TOVO

Wandering thinkers of Antiquity known as Peripatetics found that our best thoughts come to mind while wandering. The rhythm of walking frees the head, sensuous experiences of the great outdoors excite brain storms. Nietzsche's thoughts did not occur to him standing at a lectern either, but rather when he was on the move. He always took a notebook on his endless rambles in Switzerland's Upper Engadine. At night, he would map out his formulations. Illustrator, painter, graphic artist and filmmaker Thomas Steiner discovered his Sils Maria in a different mountain village – in northern Italy's Liguria. The district of Tovo Faraldi in Villa Faraldi became his place of contemplation. While a camera serves as his notebook, the footage is later thought out – or better yet – thought further using a frenetic drawing pen, multiple exposures and Werner Puntigam's powerfully raw aural landscape.

Stepping through a traced over shot of the archway to a stone chapel, we soon find ourselves repeatedly retreading a forest and meadow path marked with wayside crosses. The multiple black and white movement of this specific place takes hold. It gurgles, rattles and rolls on the ground, zones of focus dance, animated strokes in terracotta-yellow-brown-black and ochre tones take over, with a few splashes of color adding red notes. Can the ephemeral be caught? Explosive clusters, euphorias, ant hills. Thoughts resemble insects that swarm around us, ("flies in the brain"), Jackson Pollock, small flames or mental flashes, electrical discharges. We walk in the opposite direction to exit the chapel, over to an unmarked tree in the lush countryside.

In Barcelona, there is a TOVO Academy that has an intelligent soccer training program designed to provide players with great foresight and anticipatory understanding. Less academic and in only eight minutes, the wanderer in Tovo Faraldi also succeeds in reaching this destination. (Regina Schlagnitweit)

Translation: Eve Heller

Orig. Title
TOVO
Year
2020
Country
Austria
Duration
8 min
Director
Thomas Steiner
Category
Experimental
Orig. Language
No Dialogue
Downloads
TOVO_01 (Image)
TOVO
TOVO_02 (Image)
TOVO_03 (Image)
Credits
Director
Thomas Steiner
Idea/Concept
Thomas Steiner
Music
Werner Puntigam
Composer
Werner Puntigam
Animation
Thomas Steiner
Production
Thomas Steiner
Supported by
BKA - innovative film, Land Oberösterreich, Stadt Linz
Available Formats
DCP 2K flat (Distribution Copy)
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Sound Format
stereo
Frame Rate
25 fps
Color Format
colour
Digital File (prores, h264) (Distribution Copy)
Festivals (Selection)
2020
Wien - Two Days Animation Festival
Linz - Crossing Europe Film Festival
2021
Zilina Fest Anca - Festival of Animated Films
Graz - Diagonale, Festival des österreichischen Films
2022
Vilnius - Tindirindis International Animated Film Festival
Neusiedl am See - Pannoptikum int. Figurentheater-Festival
2023
Paris - PIAFF Paris International Animation Film Festival