2025
international
Film Festival
Official selection
‘SIGN ACTION SPACE’, an experimental short film based on music by the VIENNA IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA and the musicians’ hand movements, produced by MovingThought – Film + Philosophy, has been awarded Better Edition at the 11th Music Film Festival. Through graphic close-ups, mainly in black and white with rich contrasts, the film deconstructs and separates the orchestral communication process, layering and compressing it before bringing it back together in movements to rhythm and melody. After introducing a selection of hand signs used by the conductor to communicate with the musicians, the film turns to the dynamics of the orchestra in space. The viewer is led into the fascinating world of musical hand movements, where the orchestra’s music emerges in the moment. The film deals with the perception of this ephemeral communication and its rhythmic dynamics related to the hands and instruments. Using 14 cameras and various layering, animation, and stylization methods, the film experimentally processes a sequence of the Vienna Improvisers Orchestra’s instant composition praxis in a super wide-screen format.
