Film by Johanna Billing
Produced by WHW/Rooseum
Cinematographer: Manne Lindwall
Sound: Petra Jezutkovic
Original Song: Sydney Barnes 1968 (Chevis Music publishing Corp, BMI)
Editing:
Copyright: 2005, WHW/Rooseum
6 minutes, Color
Magical World
Johanna Billing colaborated with a group of schoolchildren. Together with a small orchestra, the children solemnly rehearse a song. The camera drifts past the children, often just showing the surroundings of the building. It is only than that we see a shattered country. In fact, the video is shot in Zagreb, Croatia. With this in mind, you begin to look at this work differently, more ambiguously. But even when you think about it, at the same time you just want to listen. You hear the kids quarrel, fooling around and you hear them sing.
To me, it is reminiscent of the epilogue of Ahn Hung Tran's feature film
Xich Lo, where after an hallucinating, violent film we end up with schoolchildren singing, just singing.
Magical World almost had the same impact on me, it is like a naive quiet little place to lay your head to rest.
Magical World