A SOUND OF MY OWN
Documentary | Germany | 2021 | 52 min.
Does freedom only exist beyond your own parents’ legacy? Marja took over for her late father at legendary Krautrock band Embryo. When she plays an instrument, she lives within the music. Carefully arranging sounds and images from both past and present, A SOUND OF MY OWN merges into a composition of its own.
At the age of eleven, Marja first appeared on stage with legendary German Krautrock collective Embryo. Today, she’s the one who keeps the band alive, taking over headline duties from her late father. Mastering numerous instruments, composing songs, experimenting with sounds of all kind, she lives within the music. But does freedom only exist beyond your own parents’ legacy? Surrounded by boxes of unlabeled tapes, Marja digs through what her father left behind, making space for herself. A SOUND OF MY OWN delves into a reality of tones and timbres, gradually losing itself in the music. Carefully arranged, images and sounds from both past and present merge into a composition of their own. If everything is music––can’t film be music, too?
Director, Sound Rebecca Zehr
Cinematography Felix Press
Music Marja Burchard
Editing Melanie Jilg
Sounddesign and Mixing Cornelia Böhm
Production company taro films in co-production with
University for Television & Film Munich Germany
Awards
Winner of the Golden Dove, German Competition Long Documentary Film, DOK Leipzig 2021
Winner of the Nonfiktionale Award, Nonfiktionale 2022
Festivals
DOK Leipzig 2021 (German Competition) / CPH:DOX 2022 (Sound & Vision) / DOK.fest Munich 2022 / Nonfiktionale 2022 / Unerhört! Musikfilmfest Hamburg 2022 / Filmfest Osnabrück 2022 / Festival Escenario 2022 (Argentina) / EDOC 2022 (Ecuador) / IDFA 2022 (Best of Fests) / Filmsalon Flensburg 2022 / Norient Festival 2023 (Switzerland) / Seoul International Women's Film Festival 2023 / SONICA EKRANO 2023 / Female Presence Film Festival 2023
"One of this year’s most original music films is like a virtuoso essay exploring the sonic world of young krautrock musician Marja and the big shoes she fills. After her father’s death, Marja Burchard becomes the bandleader of his legendary krautrock collective Embryo, and we follow her as she cleans out her father’s archives. For Marja, however, freedom is not breaking with her origins, but creating her own imprint within the universe she grew up in. It is a universal story in itself, but director Rebecca Zehr elevates it to brilliant heights. With playful use of sound, archival footage, trippy animation and a minimalist score, it is as if Zehr and Burchard’s visions of the free arts flow together in one before the eyes – and more importantly, ears – of the viewer." (CPH:DOX)
Nach dem Tod ihres Vaters ist Marja in seine Fußstapfen getreten und Bandleaderin des legendären Krautrockkollektivs Embryo geworden. Sie führt die Tradition ihres Vaters weiter und sucht zugleich ihren eigenen musikalischen Weg in einer männerdominierten Branche – immer in Bewegung, immer auf dem Weg zum nächsten Konzert. Doch mit der Hektik nehmen die Störgeräusche zu. Was passiert, wenn ein Mensch zu viele Schwingungen seiner Umwelt aufnimmt? A SOUND OF MY OWN erzählt Marjas Klangwelt in Bildern. Im sorgsamen Arrangement verschmelzen beobachtende Schwarzweißaufnahmen und Found Footage, Gegenwart und Vergangenheit zu einer eigenen Komposition über Marjas Leben – bis der Ton die Oberhand gewinnt und den Film in Farbe taucht. (Sarina Lacaf)
Buch, Regie, Sound Rebecca Zehr
Kamera Felix Press
Musik Marja Burchard
Schnitt Melanie Jilg
Sounddesign & Mischung Cornelia Böhm
Produktion taro films in Kooperation mit der Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München
Festivals
DOK Leipzig 2021, Gewinner der Goldene Taube, Deutschen Wettbewerb langer Dokumentarfilm
CPH:DOX 2022 (Sound & Vision)
