Summary
“Drift considers the body as landscape through close-up images of skin. The music likewise takes a close-up view of a series of harp chords and viola harmonics. Using real photography in extreme close-up creates a foreign yet familiar world, removed from reality, yet sometimes almost too close. In the music, this tension is mirrored. Original samples are exploded into a multitude of tiny elements before being reconstructed into a tight arrangement based on the Fibonacci series.” Specialten
Awards
- Best Digital Film, London Int’l Animation Festival, UK, 2008
- Best Experimental Film, Muuuvi ISFF, Romania, 2008
Credits
| Director, Producer, Animator | Max Hattler |
| Asst. Animation | Andrew Denton |
| Music | Mark Bowden |
| Photography | Maja Flink |
| Cast | Cindy Tippett |
| Supported | Stadthaus, Ulm, DE |
| Conceived during an Aldeburgh Music Residency with the Camberwell Composers Collective | |
| Formats | 35mm, Beta SP, DVD |
| Length | 3’33” |
| Year | 2007 |
Screenings & Exhibitions
2020-2016
- Under the Radar, Blickle Kino, Belvedere 21 Museum, Vienna, Austria, Fri 9 Oct 2020, 18:00 (Phantasia: Twisting the Mind’s Eye programme curated by Noel Palazzo / Punto y Raya Festival)
- EXiS: Experimental Film and Video Festival in Seoul, Seoul, South Korea, 1-15 Aug 2020 (Indi-Visual: Max Hattler Artist Spotlight)
- Taichung International Animation Festival, Taichung, Taiwan, 11-20 Oct 2019 (Director in Focus 2)
- KLEX, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 25 Nov 2017 (Max Hattler Retrospective)
- Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria, 7-11 Sep 2017 (Max Hattler: In Persona screening)
- Expo 2017, Astana, Kazakhstan, 14 Jul 2017 (Max Hattler Retrospective presented by Visual Music Award and German Pavilion)
- Filmfest Dresden International Short Film Festival, Dresden, Germany, 4-9 Apr 2017 (Animated: Max Hattler Retrospective)
- Art Bermondsey Project Space, London, UK, 2017
- The World of Digital Art with Andrej Tisma, #128: Max Hattler’s Video Art, American Corner, Novi Sad, Serbia, 27 Oct 2016
2015-2011
- Indie-Anifest, Seoul, Korea, 17-21 Sep 2015 (Max Hattler screening)
- MIAF, Melbourne, Australia, 24 Jun 2015 (Max Hattler screening+Q&A)
- Wednesdays at The Forge, The Forge, London, UK 13 May 2015
- Monstra Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, 16-22 Mar 2015 (retrospective)
- Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 21 Nov 2014 (retrospective)
- Last Friday Shorts, Southend on Sea, UK, 26 Sep 2014 (curated by Michaela Freeman)
- Village Green Festival, Chalkwell Park, Southend on Sea, UK, 12 Jul 2014
- Fest Anca, Zilina, Slovakia, 18-22 Jun 2014 (Profile: Max Hattler)
- Jenseits der Sprache – Language and beyond, Galerie B, Stadtbibliothek, Stuttgart, Germany, 4 Apr – 24 May 2014 (Thorsten Fleisch, Max Hattler, Michel Kloefkorn, Robert Seidel 4-person ITFS exhibition)
- Nozstock Festival, Bromyard, Herefordshire, 26 Jul 2013 (Max Hattler Retrospective)
- Schaustelle, Munich, Germany, 15+16 Jun 2013 (Max Hattler: Selected Works)
- AniFest, Teplice, Czech Republic, 27 Apr 2013 (lecture)
- Max Hattler Presents…, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, UK, 23 Aug 2012
- Lago Film Fest, Revine Lago, Italy, 20-28 Jul 2012 (Max Hattler retrospective)
- Golden Kuker Animation Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria, 12 Jun 2012 (Max Hattler Panorama)
- ISFF Detmold, Germany, 8 Jun 2012 (Zwischenbilanz: Max Hattler Retrospective)
- Royal College of Art, London, 6 Jun 2012 (presentation/workshop)
- Go Short, Nijmegen, Holland, Sun 18 Mar 2012 (Max Hattler Special Screening)
- Animac, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, 1-4 Mar 2012 (Max Hattler Special Screening)
- Royal College of Art, London, 23 Feb 2012 (presentation/workshop)
- InShadow Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, 5-9 Dec 2011
- Max Hattler Screening, Off and Free Film Festival, Seoul, Korea, 17-23 Nov 2011
- East Pop Red, Red Gallery, London, 12-18 Oct 2011
- Ulm Szenen – Szene Ulm, Stadthaus, Ulm, Germany, 11 Oct 2011
- East Pop West, London, 30 Sep – 2 Oct 2011 (group exhibition; Max Hattler solo screen)
- The Lost Picture Show at Shambala, Northamptonshire, UK, 28 Aug 2011
- Re-Loop, C the Film, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh, UK, 4-30 Aug 2011
- Exploding Cinema, The Others, London, 27 May 2011
- Off Loop, Espacio de Proyectos Sant Pere, Barcelona, Spain, 11-21 May 2011
- Middlesex University, London, 28 Mar 2011
- La Elástica, Montreal, Canada, 26 Feb 2011 (curated by L’Alternativa)
- Structuring Strategies: Max Hattler, CalArts, Valencia, CA, USA, 25 Jan 2011
- Sound & Stories Amplified: Hattler & Odell, Solothurn Film Festival, 22 Jan 2011
- London Short Film Festival, London, UK, 14 Jan 2011 (live rescore event)
- Max Hattler: Relations & Abstrations (curated by Klaus W. Eisenlohr), Directors Lounge, Berlin, 8 Jan 2011
2010-2009
- Videomedeja Festival, Novi Sad, Serbia, 17-19 Dec 2010
- Met Film School, Ealing Studios, London, UK, 15 Nov 2010
- MUMIA, Brazil, Betim & Nova Lima, 6-12 Sep; Belo Horizonte, 13-19 Sep 2010
- XI Jornadas de Cine Mudo de Uncastillo, Zaragoza, Spain, 18-20 Jun 2010
- Leiden International Short Film Festival, Leiden, Holland, 28-30 May 2010
- Habitacion del Ruido, UCSJ, Mexico City, 28 Apr 2010
- Signes de Nuit, Paris, France, 3 Apr 2010 (curated by L’Alternativa)
- House of European Culture, Prague, 31 Mar 2010 (curated by L’Alternativa)
- University of Westminster, London, UK, 8 Mar 2010
- 6th Berlin International Directors Lounge, Berlin, 14 Feb 2010
- The Animation Workshop, Viborg, Denmark, 9 Feb 2010
- Psarokokalo: Athens Int’ Short Film Festival, Athens, Greece, 1-7 Feb 2010
- Southampton Solent University, UK, 17 Feb + 23 Apr + 7 Dec 2009
- Pantheon Int’l Xperimental Film Festival, Nicosia, Cyprus, 20 Nov 2009
- Ravensbourne College of Design, London, UK, 28 Jan + 20 Nov 2009
- Fredrikstad Animation Festival, Norway, 14 Nov 2009
- ProyectAragon, Zaragoza, Spain, 17 Nov 2009 (curated by L’Alternativa)
- Kinofest, Bucharest, Romania, 24 Oct 2009
- Optica Festival, Madrid, Spain, 16 Oct 2009
- Branchage Film Festival, Jersey, Channel Islands, 3 Oct 2009
- Animae Caribe Festival, Port of Spain, Trinidad, 30 Sep – 3 Oct 2009
- Square Eyes: Made in Arnhem, Arnhem, Holland, 26 Sep 2009
- Best of Videofestival Bochum at Juicy Beats, Dortmund, Germany, 1 Aug 2009
- Muuuvi Tent, Peninsula Festival, Romania, 24 Jul 2009
- ArtsFest, Wellington College, Berkshire, UK, 23 Jun 2009
- Videofestival, Bochum, Germany, 18-20 Jun 2009
- Kecskemét Animation Film Festival, Kecskemét, Hungary, 17-21 Jun 2009
- Napoli Film Festival, Naples, Italy, 10-15 Jun 2009
- Art Video International Film Festival, Cannes, France, 19-23 May 2009
- RiverRun Int’l Film Festival, Winston-Salem, NC, USA, 22-29 Apr 2009
- Kunst (er)schöpft, Kloster Roggenburg, Germany, 11 Mar – 17 Apr 2009
- RAF Festival, Zagreb, Croatia, 29 Mar – 4 Apr 2009
- Videoformes, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 10-14 Mar 2009
- Refresco! / Tratado de Integracion, Neuquen, Argentina, 26-28 Feb 2009
- MK2 Bibliothèque, Paris, 24 Feb (curated by Videoformes) 2009
- artbelowzero, Westbourne Studios, London, 18 Feb 2009
- Kunsthochschule für Medien, Cologne, Germany, 22 Jan 2009
2008
- ISFF Leuven, Belgium, 29 Nov – 6 Dec 2008
- Anilogue IAF, Budapest, 27-30 Nov + Vienna, 1-3 Dec 2008
- Ne1co’s AV Social, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 27 Nov 2008
- L’Alternativa Festival + Tour, Barcelona, Spain, 14-22 Nov 2008
- Animated Dreams, Tallinn, Estonia, 21 Nov 2008
- Audioscope, Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford, UK, 16 Nov 2008
- Max Hattler: Future Abstraction, Someone’s Garden, Tokyo, 2-15 Nov 2008
- Royal College of Art, London, UK, 6 Nov 2008
- Digital Dreams, Superdeluxe, Tokyo, Japan, 1 Nov 2008
- FIA, Stockholm, Sweden, 31 Oct – 2 Nov 2008
- Future Shorts tour in Spain incl. Madrid, Barcelona, Canarias, Cuenca, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Murcia, October 2008
- BIAF, Brisbane, Australia, 30 Oct 2008
- Filmini ISFF, Sofia, Bulgaria, 22-26 Oct 2008
- Curtocircuito Festival, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 17-24 Oct 2008
- The Film Diary, Leicester, UK, 24 Oct 2008
- AIAF, Sydney, Australia, 17-18 Oct 2008
- Ourense IFF, Ourense, Spain, 11-18 Oct 2008
- Anim’est IAFF, Bucharest, Romania, 3-12 Oct 2008
- Premio Simona Gesmundo, Italy, Oct 2008
- Animae Caribe Festival, Trinidad, 23 Sep 2008
- Abstracta, Rome, Italy, 24 Sep 2008
- AnimationVolda Festival, Volda, Norway, 13 Sep 2008
- LIAF, London, UK, 2-7 Sep 2008
- Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival, Groningen, Holland, 21-31 Aug 2008
- Portable Film Festival, Australia, 1-31 Aug 2008
- Aeon Festival, Shobrooke Park, Devon, UK, 23 Aug 2008
- Dislocation Festival, Luton, UK, 14-16 Aug 2008
- Muuuvi ISFF, Lazar Castle, Romania, 1-3 Aug 2008
- Image Forum Festival, Tokyo, Kyoto, Fukuoka + Yokohama, Japan, Apr-Jul 2008
- Anima Mundi Gallery, Rio de Janeiro + Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 2008
- AURORA Tour at Animator Festival, Poznan, Poland, 9 Jul 2008
- AIAF, Bendigo, Australia, 27-28 Jun 2008
- MIAF, Melbourne, Australia, 20 + 22 Jun 2008
- Animafest, Zagreb, Croatia, 31 May – 5 Jun 2008
- Apple Store Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, 26 May 2008
- Planet Studyo Plus One, Osaka, Japan, 24 + 25 May 2008
- Kyoto Saga University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan, 20 May 2008
- Osaka Electro-Communication University, Osaka, Japan, 15 May 2008
- Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences, Nagoya, Japan, 14 May 2008
- Elektra Festival, Montreal, Canada, 9-13 May 2008 (screening curated by Némo)
- Dohjidai Gallery of Art, Kyoto, Japan, 29 April – 11 May 2008
- Uplink Factory, Tokyo, Japan, 7 + 8 May 2008
- FFIAK International Animation Festival, Yokohama, Japan, 6 May 2008
- Apple Store Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, 5 May 2008
- Britspotting FF and Tour, Berlin, Stuttgart + Cologne, Germany, Apr-May 2008
- San Francisco IFF, USA, 24 April – 8 May 2008
- Notte Bianca in Università, University of Pisa, Italy, 24 Apr 2008
- Hattler/Seidel Japan Tour Launch, Le Baron, Tokyo, Japan, 23 April 2008
- East End Film Festival, London, 17-24 April 2008
- Nemo Festival, Paris, France, 10-20 April 2008
- Bristol School of Animation, University of West of England, UK, 16 Apr 2008
- AURORA Tour at Belfast Film Festival, Northern Ireland, 13 Apr, 20h 2008
- Creative Futures, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, 9 Apr 2008
- ‘Bugs for Teeth’, Lumen Eclipse, Cambridge, MA, USA, 1-30 Apr 2008
- AURORA Tour at Pushkin Cinema, Chelyabinsk, Russia, 22 + 29 Mar 2008
- BYDESIGN 08, Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, USA, 6-13 Mar 2008
- FDMX, Norwich School of Art and Design, Norwich, UK, 6 Mar 2008
- Newport School of Art, University of Wales, Newport, UK, 4 Mar 2008
- London Animation Studio, Central St. Martin’s College, London, UK, 25 Feb 2008
- Southwark Playhouse, London, 21 Feb 2008
- 24/7 DIY Video Summit, USC, LA, USA, 8-10 Feb 2008
- University College for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK, 7 Feb 2008
- FLAMIN Special Screening, Bloomberg Space, London, 6 Feb 2008
- AURORA Tour, Rodina Cinema, St. Petersburg, Russia, 25 Jan + 1 Feb 2008
- FDMX, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, 23 Jan 2008
- London SFF, London, UK, 4-13 Jan 2008
2007
- Istanbul Int’l Animation Festival, Turkey, 2007
- Kasseler Dokfest, Kassel, Germany, 2007
- Amiens IFF, France, 2007
- Videologia Festival, Volgograd, Russia, 2007
- AURORA Festival, Norwich, UK, 2007
- Braunschweig IFF, Germany, 2007
- Tindirindis Int’l Animation Film Festival, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2007
- Ferdinand-von-Steinbeiß Schule für Grafikdesign, Ulm, Germany, 2007
- Nikolaus-Kopernikus-Gymnasium, Weissenhorn, Germany, 2007
- Media Art Friesland Festival, Leeuwarden, Holland, 2007 (artist talk)
- Media Art Friesland Festival, Leeuwarden, Holland, 2007 (solo exhibition)
- Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, UK, 2007
- Faster Than Sound Festival, Suffolk, UK, 2007
- Max Hattler Retrospective, Roxy, London, 2007
- Max Hattler: Drift, Stadthaus, Ulm, Germany, 2007
Publications & More
- Selected Shorts 12: Labo Works, DVD, July 2011
- Souvenirs from Earth TV, Germany + France, since 2009
- Animation Blog, Jan 2009
- Max Hattler vs. Robert Seidel DVD, Japan, Dec 2008
- Re-Imagining Animation P. Wells & J. Hardstaff, 2008
- Specialten DVD 22, Sep 2008
- Nominated for NPS New Arrivals, Jun 2008
- Directors Notes, Feb 2008
- British Council support, 2008
- Hear and Now, BBC Radio 3, UK, 8 Sep 2007
What others have said
Drift is a collaboration with music composer Mark Bowden, devised during an Aldeburgh Music residency. Drift considers the body as landscape through close-up images of skin. The music likewise takes a close-up view of a series of harp chords and viola harmonics. Using real photography in extreme close-up creates a foreign yet familiar world, removed from reality, yet sometimes almost too close. In the music, this tension is mirrored. Original samples are exploded into a multitude of tiny elements before being reconstructed into a tight arrangement based on the Fibonacci series.
Specialten, issue 22, UK, 2008
Drift is a beautiful and mesmeric film, which examines the human epidermis in close-up, re-imagining our skin, its hair and pores, as landscape – growing, changing, living.
Paul Gallagher, Dangerous Minds, 2011
Drift uses close-up shots of the body reflected in glowing blue light to suggest a kind of human landscape.
Caitlin Leslie, Schön, issue 8, UK, 2010
Drift sees the body as a metaphorical landscape. Eerie and sometimes too close for comfort, the film aims to transform the familiar and mundane into something poetic and mysterious in order to create distance from closeness, and reflection from immersion … hair floats through the landscape and creates an oblique narrative, while three layers of sound unfold concurrently, creating an evolving wave of harp and viola sounds interspersed with granulated electronic frequencies.
Re-imagining Animation, Paul Wells and Johnny Hardstaff, 2008
The mood is at the heart of this piece. One part horror film and one part nature study certainly makes for a compelling mix.
Media Art Friesland, 2007
engrossing … Max is definitely one of the most original, startling animators around.
Ian Lumsden, Animation Blog, 2009
A haunting travel log of our most intimate inner space.
Animation Show
A film collaboration with composer Mark Bowden in which the body-scape and musical instruments are portrayed through extreme close-up shots.
Anima Mundi
A fascinating voyage in the ordinary seen from a non ordinary point of view. Epidermic, and still deep…
No Fat Clips
An intricately constructed, ultra close-up look focusing on a part of our bodies we all barely see and take for granted.
Melbourne International Animation Festival
This film … once again shows very clearly the trademark of the young artist [Max Hattler]: an enjoyment of the experimental.
Stefan Loeffler, Südwest Presse
It’s great to see abstraction at this level.
Jan Otto Ertesvåg
étonnant.
Fous d’Anim
Other Projects
A circular looping animation projection installation and award-winning abstract universe by Max Hattler.
- 2021
In this stereoscopic installation two-dimensional abstract animation is turned into immersive images with strong three-dimensional depth. Utilising a two-screen, semi-Cave Automatic Virtual Environment, Vœrtex creates a unique experience for the viewer, a hybrid space situated halfway between immersion-in-abstraction and the real world of the gallery space.