Wavemakers

  • 96'
  • Canada
  • 2012
Hearing unusual interferences coming from radio vacuum tubes one night during World War I, French musician and educator Maurice Martenot (1898-1980) dreamed of an instrument that would turn the new element of the times, electricity, into music. From early French films and Hollywood classics such as Lawrence of Arabia to the romance of Amélie Poulain or the epic There Will Be Blood, the sound of the Ondes Martenot has infiltrated the soundtracks of our time.
Shot in Canada and France, Wavemakers features reckless engineers, rockstars and repairmen: an ensemble of fascinating characters in their quest to revive a sophisticated instrument that is anything but obsolete. Mixing direct cinema, musical moments and never-before-seen archival material, this film journey uncovers the Martenot as a missing link in the cultural history of the 20th century, a fantastic - if a little cursed - legacy.

Director
Caroline Martel
Premiere
International premiere
Country of production
Canada
Year
2012
Festival Edition
IFFR 2013
Length
96'
Medium
HDcam
Original title
Le chant des ondes
Languages
English, French
Producers
Caroline Martel, Colette Loumède
Production Company
Artifact Productions
Sales
National Film Board of Canada
Screenplay
Caroline Martel
Cinematography
Geoffroy Beauchemin
Editor
Annie Jean
Sound Design
Clovis Gouaillier
Music
Suzanne Binet-Audet
Director
Caroline Martel
Premiere
International premiere
Country of production
Canada
Year
2012
Festival Edition
IFFR 2013
Length
96'
Medium
HDcam
Original title
Le chant des ondes
Languages
English, French
Producers
Caroline Martel, Colette Loumède
Production Company
Artifact Productions
Sales
National Film Board of Canada
Screenplay
Caroline Martel
Cinematography
Geoffroy Beauchemin
Editor
Annie Jean
Sound Design
Clovis Gouaillier
Music
Suzanne Binet-Audet