The Heart of the World
| The Heart of the World | |
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| Directed by | Guy Maddin |
| Produced by | Niv Fichman Jody Shapiro |
| Starring | Leslie Bais Caelum Vatnsdal Shaun Balbar |
| Music by | Georgy Sviridov |
| Cinematography | Guy Maddin |
| Editing by | Deco Dawson Guy Maddin |
| Release date(s) | 2000 |
| Running time | 6 min. |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | Silent film |
The Heart of the World is a short film written and directed by Guy Maddin, produced for the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. It is a homage to silent films, and as such, it is black and white, grainy, and without dialogue, and contains many references to styles and movies of the silent era. Only 6 minutes long, it runs at a very fast pace, at an average rate of two shots per second, which is intensified by the background music, Time, Forward!, by Georgy Sviridov.
[edit] Plot summary
Two brothers, mortician Nikolai and actor Osip (playing Christ in a Passion play), love the same woman—scientist Anna, who studies the Earth's core, or the "heart of the world." Anna discovers that the world is in danger. In order to save it, she must choose between the brothers, and finally decides on a rich industrialist, Akmatov. As a result, the very heart of the world has a heart attack. Realizing what she has done, she strangles Akmatov and enters the Earth's core, replacing the failed heart with her own. The world is then saved by the new message, Kino.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Win: Best Cinematography - Guy Maddin
Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film:
- Win: Special Mention - Short Film - Guy Maddin
- Win: FIPRESCI Prize, Best Short Subject - Guy Maddin
National Society of Film Critics Awards
- Win: Best Experimental Film - Guy Maddin
San Francisco International Film Festival
- Win: Film & Video - Short Narrative, Golden Gate Award - Guy Maddin
[edit] External links
- The Heart of the World at Zeitgeist
- The Heart of the World at AllRovi
- The Heart of the World at the Internet Movie Database
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