Marianne
3:10 / Germany / Canada / 1970s / 2021 / Super 8 / Sound
Synopsis: I bought a sight-unseen, silent Super 8 film at a flea market in former East Berlin, with Marianne handwritten on the cartridge. Upon viewing, I was drawn into the intimacy of a couple playing a geopolitical board game, and I researched the objects within the home – board game, liquor bottle, cigarette package, fabrics, and furniture – to date the film between 1969-1972. During Covid lockdowns in 2021, I composed a soundtrack to Marianne, weaving my compositions and homemade foley with archival broadcasts from the Cold War era (e.g. Radio Berlin International, Radio Moscow, Cold War number stations) to reflect finding love through the cacophony.
Director: Laura Pitkanen
Artist bio: Laura Pitkanen is a composer and critical geographer drawn to making experimental soundtracks for film and working with found 8mm home movies. She is also a songwriter and guitarist, creating floating melodic hooks among moody and evocative songs in the bands Adaptor 45 and Long Branch.