AELITA: Queen of Mars

Part of The silent film series with GroundUp Music, five silent film classics reimagined by five different artists from the label. They are world Premiered on FF @ Home and include the 1924 Soviet silent classic AELITA: QUEEN OF MARS with a new score by Snarky Puppy’s Chris Bullock, House of Waters with the three shorts MENILMONTANT (1926), LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE (1902), and BALLET MECANIQUE (1923); PRD Mais with WAXWORKS (1924); Sirintip with THE LOST WORLD (1925); and Bob Lanzetti with NOSFERATU (1922).

In this 1920’s Soviet-era silent film, a space-obsessed man Los dreams of traveling to Mars, while a lonely martian Queen dreams of meeting him. When Los takes it upon himself to build a spaceship, he finds out that Mars is not the stuff of his dreams. Rather, it’s a totalitarian state, and he is not welcome. That’s when dreams and reality begin to blur in this fascinating early example of science fiction.

In partnership with GroundUp Music, Fantastic Fest and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema present this silent science fiction classic directed by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov with a new score by Chris Bullock. Chris Bullock is a saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer living in Brooklyn, NY. The Snarky Puppy member maintains an active schedule recording and performing in a large variety of musical settings around the world. As a longtime member and composer for Snarky Puppy, he has received four Grammy awards. As a composer and band leader, he released his debut album, Boomtown. With his Boomtown band, Chris has brought a synth-heavy environment on live tours across the US and Canada. When not on tour, Chris is often found writing and arranging for various artists and recently began his first commissioned film score.