Solitary oddball Vincent mopeds through the Scottish highlands with a dream of healing the community's loneliness with a mobile disco. A film about the joy of music and a yearning for the ecstasy of art.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2007
Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness 2007
This oddball treat is a unique mix of wacky, poignant and hilarious. Build a Ship follows Vincent, a tormented dreamer, as he rides his moped through the bleak Scottish Highlands with the aim of introducing a mobile disco to the region. His mission is to ‘heal the loneliness’ of the local inhabitants, though not surprisingly, they aren’t that interested. Our protagonist is undeterred however, and with another sniff of the petrol tank for courage he’s off again, determined to keep his disintegrating vision afloat. Vincent is a wonderfully deluded – yet sympathetic – character created by actor/writer/composer Magnus Aronson, who also wrote the heartbreakingly affecting pop songs. Director Laurin Federlein chose to shoot on Hi 8 video, imbuing the landscape with colours that make the stark Scottish landscape look utterly surreal. Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness is a film about the joy of music, and the yearning for the elevation and ecstasy of art. It is also a melancholy statement about the solitude and torment of a visionary mind.