Çohu
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Music & Sound Design for «Çohu – Steh auf» Short Film Series. Streamed on ARD, ZDF, Arte, France TV and SRF.
Production: Zurich University of the Arts
Co-Production: Swiss Radio and Television
Directors: Arzije Asani & Céline Stettler
Audio post: Gregg Skerman
Vocals: Fjolla Shaqiri, Dorontina Rifati, Nita Konjuhi
Folge 1 - Ich bin ein Mensch
Folge 2 - Wir marschieren, wir feiern nicht
Folge 3 - Kommt raus
Behind the Scenes:
Before the shoot in Kosovo, I handed Arzije and Céline a recorder and microphones, hoping they might catch some traditional music along the way. They came back with recordings of two performers singing a traditional Albanian folk song about love, narrated from a man's perspective. An activist in Germany or Switzerland would likely never go near something like that. That contradiction is part of what makes the documentary interesting.
In the final scene of the first episode, Lendi says he doesn't want to live in fear after coming out as transgender, but he also doesn't want to leave Kosovo. The desire for change doesn't have to mean breaking with tradition. It can mean redefining it. That idea became the sonic foundation of the series. Every cue, apart from the credit songs, is built entirely around accordion, an instrument at the heart of Kosovar and Balkan folk music.
Before and after
