Honorary Award Best Director Documentary Feature at Queens World Film Festival (NYC)

DVD release by ECM records: June 15th (Europe) / Aug. 3rd (US)

Cinema Release December 7th 2017, Filmclub im TaKino, Schaan, Liechtenstein
and for Switzerland on December 14th 2017, Cameo Kino, Winterthur

Amazingly authentic, the film "open land" offers an unforgettably intimate portrait of it's protagonist, jazz legend John Abercrombie who died in August 2017. This wonderful encounter is as poetic and atmospherically dense as Abercrombie's music. A labor of love and deep admiration "open land" is a subtle and very personal portrait that gives an insight into the life and work of this outstanding artist. To glimpse genius on such an intimate level is nothing short of revelatory.

Wunderbar authentisch und hautnah am Protagonisten, schafft der Film "open land" eine unvergessliche Begegnung mit der im August 2017 verstorbenen Jazzlegende John Abercrombie. Poetisch und atmosphärisch dicht wie die Musik Abercrombies, erlaubt dieses subtile und sehr persönliche Portrait einzigartige Einblicke in das Leben und das Werk dieses besondern Künstlers. Ein erfrischendes Filmdokument, gedreht mit einfachsten Mitteln und minimalstem Budget.

Maravillosamente auténtico, la película «open land» crea un encuentro íntimo e inolvidable con la leyenda del jazz John Abercrombie, el que falleció en Agosto 2017. Este retrato sutil y personal permite una mirada a la vida y la obra de este gran artista; poético y de atmósfera densa como la música de Abercrombie. Un documento cinematográfico de alto nivel producido con un presupuesto mínimo y pequeños remedios.

Étonnamment authentique, le film "open land" offre un portrait inoubliablement intime de son protagoniste, la légende de jazz John Abercrombie, décédé en août 2017. Cette rencontre merveilleuse est aussi poétique et atmosphérique que la musique d'Abercrombie. Travail d'amour et d'admiration profonde, "open land" est un portrait subtil et très personel qui donne un aperçu de la vie et du travail de cet artiste remarquable. Un document cinématographique rafraîchissant, réalisé avec les moyens les plus simples et un budget minimal.

Quotes:

"The film covered so many aspects of both Johns musical and personal history. You wove all of his life together which made the film so satisfying!" (Lisa Abercrombie)

"This film is a tender look at the life and music of jazz guitar innovator John Abercrombie. The film paints an intimate portrait of a man for whom jazz guitar was a constantly evolving lifelong passion, and who never stopped exploring the nuances of sound and composition. The soundtrack illustrates the breadth of his music, a perfect counterpoint to film's snowy landscapes of NY state and moody images of NYC. A modest, witty, self-effacing perfectionist and innovator - John Abercrombie will be greatly missed, and this film has unexpectedly become a memorial to him. I was reading up on Manfred Eicher, the boss of ECM Records. In addition to music, he is a film enthusiast, Jean-Luc Godard being his mentor. The fact that he picked Arno's and Oliver's film for ECM distribution speaks volumes, and is a major endorsement." (Wojtek Wilczak)

"The film (...) is not about a star guitarist but about a man who loved the electric guitar and took that into his life to share with those around him. John appears as the most "ordinary" (and I mean that in a positive way) of people who just had an extraordinary gift with the guitar, the humanity of John shines through in the film." (Eric Taffyn)