Staff Pick Premiere: "NOSIS" by Vincenz Neuhaus

Ian Durkin is a filmmaker and former curator at Vimeo.
Ian Durkin

This week’s Staff Pick Premiere “Nosis” from German animator Vincenz Neuhaus is a story about a big nose that possesses even greater power. This schnoz not only provides our protagonist with a keen sense of smell but also the ability to discover the intrinsic essence of everything on earth. For instance, when he sticks his nose into a cake, he learns the cake’s ingredients, the rations needed and even the required baking time. “Nosis” follows the discoveries of this super nose and what happens when tangible objects begin to lose their appeal and a quest for higher learning begins.

To tell this transhumanist tale, Neuhaus uses a blend of animation styles. At times, color and 3D shapes bleed out of his muted hand-drawn style to reveal each object’s true nature. Unfortunately, as we learn, power comes at a price as the boy’s nose drives him on an unquenchable search for knowledge.

Ahead of today’s premiere, we reached out to Neuhaus to learn more about his inspiration for making “Nosis.” Read on for more.

On the inspiration behind his film:

“The initial spark for “Nosis” came from a song by the ingenious Swiss songwriter Manni Matter. I was also inspired by the juxtaposition between two poems about flowers in Erich Fromm’s book “To Have or to Be.” They strikingly show the immanent destructiveness of the patriarchal mechanisms of cognition, which our life is based on.

On working on a deadline:

“Time was a limiting factor on this project because I almost got expelled from my university for not attending the lectures or the final exams. Subsequently, the university set a deadline of 5 month for me to write a diploma thesis and make an animated short film. It felt a little “dense.” But in the end, that deadline probably reduced the amount of time I could spend with self-doubt.”

On developing new techniques:

“I’m currently looking for funding for my next animated short. In the meantime, I’m experimenting with 3D-scanning. That technique will probably make its way into my next short film.”

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