Delirantissimo

Synopsis:

A pianist is hired to play at a party that turns to vaudeville, madness and burlesque.

29 festival selections in 12 different countries / 20 awards won

The film notably wins the Best Short at Rome International Movie Awards, Best Vaudeville at 8&Half Film Festival and it is the recipient of the a REMI AWARD at the WorldHouston Festival as Best Comedy. Out of more than 4,500 entries only 10% win the REMI AWARD… WorldHouston Film Festival is the oldest indépendant film festival in the world (55 yo). That may open the doors to the Canadian Screen Award (aka the Canadian Cesars/Baftas…)

The short featuring Jean Claude Rimbert is a tribute to The Marx Brothers and to the French filmmaker Jacques Tati known for Playtime and Monsieur Hulot’s Holidays…

For this film shot by the DP’s Georges Colinos, Nicolas Colinos and Elie Arié, I had to find an universal language with the use of a specific sound design as Tati did. Combined with frequent long shots of scenes with multiple characters, I wanted the results to focus audience attention on the comical of humanity when interacting as a group. Also, I wanted to do a comedy in these terrible times.

The score was written by Joel Diamond known for Danny Balint / The Believer (Sundance Award Winner), Dead Man Walking, Oleanna, Welcome to the Dollhouse

‘’Delirantissimo’’ is a tribute to the burlesque films of the 1960s and 1970s. It refers to the films of Jacques Tati with the add of the sound track and to the films of the Marx Brothers, notably by its theme of the crazy pianist who referenced to Chico Marx and with the appearance of an actor dressed as Groucho Marx. There is also in this movie a distant tribute to the french Nouvelle Vague.

Shot in silent 16mm, in Delirantissimo spoken dialogue is limited to the role of background sounds. The sound is used as a substitute for the language. It says, by its pace and its articulation, abstract things for practical purposes. The universe is clean leaving only ‘a feeling ‘. There, there is a universal language research. Then I used sounds taken from cartoons universe. Combined with frequent long shots of scenes with multiple characters, I wanted the results to focus audience attention on the comical nature of humanity when interacting as a group.