares?
These are some of the themes explored by the new art project Color Me, a collaboration between Danish director Martin de Thurah and Active Child, the musical alias of American singer, songwriter and producer Patrick Grossi.
De Thurah has combined sculpting, live-action recordings and visual effects with the trembling and distorted sound of Active Child’s track ”Color Me” to create a haunting andvisually innovative film - one of his most ambitious projects to date.
“I wanted to make something frightening, and I know it is very hard. To create a film in which someone was physically penetrated by their own anxiety. In a gentle way, with a lot of love and the possibility of healing,”
Martin de Thurah says.
For Patrick Grossi the project echoes an attempt to grasp the sadness and hope of life.
”It is hard to be human. Our capacity to feel can be overwhelming. But how we process great emotion and crippling anxiety is what sets us apart. My own fear of death has beenwith me since I was boy. My fear of a complete end, a full stop, like going to sleep, it haunts me. It lives within me and takes shape in my dreams. It is why my music much of the time is an attempt to reconcile with the existence of a spiritual world,” Grossi says.
The creation of Color Me began in 2019 and as Martin de Thurah worked tirelessly with his team to form the right expression, the global pandemic changed the world and added layers of meaning and relevance to the film. The result is an emotional and visceral experience, which demands the attention and reflection of its spectators.
The film was produced by Bacon and BaconX
Film idea & direction
Martin de Thurah
Music
Patrick Grossi / Active Child
Woman
Lisa Carlehed
Dinner guests
Jan E. Sørensen
Aude Didieus
Ida Oxager
Niels Ole Hauerberg
Jan Stougaard
VFX lead and master
Mikkel Hansen
Editor
Peter Brandt
Director of Photography
Rasmus Videbæk
Executive Producer
Samuel Cantor
Producer
Maximilian Mayrshofer
Sound Designers
Adrian Aurelius, ballad /
Philip Nicolai Flindt, ballad
Sound Post Producer
Gregers Maersk Moller, ballad
Coordinator
Nicholas Perry
Production assistant
Caroline Worning
2nd Unit DoP / Best Boy
Phillip Jørgensen
Focus Puller
Franz Borde
Video Assist
Benjamin Ingvorsen
Sound Recordist
Tajs Jespersen
Gaffer
Morten Kildegaard
Electricians
Christian Lightobdy &
Paula Zuehlsdorf
Costume Concepts
Melanie Buchhave
Costumes
Lula Lucky
Make-up Artist
Yunah Radecker
Make-up Assistant
Natascha Lysgaard
Production Design
Choki Lindberg
Props Master
Denise Conradi
SFX on physical elements
Thomas Foldberg,
Martin de Thurah &
Denise Conradi
Post Production Company
Bacon X
Executive Producer VFX
Eliana Carranza-Pitcher
Creative Advisor VFX
Jonas Drehn
VFX Artist & Concept Development
William Reynish
VFX Supervisor & Lead Compositor
Mikkel Hansen
Compositors
Kai Hauswirth,
Mario Maruska,
Oliver Buus,
Mikael Balle,
Mario Maruska
3D Artists
Kim Fersling &
David Ryberg Lessel
Colorist
Hannibal Lang
Conform and Color Assist
Søren Knudsen
Editors Assistant
Nikolaj Dahl
Graphic design
Benjamin Robin Graahede
Website
Peer Vilmann,
Benjamin Vilmann
Dreams
Pejk Malinovski,
Martin De Thurah
A special thanks to the workshop team.
Kasper Tuxen and friends plus Jona for hospitality, Sabine Hviid, Marie Boye, Clara Øckholt, Erik Øckholt, Jane Tang
...To our contributing friends
Dagmar Kestner, Tobias Boesen, Katherine Mills Rymer, Mikkel E.G, Marcel Zyskind
...And to our great partners
Thomas Foldberg Make-Up and Effects, Gaffers & Morten Kildegaard, Simon Engstrøm,
MAAN Rental & Christian Pedersen, Film Gear & Peter Andreas Nielsen / Martin Baagdan,
AVIS Denmark, Geoffrey Marchal, Wonderland & Mads Jørgensen / Christian Rathmann,
Selsø Slot & Elisabeth Holm Nielsen / Peder Skytte