Blood Tea and Red String

About the film
Director Christiane Cegavske created a surreal stop-motion fairy tale for adults, which took her thirteen years to bring to life with detailed, handmade puppets. The story, entirely told through visuals without dialogue or text, centers on an aristocratic mouse family who commissions a group of artists to create a doll for them. When the artists fall in love with their own creation and refuse to give her up, a conflict ensues that literally comes to life.

Over the years, Blood Tea and Red String has become a true cult film. It won the Best Animated Film Award at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, Best Direction at the Spudfest Film Festival, and the Audience Award the the Fantasia International Film Festival. Additionally, it received rave reviews from outlets such as the New York Post, Variety and Fangoria. This film is a must-see for fans of the Brothers Quay, the stories of Edward Gorey, and the comics of Dame Darcy.

About Mariam Rezaei & Farida Amadou
Mariam Rezaei is a multi-award-winning composer, turntablist, and performer. She previously led the experimental arts project TOPH and the festivals TUSK Fringe and TUSK North. In November 2022, she received the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists in recognition of her contribution to music composition. Her music was recently described as "genuinely groundbreaking" (London Jazz News, 2022) and "high-velocity sonic surrealism" (The Guardian, 2022). Her recent album BOWN (Heat Crimes) reached number 6 in The Wire and number 10 in The Quietus' best albums of 2023, and was named album of the week by The Quietus. Mariam has performed at festivals such as Counterflows, REWIRE, Donau, and Archipel. She collaborates with musicians like Valentina Magaletti, Farida Amadou, and Mette Rasmussen, and has performed solo with orchestras such as the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra and the Brussels Philharmonic.

Farida Amadou is a self-taught bassist from Brussels, Belgium. Since 2011, the electric bass has been her main instrument. In 2013, she began playing various musical genres, including blues, jazz, and hip-hop. Farida soon delved into improvisational music and quickly caught the attention of local collectives and musicians. After a year (2017) as the bassist for the Belgian punk band Cocaine Piss, Farida decided to focus on her solo improvisation practice and collaborations with musicians such as Steve Noble, Thurston Moore, Peter Brötzmann, Terrie Ex, Lukas Koening, Pat Thomas, and Julien Desprez. She has also collaborated with groups like Jerusalem in My Heart and Moor Mother.

This event takes place at De Koer as part of their Ciné Rio programme.