#chronopolis

Chronopolis - Animated 3D Sci-Fi film [1983]

Chronopolis is a 1982 experimental stop motion science fiction film directed by Polish animator Piotr Kamler, with music composed by renowned composer Luc Ferrari, and, originally, narration by Michael Lonsdale. It was Kamler's first and only full-length film. The film won "Best Children's Film" at Fantafestival in 1982 and "Critics' Award - Special Mention" at Fantasporto, and it was shown out of competition alongside Patrick Bokanowski's L'ange at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

Plot

Chronopolis tells the story of a gargantuan city lurking in the sky colonised by powerful immortals who have become jaded and bored with eternal life, and thus have decided to manipulate elements of time. They play with atomic particles and electricity, and monotonously construct bizarre and unusual objects to assist in this, including a ball that communicates with higher technology, but in reality they are waiting for the ultimate gift to arrive in their hands. 

Balance (1989) fever

Suggestive versions here:

Chronopolis (1982) Piotr Kamler

meet with the artist, notes:

screening during Timeless Film Festival in Warsaw

⚪ opowieść o kuli we wszechświecie

⚫ a story of a sphere in the universe

⚪ a wzięło się to z zachwytu nad geometrycznymi kształtami, jakie dwa kolory piasku robią, przemieszawszy się w pudełeczku, które się traca

⚫ for which the idea came from a love of geometric figures, and also shapes that arise from mixing two colours of sand in a small box and flicking that box

⚪ atomy, kulki, materia, czas

⚫ atoms, spheres, matter, time

⚪ z czego ta kulka jest urocza i plastyczna, bardziej jak piłka

⚫ but the sphere in the story is cute and malleable and springy, more like a ball

⚪ plastyczna i skoczna i zmienna w przeciwieństwie do nieśmiertelnych zamieszkujących Chronopolis, twardzi, ze skały, niemalże nieruchomi, niezmienni

⚫ it's malleable and springy and CHANGEABLE as opposed to the immortal inhabitants of Chronopolis; they're hard, made as if from stone, almost immobile, a constant

⚪ gotowi odejść na rzecz tańca i przemijalności?

⚫ but they're ready to leave and make room for dance and contingency?

⚪ przepiękne rzeźby Kamlera

⚫ the figures are really beautiful, Kamler's that is

⚪ w czasie robienia filmu cała pracowania zawalona figurami i makietami

⚫ when the film was being made, his whole workshop was overfilled with figures and elements of the set

⚪ Krystyna Kamler odpowiedzialna za strój marionetki

⚫ Krystyna Kamler made the marionette's costume

⚪ opowiadała, że te rzeźby wzięły się z potrzeby jej męża do robienia rzeczy rękoma

⚫ she told us how she thinks that her husband makes figures because he just need something to do with his hands

⚪ na co on zaprzeczył, że to ma bardziej ideologiczny wymiar (nie nazwał tego tak), tj. reklamy i wszystko komputerowo tworzone w ciągłym ruchu, a animacja ma za sobą stałość, zatrzymanie

⚫ to which he disagreed that there's a more idealogical (he didn't use that word ofc) reason behind his drive, i.e. in opposition to the constant movement of ads and computer made films; where behind animation there is lack of movement, a stop

⚪ rzeźby i animacja, a rysunek; obok projektów zawsze, ale nie częścią "dzieła"

⚫ making figures and stop animation vs drawing; besides his animation projects there were always drawings but as a kind of antithesis, never part of the actual project

⚪ ale robił też animacje komputerowe

⚫ but he also did start doing computer animation

⚪ szczególnie że to pozwalało działać bez większego finansowanie, projekty mniejsze, łatwiejsze do robienia samemu

⚫ especially since this allowed him to work on a tighter budget, without waiting for financing, allowing him to work alone easier

⚪ bo właściwie sam zrobił Chronopolis przez 4-5 lat i jak ktoś z widowni go spytał o inspiracje, to powiedział, że unika inspiracji jak może, że niczego nie oglądał

⚫ because he liked working alone and he made Chronopolis by himself in 4-5 years; when a member of the audience asked him about his inspirations, he said that he avoids all and any inspirations

⚪ co mnie osobiście rozbawiło, bo chwilę potem opowiadał, że kompozytorzy eksperymentalni (Pierre Schaeffer, Iannis Xenakis, Luc Ferrari) pracowali po swojemu i trudno było się z nimi dogadać

⚫ which was funny because he soon said that working with experimental composers (like Pierre Schaeffer, Iannis Xenakis, Luc Ferrari) was difficult because they did their own thing and there wasn't really real cooperation

⚪ mówił, że Luc Ferrari właściwie skomponował ścieżkę do Chronopolis po fakcie, ale że zaproponował coś, co właściwie oddawało wizję Kamlera, przyjął to

⚫ he admitted that Luc Ferrari composed the score after the animation was finished but since he proposed a sth that was in line with Kamler's own idea for the film, he accepted it

⚪ ktoś inny spytał o kwestię narracji przez Michaela Lonsdale'a, na co Kamler powiedział po prostu, że to nie w tym filmie

⚫ someone else asked about the Michael Lonsdale narration thing to which Kamler replied that it was not a thing for this move