Best Film Soundtrack
While in transit to Europe, word reached me that Merope, the short film presented by Sedona Ballet and directed by Juan Carlos Zaldivar and produced by Winifred Muench, alongside myself was awarded with “Best Film Soundtrack in any Subject” by Los Angeles’ 10th Film Festival. Besides my music and narration, Merope features dance & choreography by Jordan Pelliteri, visual art by Amy Ernst, still photography by Jim Peterson and Glenn Grayson, poetry by Nikita Gill and Hermann Hesse. Merope is currently entering film festivals worldwide.
Hosted by Logcinema, this film festival has an important focus on music. Musical films, films with a soundtrack very integrated to the plot, documentaries on music or biographies of musicians, music clips and especially will be awarded a special award of the jury to the best in jazz and classical music and a prize for the best original song. As I am already deeply engrossed in my next project, —a book and music inspired by Argentina—it was a curious coincidence to learn that the award ceremony were taking place in Buenos Aires, a city I once called home and that holds countless cherished memories from my time there. The
Event Location
El Unicornio Casa de Artista, 2708 Cucha Cucha, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1416, Argentina.
Merope
I would like to extend my gratitude to all the artists who played a vital role in bringing the vision of “Merope” to life, helping to visualize the enchantment of the stars. Their collective efforts and creativity have contributed to the success of this project, and I am grateful for the collaborative spirit that permeated every aspect of the production. The theme of emancipation explored in “Merope” holds significant meaning for me.
Merope follows the journey of a personified hidden star, breaking free from the historical ties that bound her and her sisters, the Pleiades constellation. The music is part of my album Pleiades that in 2020 won “Best Ambient Album of the Year”. In accepting this award, I hope that “Merope” serves as a source of inspiration for people everywhere and that it may encourage you to embark on your own journey of self-discovery and empowerment, inspiring you to embrace and illuminate the unique star within yourself.
Merope Logline: The short film, Merope, follows a personification of the hidden star on a journey towards emancipation from the ties that historically have bound her and her six sisters, the Pleiades constellation, in a narrative about captivity and victimization, towards a new story where she claims visibility and a more authentic place in the universe for her and her sisters.
Merope Synopsis: Merope and her sisters, the Pleiades constellation, live in space, void of time and idiom, yet —for centuries— they have inspired artists to create myths, music and performances, which have infused in us a search for universality among our often divided world. In this original anthropomorphization of Merope, the producers use the film medium itself to create the first iteration of Sedona Ballet’s Reflections Festival, inviting many artists across several arts disciplines —Photography, Music, Spoken Word and Visual Arts—to donate or create works inspired by Merope in one of the most beautiful places – Sedona. All works were then orchestrated under the direction of filmmaker and visual artist, Juan Carlos Zaldivar, underscored by Christel Veraart’s mesmerizing musical composition from a longer musical composition entitled “Pleiades”.
In an eternal search for universality, Merope presents herself simultaneously as film and festival. Combining all the arts, she transports us to a universal place, to provide the perfect fertile ground for the authentic YOU. Merope follows a personification of the hidden star on a journey towards emancipation from the ties that historically have bound her and her six sisters, the Pleiades constellation, in a narrative about captivity and victimization, towards a new story where she claims visibility and a more authentic place in the universe for her and her sisters. — Merope EPK