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NYsferatu, Symphony of a Century – a film by Andrea Mastrovito

Musical improvisation by Marco Cappelli Acoustic Trio featuring Marco Cappelli on guitar, Ken Filiano on bass, and Satoshi Takeishi on percussion.

 

NYsferatu: Symphony of a Century by Andrea Mastrovito is a spectacular, hand-animated, silent film that combines music and community engagement to create a powerful and poignant statement about the horrors of the unknown and the inspiring search for liberty.

NYsferatu is a rotoscope recreation of Friedrich W. Murnau’s seminal 1922 film Nosferatu, itself an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Each background scene has been entirely redrawn to set the film in present day New York City. Taking the first step in a three-year process, Mastrovito and a team of 12 artists drew each background three times to replicate the beautifully eerie flickering shutter effect of early cinema. The artist, whose installations have captivated viewers throughout Europe and New York, aimed to create a summary of our times, a kind of “everybody’s biography” using cinema as a popular language.

Turning the original film on its head, NYsferatu questions the classical interpretation of the vampire, seen here as the prototypical outsider, while it addresses the many obstacles encountered by immigrants who often escape war and hardships at home only to face challenges such as economic exploitation, discrimination, and xenophobia in their new country. Viewers of all ages should expect to see many familiar images in the film including iconic New York City landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Freedom Tower as well as countless visual references to our current economic and political climate, rewarding multiple viewings.

 

https://www.nysferatu.org/ 

 

Reservation no longer available

  • Organized by: Istituto Italiano di Cultura
  • In collaboration with: More Art