In just 10 minutes, ‘Modulation Nowhere’ takes innocence and trust to an unusual space

Brooklyn-based filmmaker Todd Bogin explains why his award-winning short film ‘Modulation Nowhere’, is centred around a violin

Imagine waking up one morning and finding the most valuable thing you own, stolen.

Todd Bogin’s short film Modulation Nowhere, currently playing on ShortsTV as Editor’s Choice, takes that simple plot and enhances it with multitudes of the unusual, with added doses of Berlin-esque quirk.

The film follows Sofia, a deeply devoted violinist, who meets newly-single and seemingly reclusive Karl. The two spend the night together, but when Sofia wakes up alone, she finds Karl has taken her beloved violin with him. A jarring plot for a film of just over 10 minutes.

Todd, who lived in Brooklyn, USA, for most of his life, actually filmed the short in Berlin, where he lived for a few years. To make the most of the US $4,000 budget, Todd took on the roles of producer, director and casting director, and posted the call for actors on Crew United. A main bar scene in the short has extras in the background, and Todd admits everyone is a crew member, or a cousin, friend or sibling doing the filmmaker a favour. The resulting film ended up winning a Special Jury Award at the 2019 Portugal International Film Festival, while making it to several other international film festivals.

Over the phone from his home in Brooklyn, Todd recalls the shooting experience of Modulation Nowhere, including the serendipitous casting experience. “Jessica Brösicke came into auditions with questions on the character, even creating a backstory for the character. I hadn’t had a name for her at that point, but Jessica did,” points out Todd.

Also part of the film is Christian Harting, who is not an unknown name in Berlin; he starred in Hungarian drama Son of Saul, which won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards in 2016. In the film, Christian portrays a Nazi guard who is somewhat sympathetic to his prisoners.

Todd explains, “When I got in contact with Christian, he was down to do Modulation Nowhere, and it was a no-brainer for me because he is so mysterious-looking.”

Emotive layers

Trust is a prevalent theme in Modulation Nowhere, and Todd agrees that with Sofia, the trust is almost blind, owing to her innocence.

“First you see her playing outside in Berlin, with no fear of being robbed or approached. Berlin is safe but you can see her trusting there, it’s almost dream-like. Then she is in the bar, trusting Karl who is a stranger,” explains Todd, adding, “And you see Karl’s previous relationship ending, but we don’t know why. And when we see him at the bar with Sofia, the new opportunity to trust comes along, but he isn’t able to handle that. I look at his actions as being hurt in the past, not actively seeking out to hurt. His breaking Sofia’s trust, is a part of that.”

Interestingly, Sofia does not speak until the bar scene, which does help build empathy while highlighting her love for her violin, states Todd.

Music plays a big part in Modulation Nowhere. Created by cross-genre violinist, violist, and composer Josh Henderson, the score packs an emotional punch.

As close friends, Todd had long been collaborating with Josh, who has played on Beyoncé’s records and even for President Barrack Obama at the White House. This is where the central idea of the violin came into play, infers Todd. “The violin, for me, represents identity and possession. The object in the film could have been a baseball bat or a camera, but I asked Josh ‘what can I do to get you in on this score where it becomes an interactive score?’ and he said exactly that. Plus, Jessica also knows some violin too, so that helps a lot!”

Modulation Nowhere is available to watch on ShortsTV