“Kill the Ego started as a song, a song of New York, an epic forty minute song built over ten years of fragmented memories, voices of pimps and engineers, poets and domanitrixs, visionaries and children, hope and sorrow captured on field recording devices and in studios by Stephan Crasneanski and Dug Winningham, the sound design team otherwise known as Soundwalk.

In February 2008 Romon Yang, otherwise known as Rostarr, was listening to that song intently, memorizing it, envisioning it. He and Soundwalk had been brought together by French producer Eric Dalbin to make a movie for a March 4th festival deadline. Directors Jim Helton and Ron Patane were then commissioned along with line producer Joie Reinstein to make a movie of Rostarr’s vision of Soundwalk’s sound.

Inspired by the process oriented masterpiece “The Mystery of Picasso” by Henri-Georges Clouzot and the work of experimental filmmakers Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon, the filmmaking process began almost at once. Rostarr worked like a madman for two weeks, producing all the work for the first installment of Kill the Ego in an amazing and remarkably physical burst of creativity.

The filmmakers documented the work and tried to find ways to make the process come alive through the shooting and later through an equally furious editorial process. Rostarr’s physical presence as an artist is truly cinematic, he is like a martial artist of paint and ink as the utmost control and daring experimentation is combined with a reckless abandon and fluid grace. Each twist and turn of the sound design is reflected in Rostarr’s evolving process as canvases are painted over, stories are told and erased, transforming from representations to abstract emotional reactions.

Throughout the shooting and editorial process the soundtrack played over and over, the sound merging with the paint in Rostarr’s studio and later with the image as the two elements became merged into what is now known as Kill the Ego.”

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Upcoming NYC film screening: September 9th 2009 Kinetic Cinema 7:30 pm at The Tank

Advance tickets available for purchase online here.

Images: Atsushi Nishijima  Text: Kill The Ego Director’s Statement