new work on the OpenSea, web2 web2.5 web3, film update with doxxed title, proof of life, what is time, mirs wakes, etc...

It feels strange with the current world background to go on about living as if we are distanced from exceedingly unnecessary human suffering. But we are cocooned in our bubbles. If you’ve had any experience with war, you realize very clearly that the whole is affected, regardless of the degrees of separation.

In my own case, I have to go about my work, my thoughts & my attention the same as it was. Consciousness is an arrow.

Recent tings:

Here is a proof of life pic in web2.5. Not my current PFP on socials, but nevertheless, I breathe. With all this excessive talk of the transition to web3, there are more similarities to the past decade than most want to admit, yet, a new base layer of influentials has made a mark. With the soon insurgency of legacy media, safe to say things will look even more similar.

i exist, a pfp

In this fully doxxed web2.5 version of me, I get to talk about my new feature film in post-production. I can finally release the title, a proper doxxing if you will - "Young Ali: those were the days". Hopefully, we can finish the post by the end of Q2. I cannot be certain the film will release this year, but I would like that. Post-production at this stage is being handled in Chicago, and I am proud of our team, and what we have been able to create.

I recently released three works on OpenSea in my first collection which essentially conclude all my March drops. I have yet to transition to my other mediums, but I suppose I will in time. Cinema in particular is full of friction and doesn’t make the best transition over. But, we will hammer in the peg. We are working.

______

March OpenSea Drops:

the wind will carry us, creature
edition 1/3
.24Ξ

Description:

in my youth, some of my favorite memories involved long cross-country trips with my father. this desire for the empty road, the expansive middle continued into adulthood.

little ape boi, dream (part 1)
edition 1/1
1.5Ξ

Description for both part 1 and part 2:

we are all little ape bois trying to find our way home. this little ape boi has yet to awaken. help him on his journey through the dreamscape on this starry night.

little ape boi, dream (part 2)
edition 1/1
1.5Ξ

Awakening:

Last but not least, Mirs has awakened for this new szn. New release imminent.

three eleven or (a meditation on stillness inside chaos) - new film work

At midnight PST (06/22/20) is the official release (soft release) of my latest work, three eleven or (a meditation on stillness inside chaos). Below is information on the featurette including a rare director’s statement. As always, if you cannot afford to watch but desire to, let me know and we’ll hook you up. Stay well.

synopsis:

On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the United States went into shutdown to keep citizens sheltered from the threat of a mysterious global pandemic sweeping the world. In this meditative days-in-the-life-of work, a small family experiences the fog of time from a mandatory stay at home order, as a strange, comforting togetherness forms in a very uncertain time.

--

directors statement:

"three eleven" is a meditation. It is a reflection of boredom, of togetherness, of uncertainty, and most of all, stillness. It intends to direct the viewer into the granularity of life in its most basic, mundane practicalities, and thus, direct focus into the beauty of routine, and of the nowness, all while under the umbrella of impending & uncertain chaos, a lingering scent of anxiety as the real outside world experiences shocks unlike any other in modern times.

It is intended as an experience, hypnosis, and a reflection. The stillness is the message. While stripping the “narrative” of the filmic medium into its most minimal building block, the frame clicks out of “narrative” time, and into clock time. It’s a universal acknowledgment of this very “moment in time”, and we intend for this to be a visual/audio documentation at its most basic level while conveying the beauty of togetherness and separation at its most minimal.

This work is indebted to Ozu & Kiarostami, who oddly enough (the latter), and without my prior knowledge shares his birthday with our release date.

credits:

Shot & Directed by Amir Motlagh
Produced by ANIMALS & Charles Borg
Story by Charles Borg & Amir Motlagh
Music by Amir Motlagh - “three eleven zazen” © 2020 ANIMALS Publishing Worldwide - BMI
© ANIMALS 2020

release date: 06/22/20
trt: 33 min
original aspect: 1:85:1

love in the great uncertainty

“mirs experiences love loss during the beginning of a great crisis period.”

written & directed by Amir Motlagh
produced by Charles Borg, ANIMALS, Amir Motlagh
music by Mirs

ep available only through Bandcamp:
https://mirs.bandcamp.com/album/love-in-the-great-uncertainty
—
tracklist as they appear:

soma (demo2044)
minima (demo2020)
namu (demo1984)

—

below are links to Youtube & Vimeo. under that is the link to the EP.

THREE WORLDS Reviewed by Premier Arthouse Cinema Site PINNLAND EMPIRE

When you make art & you put it out into the world, it becomes a vulnerable time if you haven’t done the necessary work to detach. Essentially, equanimity is the only barrier between this raw period and the world. I seldom read or look at reviews, but this one was a bit different because I felt the reviewer got it (the essence), for lack of a better term, and that connection is wonderful.

So, when you got a moment, check out this THREE WORLDS review from the stellar arthouse cinema site, PINNLAND EMPIRE.

“Amir Motlagh dispels some of the superficial stigmas put on Los Angeles while at the same time embraces the very real superficialities associated with L.A. (outside of Los Angeles being the epicenter of the entertainment industry, it’s a very cool city unlike any other if you know the right people).

And putting all Mekas/Malick comparisons aside, this is very much Motlagh’s own film. The movie is filled with obvious autobiographical content that comes off as genuine & organic as opposed to pretentious. That’s not an easy task with a film like this (ambient, sprawling, artistic and sometimes chaotic). A young filmmaker could easily get self-absorbed & pretentious with a movie like Three Worlds but that’s not the case here.

This will definitely require a second (or third) viewing. And that’s a good thing. This isn’t something to fully digest in one sitting.”

— Marcus Pinn

The Resurrection of THINGS W/ AMIR MOTLAGH

A long while back, I tried my hand at creating an ongoing Youtube series that I titled, "Things w/ Amir Motlagh'. At the time, I was so excited about the start of a new journey into a world that had been closed off to me, as I was driven by a singular, inflexible focus for many years prior. It seems so completely innocent looking back, but it was shaped by some heavy things.

My life was in transformation, largely from a new desire to learn, non-fiction literature, some meditative practice and a general flexibility and openness that I had shut out completely. So, with unbridled enthusiasm, I started a Youtube series (on my main Youtube Page that was primarily for film/art) that lasted a few episodes and disappeared. At the time, I decided to turn my focus inward and started subtracting and an ill-conceived YT show was an easy, superfluous thing to scratch out.

Since that time, platforms have changed drastically. While I prefer Twitter as the purest broadcast channel, I'm going to test out YT again, in a similar capacity, though with more headroom of course. As I talk about on the video, I'm not quite certain if I can actually add any value, but at the least, it affords another opportunity to speak out, instead of leave in. It's selfish. We all need a nice mix of both.

I, like many other filmmakers of my generation never pursued YT, as the platform is personality-driven, and demands consistency. With self-contained film, you make one or two (if very productive) works a year, and that is no way to build on platforms that demand consistency. Plus, I came from the school of arts that championed mystery, not transparency. Though at the same time, I like the idea of a community, and a bottom-up approach is the new wave towards prosperity & understanding.

Click the image, go to the video. As they say, please "like & subscribe"!

"what do you know of water's worth while standing on the banks of the euphrates" premiere

We are premiering new work online,  Nov 28th, 2017.  Produced in-house at ANIMALS, in conjunction with MIRS.