Ovid, New York premiere
Beautifully stylized poster for Ovid, New York
Dear Friends,
I am very happy to share the world premiere of Vito A. Rowland’s first feature film Ovid, New York — featuring an original score by myself — on June 9, 2024 at the Brooklyn Film Festival. The beautiful film, shot entirely on 35mm, has this synopsis: Seven tales of transformation poetically reimagine Ovid's Metamorphoses and paint a picture of violence and catharsis, anchored in mythical landscapes.
The soundtrack releases June 7, 2024 digitally worldwide, as well as on Bandcamp Friday.
Score credits:
Composed and Arranged by Jordan Dykstra
"Still-Life with Flowers and Dead-Game" is an arrangement of "Bebe" by Hermeto Pascoal. Licenced and distributed with permission.
Performed by (in order of appearance)
Dobro, Acoustic Guitar: Caspar Sonnet
Viola, Vibraphone, Waterphone, Bass Drum, Gong, Synthesizer, Lyrics, Finger Snaps, Melodica, Programming: Jordan Dykstra
Piccolo: Davide Bonomo
Violin: Rimma Agbo
Double Bass: Bob Jones
Cello: Josh Wise
Tenor and Baritone Saxophone: Ben Wareham
Flute: Michael Pestel
Guitar: Taku Sugimoto
Flute: Wakana Ikeda
Voice, Piano, Finger Snaps: Evan Johnston
Whistle: Vito A. Rowlands
Score samples available here:
Also worth mentioning, another of Vito’s films — a short flicker film called Immaculate Generations no. 1 (which also uses music by yours truly) — screens June 5 at the same festival. The film’s synopsis for this one is: If the eyes are the window to the soul, Immaculate Generations no. 1 presents its viewer with a singular look into thousands of souls. Equal parts Carl Sagan and William Blake, this flicker film is composed of tens of thousands of individual retinal photographs from public scientific databases. Its flickering landscapes evoke the violence of the big bang and balance somewhere between threat and seduction, like the paintings of J.M.W. Turner. Animated between 12 and 24 frames per second, they make for a dazzling rush into the maelstrom of life as we perceive it.
For now,
Jordan