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"Five Moments" is an experimental music short film drama about the loss of a loved one, featuring live-on-set recorded art songs, from romantic to modern, embedded in atmospheric, ethereal soundscapes. 

When we lose a loved one, the impact of such an event - the shock, the pain, the sorrow - can feel unbearable. 

From my own personal experience, I know that time starts to move at a different pace. Short moments become seemingly endless, long stretches of time merge together or break away.

And it’s often the little things that set us off, the mundane moments that suddenly trigger our sorrow, re-igniting memories we'd thought were buried and forgotten.

“Five Moments” explores this grief by bringing five distinctive moments in a woman’s journey to life, as she tries to cope with losing her female partner. We follow Joan as she remembers, faces her feelings of emptiness and isolation and confronts her anger and pain - until she finally breaks free, if not from her grief, then at least from being stuck in what is no more.

THE CENTRAL ROLE OF MUSIC IN "FIVE MOMENTS"

The not-so-secret driving force behind our project, "Five Moments," is our shared love for music, how it can touch us, move us (literally), be real and present in our daily lives and feelings. But also our love for film, and what IT can do to us, in transporting our thoughts and dreams, making them visible, bringing them to life. 

The basic medium of each of these two art forms - the audible in music, the visible in film - will be brought together with the other in a synthesis in which the separate elements enrich and reinforce each other. The audible is made visible, the visible made audible. And the result will be a sensory and emotional experience that draws on its individual ingredients but is more than merely their sum total. The music will be MORE than the usual soundtrack to what we are seeing, the film MORE than a mere illustration of the music. 

The music we've chosen for "Five Moments" is drawn from the incredibly rich art song repertoire of the 19th century, itself a synthesis of Romantic poetry by such poets as Heine and the intimate, personal but universal musical language of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms, so perfectly suited to this poetry and the romantic spirit of its time. This will be supplemented by one song from the 21st century, written just a few years ago. This song shares an emotional bond with its ancestors from so long ago and makes audible that the feelings people sang about then are still alive today, flowing through us and driving us on.

Most Great Ideas seem (at least afterwards) to have come about spontaneously, and when we spontaneously had ours, we wondered why it hadn't been done before: Why not combine the directness, the intimate, poetic qualities of the art song for voice and piano, which blossomed in the 19th century but is still alive and well today, with the vast possibilities of film? Why not harness film's ability to make the abstract real, the atmospheric palpable, in order to place the lyrics and the music in a concrete, contemporary context? And why not have at least some of the music actually sung ON SET - not lip-synched to playback - to make it even more authentic and immediate? And why not weave several songs - say, 5 or 6 - into a single journey, at once individual and universal, modern and timeless, a journey that can move everyone who experiences it in the most personal way?
...And that's how this film came about!

Inspiring Audiences

“Five Moments” merges film, classical and contemporary music elements. Our goal - beyond our artistic endeavours and aspirations - is therefore to inspire film lovers to discover the world of classical music, and music lovers to explore the universe of experimental filmmaking. The best of both worlds will create an intense audio-visual experience that will hopefully spark or rekindle the raw and intuitive curiosity in our audience.

Hope and Companionship

The themes in this film are topics very close to our hearts. In such difficult times as these, grief and loss are constant companions for many people. The feeling of being isolated, deserted, alone - we all can empathize with these states of mind. They are, of course, part of the human experience, but more now than ever, since the pandemic started. We hope this film will bring hope and a sense of companionship to people who have had similar experiences, that it can make them feel both understood and comforted as they follow our main character’s journey.

Magdalena Herfurtner is a German musician, filmmaker and performer, resident in London. 

A classical music education and a passion for film, music, and painting have formed her as an artist over the last fifteen years and led her to diverse experiences in the world of art. 

Magdalena studied Vocal Performance at University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich and Screenwriting at Central Film School London.

She co-produced the multi-award-winning short film The Power of One Coin (2018), line-produced Sergei Alexander's feature debut Your Eyes on Me (2019), and has written and produced the short dramas Trinette (2019) and Sacrifice (2020), which she also composed the soundtracks for.

Ted Ganger was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York, before going to Germany on a Fulbright Grant. He worked as a conductor and coach in numerous opera houses in Germany and the USA, conducting over 40 operas, operettas, and musicals. From 1998 till 2017 he was a faculty vocal coach at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, where he also played keyboard instruments with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. As a piano soloist, chamber musician and lied partner, he has performed throughout the world.

Ted Ganger wrote his first song in 2009; about a year later, he wrote a second one. In 2011, he recorded the first twelve songs on the CD Late Early Songs. It was followed by the albums Feeling My Way, Notes From My Underground, Inside and Out, Complicated Heart, Turning The Pages and On the Edge. All of his recordings, complete CDs as well as individual tracks, are available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, etc.

Ted Ganger has performed his songs throughout the United States and Europe. www.ted-ganger.com

Jasmine Embrechts was born in the Netherlands. She is an actor and writer who studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York City. She has acted in film, television, theatre, and more, has been an Outreach Coordinator for the UK Film Festival since 2011, and was a judge for the Cine Circle Women’s Film Festival in 2021. Her first book is being published this year. She has travelled extensively and lived in multiple countries.

Jasmine loves storytelling and her passion lies in bringing stories to life that would otherwise go unheard. She is very excited to produce Five Moments!

Mathias Falcone is a filmmaker and photographer based in London. He was born and raised in Trieste, Italy.

He is mostly known for his feature documentary debut Until We Live Again (2021), as well as his short films Your Eyes Know Better (2018), Trinette (2019), and Sacrifice (2020).

Falcone's work features stories of profound life changes made possible by action and belief despite adverse circumstances. Self-discovery, search for clarity, and the need for meaningful existence tormenting mankind are some of the recurring elements of his filmography.

Magdalena Herfurtner is a German musician and filmmaker, currently living in London.

She studied Vocal Performance with Sylvia Greenberg and Wolfgang Brendel at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich and was part of the CD production of "Missa Katharina" by Jacob de Haan with the Bavarian Broadcasting in 2007 as the solo soprano.

She recently played the lead role in the short drama "Sacrifice." 

Besides her ongoing film and performance work, Magdalena has released several EPs and Singles as Madil Hardis.

A selection of previous creative projects and collaborations that will give you an insight into who we are and what we do.

Short experimental drama "Sacrifice," written/produced by Magdalena Herfurtner, directed by Mathias Falcone. Music by Madil Hardis.

Short drama "Trinette," starring Jasmine Embrechts and Heidi C. Nielsen, written/produced by Magdalena Herfurtner, directed by Mathias Falcone. Music by Madil Hardis.

"Only A Dream" - written and performed by Ted Ganger.

"Vocalise" - written by Ted Ganger, performed by Magdalena Herfurtner and Ted Ganger.

With this campaign, we are aiming to cover the costs of pre-production and production of this film, our main expenses being cast/crew, equipment, locations, and production design.

We are determined to bring this film to life and do it justice. But in order to make it happen, we need your help. You can support us with a pledge by choosing one of the rewards you will find here on our campaign page.

Come along for the ride and let us together create a film that is both innovative and meaningful.