Unclear Proof
Do you need more proof? Sensational crystal-clear footage of shape-shifting UFOs recorded under the influence in Farra di Soligo, Italy.

AWARDS
- Special Jury Mention - Animation Film, Jaipur International Film Festival, India, 2015
- Jury Award - Animated/Experimental, Marin County Festival of Short Film & Video, USA, 2014
-
Diploma, Golden Diana International Film Festival, Austria, 2014

SCREENINGS 2019-2024
- Grafills Hus, Oslo, Norway, 13-14 Jan 2024 (Seeing Sound Cinema curated by Marieke Verbiesen)
- Riom Prison, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne, France, 7 Jul 2023 (screening curated by Videoformes)
- Beyond the Space, Art Gwangmyeong, Gwangmyeong-si, South Korea, 21 Oct - 10 Nov 2022 (public screen exhibition curated by Shirley Sehee Kim. Artists included: Max Hattler, Ina Conradi, Mark Chavez, Tate Egon Chavez, Shirley Sehee Kim) [Model Starship: Unclear Proof]
- Oodaaq Festival, Rennes, France, Fri 13 May 2022 (special educational screening)
- D-Normal/V-Essay Video Zine, Issue 2: The Ultra-realist, the Extra-ordinary, Hong Kong, 31 March 2021
- Ekko Festival, Østre, Bergen, Norway, 24 Oct 2020 (Seeing Sound Cinema curated by Marieke Verbiesen)
- Taichung International Animation Festival, Taichung, Taiwan, 11-20 Oct 2019 (Director in Focus 1 retrospective)

2016-2018
- Punto y Raya Festival, Wroclaw, Poland, 25-28 Oct 2018 ('Look Up and About' Junior Screening)
- Am1nation at London Animation Club, London, UK, Wed 6 Jun 2018 (Am1nation screening curated by Martin Pickles)
- One Minute Artists Moving Image Festival North Wales, UK, 24 Feb 2018
- Western Universities Students Animation Festival Academic Proseminar, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China, 12 Nov 2017 (lecture: 'Materiality and Representation in Animation: Approaches to Abstraction')
- Kalamata Street Festival, Kalamata, Greece, 27-30 Jul 2017 (E wide shut screening)
- The Way Objects Go, Gallery Podroom, Belgrade, Serbia, 6-27 July 2017 (Exhibition curated by Nyima Leray and Isabelle Henrion. Artists: Anthony Bodin, Samuel Buckman, Jimmie Durham, Rodrigo Cass, Michel François, Laura Gozlan, Max Hattler, Ailbhe Ni Bhriain, Pauline Payen, Babeth Rambault, Annegien van Doorn) [Model Starship: Unclear Proof]
- Northwest Animation Festival, Oregon, USA: Portland 10-14 May, Eugene 19-21 May 2017
- [.BOX], Milan, Italy, 16-26 Feb 2017 (E wide shut curated by Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos)
- Polymerization & Multiply (聚合與繁衍): MOCA Video Exhibition, MOCA Plaza LED TV Wall, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan, 6 Nov - 4 Dec 2016 (3-person exhibition Robert Seidel, Matt Abbiss, Max Hattler; Model Starship: Unclear Proof)
- Night Lights Art & Design Trail, DesignFest Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland, 5 Nov 2016 (curated by Harald Turek, Switch; Model Starship: Unclear Proof)
- Imagine Science Film Festival Tour, International House, Philadelphia, USA, 15 Sep 2016
- The Amy Johnson Festival 75 Second Film Awards, Hull, UK, 23-30 Jul 2016
- Festival Miden, Kalamata, Greece, 7 Jul 2016
- Cinema Museum, London, UK, 14 Apr 2016 (Am1nation screening curated by Martin Pickles)
- Danube Video Art Festival, Stadtkino, Grein, Austria, 19-21 Feb 2016

2015
- Animate OPEN: Parts & Labour, QUAD, Derby, UK, 28 Nov 2015 - 24 Jan 2016 (Am1nation screening curated by Martin Pickles)
- International Animation Festival Istanbul, Turkey, 2015
- One Minute Hull Artists Moving Image Festival, Hull, UK, 6 Nov 2015 (Am1nation screening curated by Martin Pickles)
- Imagine Science Film Festival, New York City, NY, USA, 16-24 Oct 2015
- Très Court International Film Festival, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 14-15 Oct 2015
- Open-Air Filmfest Weiterstadt, Germany, 13-17 Aug 2015
- FILE - Electronic Language International Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 16 Jun - Aug 2015
- Bit Bang Festival, Da Vinci School of Media Arts, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 13 Jun 2015
- Très Court International Film Festival, Forum des images, Paris, 13 Jun 2015
- UEL Shorts, Arcola Theatre, Dalston, London, UK, 7 Jun 2015
- Très Court, Paris, France & worldwide, 5-14 Jun 2015
- Chilemonos, Santiago, Chile, 5-10 May 2015
- 3rd International Motion Festival, Nicosia, Cyprus, 26-29 Mar 2015
- Videoformes Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 19-21 Mar 2015
- Mecal, Barcelona, Spain, 12 Mar - 19 Apr 2015
- Byron Bay Film Festival, Australia, 6 Mar 2015
- Jaipur International Film Festival, Jaipur, India, 1-5 Feb 2015

Unclear Proof (2013)

2014
- The City - A Screen, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 23-27 Dec 2014
- The City - A Screen, Kino Vlaikova, Sofia, Bulgaria, 5 Dec 2014
- The City - A Screen, The Fridge / Xaspel, Sofia, Bulgaria, 5 Dec 2014
- St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, USA, 13-23 Nov 2014
- Multivision Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1-30 Nov 2014
- TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 6-11 Oct 2014
- Expotoons Int'l Animation Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 18-21 Sep 2014
- Golden Diana International Film Festival, Klopeiner See, Austria, 18-23 Aug 2014
- The Peoples Experimental Film Festival, Cambridge, UK, 9 Aug 2014
- Videoholica, Varna, Bulgaria, 1 Aug 2014
- Anima Mundi, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro (25 Jul - 3 Aug 2014) + Sao Paulo (6-10 Aug 2014)
- Animation Block Party, Brooklyn, NY, USA, 24-27 Jul 2014
- San Gio Video Festival, Verona, Italy, 23-27 Jul 2014
- Marin County Festival of Short Film & Video, San Rafael, CA, USA, 2-6 Jul 2014
- Frederick Film Festival, Frederick, MD, USA, 27-29 Jun 2014
- East End Film Festival, London, 23 Jun 2014
- Audiovisual Abstractions. Max Hattler's Doctorate in Fine Art Exhibition, Moving Image Research Centre, University of East London, London, UK, 19-24 Jun 2014 (Model Starship: Unclear Proof)
- FIVA III, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, Argentina, 12 Jun 2014
- Fondamenta 3.0, Venice, Italy, 31 May 2014
- Backup Festival, Weimar, Germany, 21-25 May 2014
- KloosterKino, Radboud Rocks, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Holland, 15 May 2014
- Sofia Underground Performance Art Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria, 29 Mar 2014
- London Short Film Festival, London, UK, 10-19 Jan 2014

Unclear Proof (2013)

2012-2013
- Tindirindis Int'l Animation Film Festival, Vilnius, Lithuania, 25 Nov - 1 Dec 2013
- Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington, NC, USA, 13-17 Nov 2013
- FIVA Festival Internacional de Videoarte, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 11-13 Nov 2013
- Animae Caribe, Trinidad, 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2013
- Animatou Festival, Geneva, Switzerland, 11 Oct 2013 (masterclass)
- One Minute Film & Video Festival, Aarau, Switzerland, 22-25 Aug 2013
- C the Film, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh, UK, 27 Jul - 27 Aug 2013
- Nozstock Festival, Bromyard, Herefordshire, Fri 26 Jul 2013 (Max Hattler Retrospective)
- FILE - Electronic Language International Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 23 Jul - 1 Sep 2013
- Sopot Film Festival, Sopot, Poland, 13-21 Jul 2013
- Derapage, Centre de Design, UQAM, Montreal, Canada, 18 Apr 2013
- London College of Communication, London, UK, 17 Apr 2013 (lecture)
- Chinese Open: Year of the Snake, Q Park, Chinatown, London, 10 Feb 2013 (curated by Vanya Balogh & Cedric Christie)
- Cocaine – blows my brain..., Spor Klübü, Berlin, Germany, 30 Nov 2012 (preview)
- HEAD - Geneva University of Art and Design, Switzerland, 22 Nov 2012 (artist talk, preview)
-
Festa del Novello, Perlage, Farra di Soligo, Veneto, Italy, 17 Nov 2012 (preview)


Making-of video by Michele Pianca

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
"Mundane analogue techniques model exotic extraterrestrial phenomena. What further evidence do you need?" Imagine Science Film Festival (2016)

"Unclear Proof: Raising a Glass for New Hattler Film. Experimental film maker Max Hattler has released his latest abstract work depicting an earth invasion of a different kind. Unclear Proof is a short film commissioned by the Lago Film Festival. The brief was to produce a film about the Perlage Winery in Farra di Soligo, Northern Italy. The artist worked his magic and filmed stop motion UFOs on a mirror board that formed patterns against a backdrop of clouds and blue sky. You may be wondering what this has to do with wine and its production, but look closely at the film and you will discover the UFOs are actually friend rather than foe. Using objects such as bottle tops, corks and other materials collected from the bottling plant at the winery, Hattler has juxtaposed Perlage’s everyday objects to produce an array of extra-terrestrial flying shapes which are paradoxically all manmade. The aim of the film was to link the themes of alcohol intoxication with UFO hallucinations. The flying shapes change to a series of inspired sounds and tones created by Russian musician Alexey Devyanin, also known as Pixelord which all add depth to the otherworldly genre of the film." Sarah Bell, Rooms Magazine (2013)

"The truth is out there! The latest experimental film from Max Hattler." AWNtv (2013)

"The animation director Max Hattler has ushered in 2013 with the release of an interesting new short film entitled Unclear Proof. In it, stop-motion UFOs fly about forming patterns, morphing and changing alongside musical and audio effects by Alexey Devyanin. The film was commissioned by the organisers of the Lago Film Festival, who asked him to make a short about the Perlage winery in Farra di Soligo, in northern Italy. And if you look closely, although this is about UFOs, you might be able to identify some of the objects that form them - they're all wine-related." Computer Arts [click to read interview] (2013)

"Max Hattler returns to the skies he first charted in Model Starship to reveal Unclear Proof of the existence of aliens." Directors Notes (2013)

"Visual trickery and shape-shifting UFOs seem like a fun bit of mischief. This experimental stop-motion film was commissioned by the Perlage Winery in Italy, and Hattler’s UFOs are actually materials gathered from the grounds of the winery itself." Jury Award - Animated/Experimental, Marin County Festival of Short Film & Video 2014

"For all the UFO lovers out there!" The Curious Brain (2013)

CREDITS
Directed and animated by Max Hattler.
Sound by Alexey Devyanin aka Pixelord.
Assistant and Documentation: Michele Pianca.
An art film commissioned by Lago Film Fest, supported by Perlage.
Thanks to Viviana Carlet, Sandra Sykorova, Erika Gallon and Carlo Migotto.
Year: 2013
Available formats: 1080p HD digital file, DVD
Length: 0'45"




MODEL STARSHIP: UNCLEAR PROOF
Model Starship: Unclear Proof (2014), is a special 7-minute installation loop version which combines Model Starship (2012) and Unclear Proof (2013).

"Max Hattler's stop-motion animation work Model Starship: Unclear Proof opposes mass-produced objects in a genuine miniature star war. Luxury industry products like high-end make-up and artefacts from Prosecco production and consumption are considered here solely for their plastic and formal qualities, thus questioning their social status and value. The battlefield is tainted in a paradoxical way, as it stages the violence of an egocentric, superficial and success-orientated society while taking place on a bright blue sky. It reminds us of the naïve lightness with which a child can appropriate the most expensive objects and transform them into simple pawns of a game." Isabelle Henrion, curator, The Way Objects Go, Podroom Gallery, 2017

"Model Starship: Unclear Proof ... displays a matrix of different ready-mades and uses them to mimic starships that are traversing the galaxy, transforming the purposes and meanings of the ready-mades." MOCA Taipei, 2016

"者則是陣列了各類現成物的外觀形體,並模擬成飛往星際的航艦,試圖扭轉其原有用途及意涵" Arttime, 2016

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