At eternity’s gate

Van Gogh documentary to be first fully painted feature film ever made

In one of the last letters Vincent van Gogh ever wrote, he proclaimed, “The truth is, we cannot speak other than by our paintings.” Today, a group of filmmakers, artists and hardcore Van Gogh devotees are taking the Dutch artist’s words quite seriously. A biopic about van Gogh’s tumultuous and mysterious death, entitled Loving Vincent, is currently in the works and the film will be comprised entirely of animated paintings in the swirling style of van Gogh’s canvases, reported The Huffington Post.

The film, being directed by Polish painter Dorota Kobiela and film-maker Hugh Welchman, will be told entirely through the images and characters van Gogh brought to life, from the starry nights and snow-covered fields to the gloomy absinthe drinkers and the hardworking postmen.

There are over 120 of van Gogh’s iconic paintings folded into the narrative, their inherent buzz of motion translating to literal movement, thanks to the painstaking, hand-painted animation. The plot was woven together from 800 letters written by the artist himself, and features dramatic reconstructions of the events leading to his death.



Interestingly, Loving Vincent is currently recruiting painters to train in Van Gogh’s style and contribute their work to the film. Those selected will train and work at the film’s studio in Gdansk, Poland, until August 2016.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2016.

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