Hello Dankness

Every image conveys meaning, but that meaning can change depending on how you present the image. This truth is most impressively demonstrated by the directorial duo of Soda Jerk, who ingeniously splice together over 500 clips from films, TV series, advertisements, and news segments to craft a distinctive narrative of recent American history, spanning from the 2016 elections that ushered in Trump’s presidency to the present day. Horror films and comedies, along with familiar characters you know, take on new meaning in this movie that tells the story of a neighborhood populated by heroes from films you’ve come to love. The result is an enjoyably surreal, anarchic collage that touches on themes that are absolutely relevant, from deepfakes and fake news to the deeper political nature of images and their profound power. As demonstrated in a perfectly guiltless yet profoundly alarming manner in the film, Hello Dankness, it is abundantly clear that whoever controls the images also dictates their meaning.

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Direction: Soda Jerk

Script: Soda Jerk

Editing: Soda Jerk

Sound: Soda Jerk, Sam Smith

Production: Soda Jerk

Producers: Soda Jerk

Production Design: Soda Jerk

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: Australia

Production Year: 2022

Duration: 70'

Contact: Soda Jerk

Awards/Distinctions: Berwick New Cinema Award – Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival 2023, Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature – Atlanta Film Festival 2023, Honorary Mention for Best International Feature Film – Guanajuato IFF 2023, Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award – Melbourne IFF 2023

Soda Jerk

Soda Jerk is an artist duo who make sample-based films with a rogue documentary impulse. They are fundamentally interested in the politics of images: how they circulate, whom they benefit, and how they can be undone. Formed in Sydney in 2002, they have been based in New York since 2012.

Filmography

2006 Hollywood Burn
2018 Terror Nullius
2022 Hello Dankness