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
Fermí Herrero, Laura Casaña
Spain/Poland
2024
English
At VIFF Centre
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
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
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.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Memories of Murder
Parasite director Bong Joon-ho's police procedural is the centrepiece of our retrospective and arguably his masterpiece. Certainly, among serial killer movies this one is on a par with Zodiac and The Silence of the Lambs, but more politically astute.
Flow
In this wordless and gorgeously atmospheric animated feature, a solitary black cat survives a tsunami and must confront his fear of water whilst sailing through a flooded world with a group of misfit animals. An enchanting adventure film for all ages. Rated: G
Emilia Pérez
When a defence attorney (Zoe Saldana) is enlisted to tend to the affairs of a notorious drug lord (Karla Sofía Gascón) completing gender affirmation surgery, there will be blood, ballads, and dance numbers. A maximalist musical from Jacques Audiard.
Every Little Thing
If you thought Flow was an emotional rollercoaster, wait til you meet Cactus and Wasabi, baby hummingbirds fighting for their lives under the loving care of hummingbird-whisperer Terry Masear, an Angelino who makes it her mission to nurse injured birds.
