Comprised entirely of hundreds of pirated film samples, HELLO DANKNESS is a bent suburban musical that bears witness to the psychotropic cultural spectacle of the period 2016 to 2021. Set in the American suburbs, the film follows a neighbourhood through these years as consensus reality disintegrates into conspiracies and other political contagions. Part political satire, zombie stoner film, and Greek tragedy, the work is also informed by the encrypted memetics of contemporary internet culture.

HELLO DANKESS is Soda Jerk’s third feature film and screens within Soda Jerk’s solo exhibition Open Sauce, which also includes screenings of their controversial political fable TERROR NULLIUS (2018) and a large-scale installation of THE WAS (2015), Soda Jerk’s video collaboration with The Avalanches.

Soda Jerk’s HELLO DANKESS is the 2022 biennial Art & Moving Image commission by the Adelaide Film Festival, in partnership with the Samstag Museum of Art, and will have its world premiere at Samstag from Tuesday 18 October 2022.

This 2022 commission is the newest addition to the long-standing biennial Art & Moving Image Co-commission by the Adelaide Film Festival and the Samstag Museum of Art. The Co-commission supports the development and presentation of bold and innovative screen-based works by artists and screen creators. HELLO DANKESS is the eleventh commission among works by artists that include Lynette Wallworth, Daniel Crooks and Warwick Thornton.

Awards:

• Nominee: Panorama Audience Award (Berlinale, 2023)

• Berwick New Cinema Award (Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, 2023)

Festivals: Berlin International Film Festival (2023)