Hungry Ghost is a visualization of desire turned to addiction, alluding to the Buddhist concept of the hungry ghost, a state of reincarnation that those who were consumed by greed in their present lifetime are doomed to in their next carnation. The film offers a glimpse into the grim and hazy underworld of insatiable human craving while acknowledging the hypnotic beauty of such states through rhythm and pacing.
Based on contemporary remediations of 19th century 'philosophical toys' such as the phenakistiscope and the zoetrope, loops are the essential building blocks of the film, resulting in a tangible form of moving image art. Sculptured bodies break their stillness as the cycle gains speed, writhing with increasing intensity.
The sound is composed of layered, multiple recordings of machinery and appliances, merged with breath and vocal harmonies, echoing the restrictive, repetitive yet often euphoric state of entanglement with addiction. The use of machinery to both inform and materialize the rhythm and chord progressions carries the suggestion that capitalism and its emphasis on production, commodification and consumerism, both encourages and creates insatiable hunger, and addiction thrives.
Director: Guido Devadder
Editing & Color grading: Guido Devadder
Sound: Kaitlin McSweeney
Festival Awards: Hallucinea Film Festival (France - Special mention) - Brazil New Visions Film Fest (Brasil - Best experimental short) - Pupila Film Festival (Brasil - Best experimental short, Best original concept, Best soundtrack) - Off the Reel (USA - Best Experimental) - El Ojo Iluso (Venezuela - Mejor VideoArte Animado) - Ibrida Festival (Italy, special Mention) - Cinetoro Festival (Colombia, Honorable Mention) - Animocje (Poland - Special Mention Music Video), Encuentro Para Cinéfagos VIII (Venezuela - Mejor Video Arte)
Other festival Selections:Leuven International Short Film Festival (Belgium) - Pebbles Underground Film and Video Art Festival (Canada) - Bogotá Music Video Festival (Colombia) - Animakom Fest (Spain) - Bizarrya Short Film Festival (Portugal) - Ribalta Experimental Film Festival (Italy) - Asheville Fringe Art Festival (USA) - Ghent Short International Film Festival (Belgium) - Animatiba Festival Internacional de Animação de Curitiba (Brasil) - Attaque(e)r Le Visible, VIDEOAKTION#3 (Germany) - Anibar (Kosovo) - Viborg Animation Festival (Denmark) - Turku Animated Film Festival (Finland) - Flipbook Film Festival (Macedonia) - Brasil Experimental (Brasil) - The Animattikon Project (Cyprus/Greece) - L’Étrange Festival (France) - Denver Digerati (USA) - Transient Visions: Festival of the Moving Image (USA) - British Indie Festival Film & Music (UK) - CinemaZERO (Italy) - Experimental Superstars (Serbia) - Brighton Animation Festival (UK), Fest Anča (Slovakia)