The cine concert on September 6th at BFI Southbank marks the London premiere of Anca Damian’s most recent feature animation – The Island. A subversive take on Robinson Crusoe, Anca Damian’s film introduces us to an exile on an island who finds common ground with a survivor from a shipwrecked migrant boat. With issues ranging from ecology to international migration, The Island successfully balances surreal imagery – including mermaids and pirates – and humor within a timely political context.

In a live concert, Alexander Balanescu’s score weaves the various narrative threads and action together, with the composer-performer’s hypnotic voice playing counterpoint to the dizzying and dazzling animation. The live voices of the two sopranos complement the film’s original track in a unique interpretation that will electrify the room. 

The list of musicians that will accompany Alexander Balanescu on the BFI stage for this unique concert, which is part of the BFI’s ongoing Sonic Cinema series, is Una Palliser – viola, Chris Allen – cello, Patricia Auchertlonie – soprano, Charlotte Badham – mezzo-soprano and David Kent as technician.

The film received the award for Best Original Score at the Gopo Awards, the Romanian equivalent of the Bafta Awards. It also had a significant festival circuit, among which we mention Rotterdam IFFl, Busan IFF, Gotteburg IFF, Annecy International Animation Festival and Dublin IFF.

The film is an adaptation after the Romanian surrealist writer Gellu Naum’s play “The Island”, itself a demythologized version of Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. It brings the key themes of the novel to the actuality of the time, and looks at them through the existentialist and surrealist lens specific to the author, contextualizing the work to the reality of the 20th century. 

Anca Damian’s “The Island” proposes a new reading of the subject through the prism of 21st century reality, using tools and media specific to it. Bringing to the foreground pressing contemporary issues such as migration, ecology, human alienation and technology, the project brings a classic work to life through a new approach. 

By adding a new layer of interpretation in the form of the original soundtrack created by Alexander Bălănescu and performed live during the event, the performance allows London audiences to experience more facets of a universal story and hopefully ignites their interest in this trio of artists, by encountering the writing of Gellu Naum, the filmography of Anca Damian and the discography of Alexander Bălănescu, each in itself a new world to explore. 

This project is co-financed by the Romanian Cultural Institute, through the Cantemir Program – a financing program for international cultural projects. The Romanian Cultural Institute is not responsible for the content of the project or the way in which the project results will be used. These are completely the responsibility of the beneficiary.