1. Billy Cobham
2. Okuta
3. Malé

SONIC MIRROR

79 min., 35mm and video, 1:1.85, Dolby SRD-EX
Language: English, German, Portuguese
Subtitles: German or English
A Coproduction: Marco Forster Productions, Vevey/CH - Marianna Films Oy, Helsinki/Fi - Uwe Dresch Films Ltd., Köln/D - Doc Productions GmbH, Zürich/CH

Not available on DVD yet.

Participation at numerous int'l film festivals. see www.sonicmirror.com

Mika Kaurismäki`s new film SONIC MIRROR is a surprising and emotional dive into the world of rhythm - an extraordinary trip to discover the magic relationship between Life and Rhythm.

Drum legend Billy Cobham takes us from the bandstands of the Western world to the primal music of African origin and on to the completely secluded world of musical experiences of autists. These different worlds are yet connected in a mystical and secret way. The relation between the collective and the individual consciousness becomes obvious when, in a fantastic final, the symbiosis is achieved. Music is emotion. Music is communication. Music is identity. Music as the true universal language to express hope, love, ambition and joy. SONIC MIRROR is a film full of vibrancy and compassion, authentic and hypnotic from the first to the very last moment.

Mika Kaurismäki
Mika Kaurismäki studied cinema in Munich, Germany, (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen) 1977-1981) and made his diplom film The Liar in 1980 in Finland. His younger brother Aki Kaurismäki, then a student of journalism, played the main role and also co-wrote the screenplay. The film was an overnight sensation, when first shown in Finland; it marked the beginning of the cinema of the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in the Finnish cinema. After the success of The Liar, Mika Kaurismäki decided to stay in Finland and together with his brother and some friends he founded the production company Villealfa Filmproductions, that soon became a home of vital low- or no-budget film making. During the active Villealfa years, Mika co-founded the legendary Midnight Sun Film Festival (1986) and the distribution company Senso Films (1987) with Andorra cinemas (and some bars) in Helsinki.

In the beginning of the 90s Mika started to produce through his company Marianna Films. Its first independent production was the award winning Zombie and the Ghost Train (1991). In 1994 Mika returned to the Brazilian jungle with Samuel Fuller and Jim Jarmusch and made the feature length documentary Tigrero a film that was never made. The film was awarded the International Critics Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1994.

In the course of the 90s Mika established his base and second home in Rio de Janeiro and started to concentrate more in international co-productions. His biggest production so far is the comedy LA without a map (1998), with David Tennant, July Delpy, Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp, James Le Gros, Anouk Aimee etc.. The new millenium started for Mika with the production of Moro no Brasil (2002), the acclaimed documentary about Brazilian music.

Mika has just finished his last films Honey Baby, starring Henry Thomas, Irina Björklund and Helmut Berger, a road movie in the Baltics and Russia, inspired by the myth of Orpheo and Eurydice and Brasileirinho, a music documentary about Choro music, the first genuinely Brazilian urban music that has evolved over 130 years into a fascinating form of modern tropical sound. Actually, Mika Kaurismäki has started filming Sonic Mirror with Billy Cobham. Sonic Mirror is a musical documentary film, presenting a journey with Billy Cobham into several different musical cultures

Films as director:

2006 SONIC MIRROR, with Billy Cobham et.alt.
2005 BRASILEIRINHO (music documentary)
2004 HONEY BABY, with Henry Thomas, Irina Björklund, Helmut Berger, Kari Väänänen
2002 MORO NO BRASIL (music documentary)
1999 HIGHWAY SOCIETY with Kai Wiesinger, Marie Zielcke, Jochen Nickel
1998 LOS ANGELES WITHOUT A MAP, with David Tennant, Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo, Cameron Bancroft, Johnny Depp, James Le Gros, Anouk Aimee etc.
1996 SAMBóLICO (30 min. episode)
RHYTHM (5 min. episode)
1995 CONDITION RED with James Russo, Cynda Williams, Paul Calderon
H.A.R.P.: BUBBLE STRUGGLE (music video)
1994 TIGRERO-A FILM THAT WAS NEVER MADE with Sam Fuller, Jim Jarmusch
1993 THE LAST BORDER, with Jürgen Prochnow, Jolyon Baker, Fanny Bastien,
Kari Väänänen, Matti Pellonpää, Soli Labbart etc.
1991 ZOMBIE AND THE GHOST TRAIN, with Silu Seppälä, Matti Pellonpää, Marjo Leinonen
1990 AMAZON with Kari Väänänen, Robert Davi, Rae Dawn Chong
1989 PAPER STAR with Pirkko Hämäläinen, Kari Väänänen
CHA CHA CHA with Kari Väänänen, Matti Pellonpää, Sanna Fransman
1988 NIGHT WORK (TV film) with Martti Syrjä, Kaija Pakaerinen, Esko Salminen
1987 HELSINKI NAPOLI - ALL NIGHT LONG with Kari Väänänen, Nino Manfredi, Roberta Manfredi, Margi Clark, Samuel Fuller, Eddie Costantine, Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch
1985 ROSSO with Kari Väänänen, Martti Syrjä
1984 THE CLAN - TALE OF THE FROGS, with Kari Väänänen, Matti Pellonpää, Markku Halme, Minna Soisalo, Lasse Pöysti etc.
1982 THE WORTHLESS with Matti Pellonpää, Pirkko Hämäläinen
JACKPOT 2 (short) with Martti Syrjä, Jukka Mikkola
1981 THE LIAR, with Aki Kaurismäki, Pirkko Hämäläinen, Juuso Hirvikangas

Billy Cobham
Only a few times in history has a musician been singled out as the world-class master of his instrument. Billy Cobham is one of those few artists. For over 30 years, he has received international acclaim as the total consummate percussionist.
mehr unter: www.billycobham.com

Team
Photography: Jacques Cheuiche
Sound-Design: Uwe Dresch
Editing: Oli Weiss

Musicians
Finland:
Espoo Big Band
Special Participation
Concert Conductor Scott Stroman
Trumpet Randy Brecker
Master of Ceremony Beau Chicago

Brazil:
Banda Malezinho
Banda Malê Tradição
Dancers Malê

Switzerland:
Okuta Percussion
SwissMix

Music
Conondrum (Billy Cobham)
Malê A Insurreição (Marcos Alafim)
Crosswinds (Billy Cobham)
Malê o Movimento (Cabelinho)
Malê Maravilha (Landê Onawale)
Red Baron (Billy Cobham)
Adios (RR)
Day and Night (Cole Porter)
Essência de Amor (Dico e Neguinho da Abolição)
Quem Não Descer de Malê (J. Jô)
Additonal Music by Andreas Schilling and Bernhard Wittmann

Cultural Support in Salvador
IRDEB Bahia, TVE Salvador, Governo do Estado da Bahia, Secretaria de Cultura e Turismo da Bahia

With the support of
Federal Office of Culture (BAK), Switzerland
NRW, Filmstiftung Nordrhein Westfalen GmbH
Fonds REGIO Films, Geneva, Switzerland
Finnish Film Foundation, Miia Haavisto
ESEK/LUSES, Finland
GB Studio Broadcast, Switzerland

Co-producers
SF Schweizer Fernsehen, Paul Riniker (Pacte de lAudiovisuel)
SRG SSR idée suisse, Alberto Chollet
YLE Coproductions, Erkki Astala

World sales:
Wide Management Sàrl, Paris/F

Worldrights
Doc Productions GmbH

ISAN 0000-0001-745A-0000-V