Paris-based Loco Films has secured global sales rights to “Rock Bottom,” an animated feature exploring the life and music of British artist Robert Wyatt that will world premiere in the main competition at next week’s Annecy Festival.
“Rock Bottom” is a trippy portrayal of the romance between Bob, a famous rock musician, and Alif, a talented visual artist, delivered through lush and vibrant rotoscoped 2D animation.
Together, the duo dives into the creative vortex of 1970s hippie culture in Mallorca and New York. The film explores the elation and agony of the creative process, the allure of easily accessible drugs, breaking away from routine, and the complex nature of relationships.
Arnaud Godart, head of sales and acquisitions at Loco Films, told Variety: “We were fascinated by the originality and subtlety of the animation, which recreates the hippy ’70s era in an almost sensory way. The film is a unique and mesmerizing experience, and we’re sure it will be a major musical and cinematographic event around the world.”
“Rock Bottom” was written and directed by Maria Trenor, the first Spanish woman filmmaker to appear in Annecy’s main competition.
“Making ‘Rock Bottom’ was an extraordinary journey through Robert Wyatt’s music and personal history,” said Trenor. “This film attempts to capture the essence of his artistic and personal experience, translating into images and narrative the emotional highs and lows of his life. Each scene, each note in this film seeks to immerse viewers in a world where music is not just heard but felt and experienced. We hope this film will deeply resonate with all those who, like Bob, have navigated the tumultuous waters of creation and personal transformation.”
Referring to Trenor as simply a writer-director perhaps does the multi-talented artist a disservice. Trenor also designed the film’s backgrounds and main characters, did compositing and shadows for several sequences, sang in one of the songs, and animated the experimental films that one of “Rock Bottom’s” characters makes.
Alba Sotorra, the film’s producer and a rockstar of the Catalan film industry in her own right, says of the result, “‘Rock Bottom’ is one of the most beautiful albums I have ever heard. Those of us who know Robert Wyatt will inevitably become unconditional fans of this animated film. And those who don’t will be glad to have discovered him. Every frame of the film is a work of art that I am proud to be a part of. ‘Rock Bottom’ defies the conventions of animation by being led by female artists, whose influence and strength is reflected in every frame of the film.”
Source Agencies
