Norsk filminstitutt

Documentary film The Subharchord - A Future That Never Happened
(Subharchorden - En fremtid som aldri kom)

In 1962, Alfred Hitchcock went to West Berlin in order to produce the soundtrack for The Birds. It was made with the Trautonium, an instrument playing subharmonic sounds. Only a few kilometer further, in East Berlin, Hitchcock could have worked on a newer and better instrument - the Subharchord.

This is the story of a unique invention from East Berlin, - the birth, life, death and resurrection of an early synthesizer that was invented in order to create “the sound of the future”. 

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2021
Production country:
Norway
Release date (national):
2021-10-22
Production company:
True Fiction AS
Producer:
Cecilie Bjørnaraa

Director

  • Ina Pillat

    Originally from East Germany, now living in Oslo. She was educated at the Burg Giebichenstein in Halle and the Media Art Academy in Cologne, as a fashion and media designer. She produced her first documentary film in 1995, at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, and subsequently worked as an editor, designer and producer for public and private TV channels and several production companies in Cologne and Berlin for over eight years. She has worked as an independent filmmaker and producer since 2002, focusing on projects in electronic arts and music. 

Festivals

2021:
BIFF - Bergen International Film Festival
2022:
CPH:DOX
2022:
UNERHÖRT! Music Film Festival
2022:
SynthFest UK

Crew

Director:
Ina Pillat

Technical information

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