SAT FEST 2022
2022 | Experimental
45 min
Licensing
Since its first edition in 2012, the SAT Fest has become a major event for immersive creation, offering ample room for experimentation and artistic creativity. With its eclectic selections of short films specially designed for domes, SAT Fest has fueled the imagination of thousands of spectators and highlighted the universe and creative vision of more than a hundred local and international visual and sound artists.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
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- OFFICIAL SELECTION | Macon Film Festiva, États-Unis (2023)
- OFFICIAL SELECTION | FIVARS, Canada (2024)
- Broadcast at New Images Festival, France (2024)
CREDITS
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Labyrinth
A film by
Sergey Prokofyev
The Orchid and the Bee
A film by
Frances Adair Mckenzie
Swarm
A film by
Maarten Isaäk De Heer
Introductory econometrics
A film by
Lydia Yakonowsky
Grandma's House
A film by
David Gardener
Astro
A film by
Widy Zhang, Weilu Ge and Shaoyu Su
Jacinthe.xyz
A film by
Sébastien Labrunie and Clément Putegnat
Soundtracks
« Koln Train », « Bowed cymbal tape manipulations in pyramiden community centre gymnasium 2 », «Minced Daikon », « Barentsburg bbq_s in storage 2 », « Train Dreams », « Counter weight », «Driftwood marima tape manipulations on shore 2 », « Discaded Accordion reeds in pyramiden community centre gymnasium », « Quagmire », « Coughing accent »
by Nick Kuepfer
Presented by
FEATURED FILM
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LABYRITH
A labyrinth is a space urging a person to constant movement. When viewed from above, we have an objectively distinguishable idea of a line, a pattern or an ornament. In a labyrinth, we fall under the visual impact of a particular configuration of space, which is impossible to get out of, being stuck in the disorientation effect. We switch to a subjective perception of life. As we move
continuously, the perception of the labyrinth space changes every second. Squares, streets, passages, corridors, rooms form a dynamic structure of the urban labyrinth. The film represents an attempt to combine the architectural fantasy of a labyrinth and the visual experience of walking through time.
Directed by Sergey Prokofyev
THE ORCHID AND THE BEE
Nature is wondrous and clever. As Darwin taught us, those who improvise most effectively prevail. There are species who under threat revert to earlier forms, others who cultivate parasitic relationships with neighbouring beings, while the most inventive ones transform their bodies to mimic and seduce unsuspecting companions. The Orchid and the Bee is an expressionistic VR ode to
ife’s struggle for existence, explored through a chain of genetic love affairs.
Written and directed by Frances Adair Mckenzie and produced by Jelena Popović
SWARM
Swarming is a behavioral phenomenon to survive, but more than often, it is a prelude for extinction. Fly with the flock as they travel from Germany, over the Alps, to the
Mediterranean Sea. Small birds migrating over exhausted and exploited landscapes. Robins, tits and sparrows do not usually migrate this far, but in a near future, they might. Swarm offers a bird's eye's view over landscapes of three dimensional photo collages that show a part of Europe after climate change.
Directed by Maarten Isaäk De Heer
GRANDMA’S HOUSE
A story of memory and dementia. Recalled memories of time spent at grandma’s house become ever more confused, as the film spirals into the depths of dementia. The memories become muddled and confused as the film progresses, matched with the ever increasing strangeness of the animated scenes depicting the memories.
Directed by David Gardener
ASTRO
In Astro, our earth, the only astronomical object is known to harbor life, is unfolded through the lens of an intelligent being in outer space. As it rotates lens to zoom in and out, the journey of observation brings the multi-scale discoveries of ecological changes and machinic visions with an artistic imagination: from a vast forest where the flames roar into the wild creatures to the melting iceberg revealing hidden information, from the diagrams of ancient pseudoscience (astrology) to the latent walk of AI’s generation, from the data-driven landscape to the algorithmic generative visuals, from climate change to the creature’s migration. This audio-visual work poses a question: why explore space in the context of known and unknown as well as folding and unfolding.
Directed by Widy Zhang, Weilu Ge and Shaoyu Su
JACINTHE.XYZ
When was the last time you took a moment to really look at one small ordinary thing? We are exposed to massive amounts of pictures and signals every day, and we're trained to swipe and process large quantities of content. This piece is about taking a break from the continuous data flow. It’s about slowing down and contemplating the tiny ordinary beautiful things that we usually swipe away. JACINTHE.XYZ explores the full color palette of one single 3D photogrammetric scan of a group of hyacinths. Using real-time modulations and distortions, the visual characteristics of the subject derive into different pictorial rhythms. The soundtrack comes from a recording of a live clarinet/looper improvisation session by the talented french musician Clément Putegnat, providing an added layer of acoustic poetry.
Directed by Sébastien Labrunie and Clément Putegnat
INTRODUCTORY ECONOMETRICS
Introductory Econometrics is an exploration of generative visuals, representing creative imaging of diverse elements of economic modelization. In this film, the curves free themselves from the theory of economics as to move throughout a vibrant universe of data, in a vast autocorrelation choreography; the graphic grid interfaces evolve to create new spaces, immense walls, starry ceilings.
Directed by Lydia Yakonowsky
Credit : Myriam Menard
Sergey Prokofyev
Director of Labyrinth
Sergey Prokofyev is a trained architect and filmmaker based in Berlin. At the intersection of architecture and cinema, he develops a unique approach to immersive storytelling. His work stands out for its use of innovative techniques to create immersive films that transcend traditional communication tools. Sergey explores the connections between space, movement, and action, integrating diverse cinematic methods to reveal the sensory dimension of architecture. By combining sound, virtual space, and motion, he creates environments that push the boundaries of human perception, immersing the viewer in a deeply engaging experience. His immersive projects have been recognized at several international festivals. In collaboration with neuroscientists, he also conducts research on cognitive mechanisms related to perception and human behavior in urban environments. In 2022, he contributed to the film SATFEST, known for its bold approach to narrative spatialization. His involvement enriched the work with a sensitive reflection on spatial immersion, merging architectural experimentation with cinematic language.
Frances Adair Mckenzie
Director of The Orchid and the Bee
Frances Adair Mckenzie is an interdisciplinary artist who has exhibited in Canada and Europe. Her work negotiates speculative investigations into concepts of materiality, staging and form, always in deference to process as the hands-on manipulation of real materials and objects, most often through the interface of digital technology and sculpture. Frances’s augmented reality book, Glossed Over & Tucked Up, was published in 2016 by Montreal’s Anteism Press. Her association with the Nation Film Board of Canada began with the 10th edition of Hothouse, when she created the surrealist animated short A Little Craving. Her most recent NFB project, The Orchid and the Bee, is a VR stop-motion animation that speaks to the interconnectedness of all living things. Frances lives and works in Montreal.
Maarten Isaäk De Heer
Director of Swarm
Maarten Isaäk de Heer is a Berlin-based animation artist. Besides his commissioned work, every 2-3 years he produces one piece of free animation. His works explore new forms such as installations of animated paintings, 360°, Fulldome, VR, lenticular print and animated wildlife documentary. In 2020 he started Menetekel Film; a production company with a focus on bad omens.
David Gardener
Director of Grandma’s House
Montreal Life Support (David Gardener) is a musician and multimedia artist from the UK. Working with sound, projection, light and kinetic sculpture to create thought provoking and meaningful experiences.
Weidi Zhang
Director of Astro
Weidi Zhang is an LA-based new media artist/researcher/designer. Her current research and media art practices investigate A Speculative Assemblage - interactive image-data-based visualization of a human-machine reality in the context of experimental data visualization, speculative design, responsive Intelligence system, and immersive media. Her works are featured at international venues, such as the SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Best In Show, ISEA, Times Art Museum (CN), Japan Media Arts Festival, Lumen Prize (UK), SIGGRAPH ASIA, CVPR, IEEE VISAP, Planetarium 1 (RUS), Zeiss-Planetarium (GE), Society For Arts and Technology (CAN), and others.
Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate in the Media Arts and Technology Program and a graduate researcher in Experimental Visualization Lab. She lectures at UC Santa Barbara and The Ohio State University.
Sébastien Labrunie
Co-director of Jacinthe.Xyz
Sébastien Labrunie is a French visual artist, producing immersive installations pieces, 360 fulldome content, experimental VR experiences and A/V live performances. Using a multimedia approach, he crafts loops and glitches connections between analog and digital worlds to create sensory experiences, exploring human perceptions through organic textures and light. With a background in
graphic design and VR industry he is now mainly focusing on experimental narrative forms, digital/analog glitch art and immersive installation art of all scales. He is also working on live performances with the Taiwanese sound artist Lu Yi since 2016 as the A/V Duo Sondes.
Lydia Yakonowsky
Director of Introductory Econometrics
Lydia Yakonowsky is an economist with a background in visual arts. She seeks to represent various elements of economic modeling in innovative ways. The development of generative visuals reflects the process of optimization that is so common in economics: the efficiency of creation is maximized through programming. In her work, elements of theory are continually confronted with the complexity of the real world. Her highly mathematical visual style illustrates both organized structures and their deconstruction.