The audiovisual experimental short “Otonashi” centers around the Hannya Shingyo, which contains one of the core sutras of the Buddhistic teachings of philosophy. Martin Gerigk, a German musician and mixed-media arts performer, who won several international awards, uses cut-out techniques to convey a cryptic message to the audience.
“Otonashi” Screened at the All Asian Independent Film Festival
Photographs of street objects, monks, and temples intervene with mathematical graphs and textual elements. Nature and science are combined on a beige/brown background and underlined with various sounds ranging from meditative to traditional to mantra-like chanting. The voices, violins, and percussion create a dreamy sphere of transcendence.
Martin Gerigk tries to explore the human existence and presents an arcane code to the viewer, that requires a special state of inner calmness to grasp its meaning. Ambient sounds and spirituality evoke a mystic feeling deep inside the contemplator. The shown collages are open to loose association following the Buddhistic concept of emptiness. Therefore, a real narration is denied and “Otonashi” only makes an offer that everyone has to conduct his own journey through this 10-minute short.
