Mitrilo dream of sci-fi apocalypse in Break-Cycle

AV art collective Mitrilo present 12 stunning CGI vignettes based on astrological interpretations of dreams.

Mitrilo describe themselves as a “decentralized artistic research collective”, focused on live performance visuals, music and audiovisual arts. Comprised of some of the most skilled and visionary artists of the emerging AV art space, including Sevi Iko Dømochevsky, Razorade, Darío Alva, Daniel Benza, Diego Navarro, Otro, Noha Manfredi, Valeria Baret, Cesar Rodrez, Marco Henri and Miguel Ballarin, collectively Mitrilo count Arca, Holly Herndon, 100 gecs, Grimes, Lady Gaga, Ashnikko and Post Malone among their clients and collaborators. “Mitrilo was born out of the necessity of giving a voice to all of our scattered artistic outlets,” the collective explains, “trying to get them together under the same umbrella to funnel all of our efforts towards something more community oriented, and see how much ground could we cover with all of our skills combined.” Their first project as a collective is Break-Cycle, originally commissioned by Mira Festival to be presented as a panoramic, 360-degree projection at IDEAL in Barcelona, which combines 12 stunning CGI vignettes based on astrological interpretations of dreams.

“It was produced in under a month with very little resources and in a very open manner, following a set of basic structure and guidelines,” the collective continues. “We used astrology as our means to extract symbology from a bunch of dreams we had noted down and produced 12 little short movies trying to give an emotional and narrative context to these abstract and universal matters. We never saw the piece together until the premiere day.” Moving through 12 intricately crafted environments to the beat of a surreal, non-linear dream logic, Break-Cycle traces an abstract narrative of regeneration, repetition and reification. “Even in the need of some new course it was possible to form light out of old flesh,” announces the film’s narrator at the beginning of an expansive passage of gnomic verse that serves as the work’s spine, linking each of the scenes with dense, obfuscating storytelling. This is set against an evocative score of science fiction sound design from Grotto Studio, amplifying both word and image with textured, world-building sound design.

Swirling between cosmic storms of the ruins of lost civilisations, sparse wastelands populated with abandoned television screens and demonic dogs, ceremonial ruins that lead a giant golem towards a glowing portal, abandoned train stations, haunted houses, a Lovecraftian cityscape presided over by decaying dragons, a dystopian apartment block, spatio-temporal voids filled with unrecognisable biomechanical apparatus, undulating Eldritch forms, alien altars, a winking server farm housed in a dark cathedral and, finally, a floating steampunk temple glinting in the crepuscular rays of twilight, Break-Cycle seems to revolve around just a few of many possible worlds. Each scene represents, in 12 different ways, an escape, a break from the story cycles they represent, each a new ending, a way out.

For more information about Mitrilo and their work you can follow them on Instagram.

Break-Cycle Credits:

Directed by @sevi_iko_domochevsky
Produced by @mitrilo.st
CGI – @razorade @daniel.benza @sevi_iko_domochevsky @lei.1.6 @rvdimir @cavecanems @hohl0h
Music/SFX – @diegovnavarro @marco.henri.000@seraaan @oottrroo
Voiceover – @dyboski
Vocal processing/Mixing – @marco.henri.000 @juryofficial
Script – @Nohamanfredi @seraaan @riusforza
Production – @rnrzrb_