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Rock Bottom film image; cartoon of man singing into microphone

Rock Bottom

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North American Premiere

Lost in a sea of sex and drugs in 1970s New York, a musician falls from a 4th-floor window, breaking his spine. Inspired by the life and music of Robert Wyatt, and specifically the 1974 album of the same name that Wyatt recorded after his accident, this animated rock opera tells the fictionalized but parallel story of Bob and Alif, lovers caught up in a self-destructive cycle of addiction on a drug-fueled but musically creative vacation in Majorca. After his life-changing fall and rehab, Bob reinvents himself as a singer-songwriter (just as Wyatt did).

Spanish filmmaker Trénor’s painstakingly detailed rotoscope animation serves as a springboard into a trippy, kaleidoscopic freak-out that mirrors the undulating rhythm of Wyatt’s six-song cycle. The gloomy, ambient synth and Wyatt’s high-pitched, sorrowful voice highlight the minimalist, jazzy, prog-rock album, underscored by the visuals that morph and mutate alongside the music. Rock Bottom is a hypnotic, psychedelic musical odyssey about redemption through art and love which should also give a new lease of life to a lesser-known masterpiece.

 

Supported by

Media Partner

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Fermí Herrero, Laura Casaña

Credits
Country of Origin

Spain/Poland

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
18+

At VIFF Centre

19+

At Fifth Avenue

86 min
Animation Art, Music & Photography Women Directors
AlbaSotorra, Jaibo Films, GS Animation, Empatic Production

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Producer

Alba Sotorra Clua, Miguel Molina, Robert Jaszczurowski, Aliaga Adán, Joaquín Ojeda de Haro, Dani Bagur

Screenwriter

María Trénor

ANIM

María Trénor, Marta Gil Soriano

Editor

Joaquín Ojeda de Haro

Original Music

Robert Wyatt Elidge

Art Director

María Trénor

María Trénor headshot; Rock Bottom director

María Trénor

With a degree in fine arts from the Faculty of Sant Carles of the UPV (Valencia), María Trenor has directed and produced several animated short films, including ¿Con qué la lavaré? (2003), which won the 1st Teddy Bear Award at Berlinale and the 1st Prize at ANIMADRID. Her 2009 short film Ex-Libris earned multiple awards and a Goya nomination. Her latest, ¿Dónde estabas tú? (2020), received the WIA Diversity Award. María teaches Audiovisual Media at the School of Art and Design of Valencia and has been involved in various conferences, publications, and animation festivals.

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