ANCIENT LORE

Film by Patrick Müller based on the poem Oceanus by H.P. Lovecraft

Germany, 2023, 16mm, 5:32 Min.
Voice-over narration: Bernhard Plank
Camera: Bolex H16 Rex 2
Film stock: Fujicolor Eterna Vivid
4K Transfer: Ochoypico, Madrid
Film processing: Andec-Cinegrell Filmtechnik, Berlin
Shot on location in Le Guilvinec, Treffiagat, Penmarch, Plogoff, Pleyben, Perros-Guirec, Dinard and Villers-sur-Mer France, 2023. Monument Valley footage shot by Patrick Müller on Kodak Ektachrome.
Music: Carlos Ebelhäuser

TRAILER
Vimeo (password-protected)
IMDB

EN: Ancient Lore: Troubled waters and accursed thaumaturges: Lovecraft's haunting vision of the sea and the unfathomable mysteries that lie within its depths, but also the ancient lore hidden beneath the waters.

DE: Alte Kunde: Unruhige Gewässer und verfluchte Thaumaturgen: Lovecrafts gespenstige Vision des Meeres und der unergründlichen Geheimnisse, die in seinen Tiefen liegen und in der Dunkelheit verborgene Kunde beherbergen.

FR: Tradition ancienne: Eaux hantées et thaumaturges maudits : la vision obsédante de la mer par Lovecraft ; les mystères insondables qui se cachent dans ses profondeurs, abritant des traditions anciennes cachées dans les ténèbres.

ES: Sabiduría antígua: Aguas turbulentas y taumaturgos malditos: la inquietante visión de Lovecraft en torno al mar; los misterios insondables que yacen en sus profundidades, que albergan conocimientos primordiales ocultos en la oscuridad.

BRA: Sabedoria antiga: Águas turbulentas e taumaturgos amaldiçoados: a visão assombrosa de Lovecraft sobre o mar; os mistérios insondáveis ​​que jazem em suas profundezas, que abrigam conhecimentos primordiais ocultos na escuridão.

ITA: Antico Retaggio: Acque tormentate e taumaturghi maledetti: l'ossessionante visione di Lovecraft del mare; gli insondabili misteri che si celano nelle sue profondità, che ospitano conoscenze primordiali nascoste nell'oscurità.

DIRECTOR STATEMENT

I shot this film with my Bolex 16mm camera in Brittany, France. With its wild landscape and spooky statues, it's the perfect setting for Lovecraft's poem about the horrors of the sea. The film employs special color timing techniques similar to those used by Martin Scorsese in THE AVIATOR to achieve the look of the old two-strip Technicolor process that Lovecraft might have experienced in cinema in the early 1920s. By focussing on red and blue tones, our perception changes and we see a completely different world. German musician Carlos Ebelhäuser gives the film the decisive touch.

DID YOU KNOW?

In Navajo legend, the giant red rock mesas of Monument Valley are the carcasses of defeated monsters.

FORMATS

Digital film file (HD), 4K DCP with optional German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles. 16mm optical print (61m) without or with German subtitles

FESTIVALS

09.05.2024 17th Philadelphia Independent Film Festival
20.04.2024 Fantastic Film Festival Australia
April 4–7, 2024 Puerto Aventuras International Film Festival
April 4–6, 2024 29th Artifact Small Format Film Festival
28.01.2024 19th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival
12.11.2023 16th CineToro Experimental Film Festival, Toro, Colombia
22.10.2023 15th Knoxville Horror Film Fest
13.10.2023 12th Halloweenapalooza Film Festival, Ottumwa, IA
14.10.2023 21st Fargo Fantastic Film Festival
06.10.2023 28th Annual H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival, Portland, OR
06.10.2023 6th Santiago Horror Film Festival, Chile
05.10.2023 43. Fantafestival (Mostra Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza e del Fantastico di Roma)
19.08.2023 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, Columbus Theatre – 270 Broadway, Providence RI, USA

REVIEWS

Stefano Coccia, Cineclandestino, 07.10.2023: “[…] here it is precisely the rhythmic pacing of the variegated marine scenes that asserts itself as a sad dirge, alternating with other elements endowed with a primal, ancient charm; such as the bas-reliefs and monstrous Gargoyle-like figures, uncovered on the walls and spires of some Gothic architecture. Adding to the estranging effect are the glimmers, the reflections caught on the surface of the water, the monotonous comings and goings of the surf, the other hieratic details of an inanimate world that seems, however, to hide dark presences, terrible secrets. While then the dark, mysterious imprint of Lovecraft's writing is whispered onto the film (a term that becomes decidedly appropriate again here, the short being shot in 16 mm) by a deep, restless voice, superimposed on it is the timbre so strong, evocative, of Carlos Ebelhäuser's music: it spreads through the air, gloomy, further filling the audience with sinister, spectral suggestions.”