Sonder presents: LOST GENERATION
Sonder Films have teamed up with Collision Dance Theatre on their latest project, Lost Generation, which explores the fundamentals of human connection through the medium of film, movement and poetry.
Sonder are without a doubt one of the most exciting film companies around at the moment. From our first encounter with them through 'A Dance With Paint' they've gone on to shoot countless documentaries, advertisement and music videos for some very cool people from Oscar Jerome to most recently, Groove Armada.
We caught up with co-director director, Joel Barney below.
LB: Hello! How's your lockdown going?
JB: I've actually quite enjoyed it. To start with it was a little stressful with work suddenly being shut off but I think, like a lot of people, I settled into it quite nicely. I went back home to stay with family in Hampshire and spent my time cooking, reading and making cocktails.
What's the message behind Lost Generation & how did it come about?
Lost Generation was a project that Emma Holt, who co-directed the film, approached me with. As soon as we met up we were on the same wavelength stylistically which was really nice. The initial message Emma wanted to convey was the idea of human connection. Kind of the idea that when the world stands on it's final legs after humans have destroyed it, all we will crave is human contact.
Where did you film it? Quickly take us through the shoot day.
We shot it at Botany Bay in Margate. Botany Bay is so stunning and I was super excited to shoot there. We woke up really early one Sunday to get down there and it was pissing it down with rain. It literally didn't stop all day. It was almost funny how awful the weather was but to be honest I think it added nicely to the overall aesthetic of the film.
When did you start working on this project? What were the challenges of releasing a film during quarantine?
We began pre-production early this year and shot the film in February. There were a few hurdles we had to overcome in post-production during isolation regarding not being able to be together whilst recording the voiceover and having editing sessions altogether but wasn't anything too tricky.
The tactile aspect of the film seems more relevant than ever with the restrictions of the pandemic. Was this a blissful coincidence?
We'd love to say that this was a film that we had timed perfectly to be as relevant as possible but, to be honest it is just a coincidence. I think perhaps the final edit may even be informed slightly by the current situation. The finished film may have become more 'connection focused' than perhaps it would have been otherwise?
Sonder are doing wonderful things at the moment. Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.
Sonder is a film production company that was founded in 2017. We specialise in music videos, documentary and branded work. We have a core team of myself, Oscar (DoP) and Ozzi (Producer) as well as working with a big roster of other creatives on each project.
What's your favourite type of content to create?
To be honest depending on what we are currently working on my answer to this question would probably change. I tend to get really into whatever we are working on at that current time and think 'Yep that's it, I only want to do music videos from now on'. But two months later I'll say the exact same thing about a documentary we are developing. Right now, heading out of lockdown we have a mix of projects coming up so I'm excited to just be back on set making films again.
What does the rest of the (uncertain) year have in store for Sonder?
We have few music videos being shot during the summer, there is an animated short I have been working on during lockdown which is starting to come to life as well as working on a documentary project with director Eno Enefiok exploring the effects racism has on mental health.
What have you been watching in lockdown?
I've watched pretty much everything there is. I was really hooked to 'The Last Dance' on Netflix when that first came out and I'm currently trying to channel my inner Michael Jordan in the park. Also, I have been soaking up all the work of Celine Sciamma after watching 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', she is a genius and her films are just stunning.
What do you listen to on the Last Bus home?
This is really tough. If we are imagining its BC (Before COVID) and I'm on the last bus back from a night out then it'd probably be the new 1975 record 'Notes on a Conditional Form'. Partly because I'm a huge fan girl and partly because it has some great late night/early morning tunes.
Follow Sonder and Collision Dance Theatre on Instagram to stay up to date with their upcoming projects.
