A well-known Canadian animator who was inspired by music from the Icelandic band Sigur Ros, recently took the step into live film making. The Ottawa resident, whose co-direction of Lilo & Stitch almost won him an Oscar, made ´Heima´- a concert film featuring the ethereal music of one of Iceland’s favourite musical bands.
Dean DeBlois was considering moving on from animation after his work with Lilo & Stitch. “After Lilo & Stitch I threw myself into live-action filmmaking, setting up projects around town to write and hopefully direct,” he said during an interview with a Canadian radio station.
“I turned to music video because I’ve always been a fan of it and especially the videos of Sigur Ros were very inspiring to me because they are very anti-MTV,” said DeBlois. “They have these very beautiful, cinematic stories within the context of an eight to 10 minute song.”
DeBlois first met the band members of Sigur Ros in Los Angeles, where he now resides. Three years ago, they discussed filmmaking but it wasn’t until recently that the band called for his help.
Heima or ‘Homeland’, captures the mystical music of Sigur Ros as they toured Iceland in 2006. At that time, the group performed at a series of unannounced free concerts in remote rural locations.
Heima recently had its Canadian premiere in Toronto and is now available worldwide on DVD.
[…] Canadian animator makes Icelandic music film […]