METROPOLE ORKEST, THE RESIDENTS & THE DO RECORD MUSIC FOR NEW ROSTO FILM High profile musicians contribute to film score of Monster of Nix

AMSTERDAM – February 28, 2011 The Monster of Nix is the highly anticipated new film by Dutch artist/ filmmaker Rosto. The film score of his upcoming animated musical features Metropole Orkest, legendary eyeball art rockers The Residents and rising indie band The Dø. Rosto’s existentialist fairy tale will hit the screens Spring 2011. Although music has always been an important ingredient in Rosto’s films, his latest film is truly driven by music. Indeed one could even call it a musical. "It is ironic because I hate musicals!” Rosto laughs. “But somehow I ended up making one. Also, to my amazement, we recorded the film score with a world famous orchestra and some genuine musical heroes.” All of the compositions were written by Rosto himself. Metropole Orkest Metropole Orkest is the world's largest professional pop and jazz orchestra. The Dutch broadcast ensemble is a regular feature at festivals like North Sea Jazz and Lowlands, and has contributed music for countless TV and radio programs. Rosto recorded with the orchestra for a week, led by permanent guest conductor Jules Buckley. Jules was happy to come on board. “I’m always interested to be involved in things which have a high artistic level, and I was impressed by Rosto’s work.” says Jules. “This score is very creative and goes through quite a series of different musical colours. Some stuff is rocking out in a way, other parts are like soundscapes. This is the right orchestra to record such a score. The musicians can span different styles very easily. But they are also able to switch their mind set. The plot itself is very clever and really gets your brain thinking. The narrative was a great inspiration for the musicians.” Rosto: “It has been a privilege to work with Metropole Orkest and Jules. The orchestra proved to be totally sympathetic towards my work. They were even willing to play a song in Portsmouth Sinfonia style, pretending they didn’t know how to play.” The Residents The Residents also contributed to the film score. The legendary American art rock band is noted for its multimedia works and blend of avant-garde, electronic jazz and experimental symphonies. The band members always appear in disguise, most famously wearing tuxedos, top hats and their iconic eyeball masks.

The Residents have always been a musical inspiration for Rosto. He worked with the band before, directing the short music video Phantom in 2004. Rosto: "Now it was time to ask them a favour in return. They recorded several choral parts for the film, and I think the result is amazing.” The Dø Olivia Merilahti of Parisian duo The Dø provided vocals for a couple of songs in the film. The unconventional French/Finnish indie band play an eclectic folk-pop mix with jazz influences. Olivia’s distinctive, versatile singing voice is one of the conspicuous characteristics of The Dø. Rosto: “I like the cinematic, spherical music of The Dø and I'm captivated by Olivia’s voice. Since the band is very popular in France right now, it was not easy to get Olivia into the studio. But once there, we recorded some astonishing material with her.” www.monsterofnix.com (check out the teaser!) www.metropoleorkest.nl www.residents.com www.myspace.com/thedoband The Monster of Nix The Monster of Nix is a 30 minute long animated musical which tells the story of Willy, a troubled boy who fights the destructive force of an all-devouring monster in the village of Nix. The dark fairy tale is as compelling and visually overwhelming as Rosto’s previous films, but this time it’s suitable for kids from 10 to 100. The Monster of Nix is the most ambitious film production by Rosto to date. Development of the international co-production has taken more than five years. Main producer Studio Rosto A.D and co-producers Autour de Minuit (France) and CinéTé (Belgium) made the film in association with French broadcaster Canal+ and the Dutch broadcaster AVRO.

CONTACT DETAILS STUDIO ROSTO A.D Studio Rosto A.D Laurierstraat 107F NL - 1016 PL Amsterdam tel: +31 [0]20 4120 484 mail: [email protected] ABOUT ROSTO/STUDIO ROSTO A.D Director/artist Rosto, and his Studio Rosto A.D, are well known for music videos, television work and independent short films. The short (the rise and fall of the legendary) Anglobilly Feverson had its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival, followed by an impressive string of prestigious international festivals and worldwide recognition of Rosto’s work. The next short film Jona/Tomberry, winner of the Grand Prix Canal+ at the Cannes Film Festival 2005, concluded the trilogy of Mind My Gap films. Mind My Gap is Rosto A.D’s mixed media project that started with an online graphic novel (still running on www.rostoAD.com), and continued with music and print as well as films. Rosto is currently working on several spin-offs from the Mind My Gap-universe, like The Monster of Nix and the music project Thee Wreckers. INDEPENDENT PRODUCTIONS 1999 Beheaded - 3.10 min 2000 Mind My Gap - Running Internet-series 2001 (the rise and fall of the legendary) Anglobilly Feverson - 10 min. 2005 Jona/Tomberry - 12 min. 2006 Big White/Big Black - 4 min. 2009 Thee Wreckers: No Place Like Home – 6 min.

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION Autour De Minuit 21, rue Henry Monnier FR - 75009 Paris tel: +33 (0)1 42 81 1728 mail: [email protected]

ABOUT AUTOUR DE MINUIT Autour de Minuit is a film production company based in Paris created in 2001 by Nicolas Schmerkin. The company aims at supporting aesthetically innovative projects, and develops original graphic worlds with a solid content. Hybridization gives the opportunity to explore new ideas and sensations in plastic art and intent to provide with visuals never to be seen before. The production catalogue includes short classics as Obras, Flesh, Carlitopolis, Dix and Logorama, Oscar winner in 2010 and awarded for best short film at the French Academy Awards in 2011. Since 2004, Autour de Minuit also deals with world distribution of animations and digital works, including Rosto’s previous works. The company is now developing several feature films and animation shows.