Sleep Has Her House: A Live Score by Magazinist 

Mainstage Presentation

Duration: 90 minutes

Following a series of sold-out live scores at the VIFF Centre, Magazinist will perform an original score for Scott Barley’s Sleep Has Her House (2017), a landmark of contemporary slow cinema, shot entirely on an iPhone. Barley’s sublime cinematography captures nocturnal landscapes and phantasmagorical mists reminiscent of Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr. According to one reviewer, the film’s “sheer aesthetic magnitudes dwarf its spectator in every possible way.” Living up to this magnitude, Sleep Has Her House was voted among the Greatest Films of All Time in Sight & Sound’s decennial poll, yet it remains little known. Since its premiere, the film has amassed a cult following, with the likes of Ethel Cain stating: “This film changed my life.” For this special presentation, Magazinist will reimagine Barley’s film through an original electro-acoustic performance. Working with an unorthodox combination of gear — including bowed double bass, cristal baschet, bass clarinet, bagpipes, analog synthesizers, and processed field recordings — Magazinist conjures a soundscape from the primeval depths of dark romanticism, drawn from the earthy registers of these instruments and their elemental resonances.

Film directed by Scott Barley

Music by Magazinist (Matthew Tomkinson & Andy Zuliani)

Photo Credit: Illustration by Joy Kim